This is a list of public holidays in North Korea. See also the Korean calendar for a list of traditional holidays., the North Korean calendar has 71 official public holidays, including Sundays.[1] In the past, North Koreans relied on rations provided by the state on public holidays for feasts. Recently, with marketization people are able to save up money and buy the goods they need.[2]
The Day of the Sun, the birthday of its founder and first leader Kim Il Sung, on 15 April is the most important holiday in the country.[3] The second most important is the Day of the Shining Star on 16 February, the birthday of Kim Jong Il.[4], Kim Jong Un's birthday is still not a public holiday.[5] Other holidays of great importance are the Party Foundation Day (10 October) and the Day of the Foundation of the Republic (9 September).[6] North Koreans often schedule their wedding days on important national holidays.[7]
North Korea regularly carries out missile and nuclear tests on such important anniversaries.[8]
| Date | English name | Notes | Remarks | Local name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day[9] | Celebrates the opening of the Gregorian New Year. | |||
| 15 January | The day commemorates the invention (1443) and the proclamation (1446) of Chosongul, the native alphabet of the Korean language. King Sejong the Great, inventor of Chosongul, is one of the most honored rulers in Korean history. | ||||
| 8 February | Army Day[10] | The Korean People's Army was established on 8 February 1948, and that day was celebrated as Army Day until 1978, when it was moved to 25 April (q.v.). It was reinstated as a public holiday in 2015.[11] | |||
| 16 February | Kim Jong Il's birthday.[12] | 2 days | |||
| 2 March | People across the country plant trees.[13] [14] | ||||
| 8 March | Commemorates the history of women across the country. | ||||
| last day of 12th lunar month | Korean New Year, based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 1st day of 1st lunar month | Korean New Year, based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 15 April | Birthday of Kim Il Sung. | 3 days | Korean: 태양절 | ||
| 21 April | Kang Pan Suk's birthday | Commemorates the birth of Kim Il Sung's mother. | |||
| 25 April | Kim Il Sung moved the date from 8 February to the date of establishment of his guerilla army in 1932, considered the predecessor of the Korean People's Army. | Korean: 인민군 창건일 | |||
| 15th day of 1st lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 1st day of 2nd lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 3rd day of 3rd lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| Based on the Korean calendar. | |||||
| 8th day of 4th lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 1 May | International Workers' Day (Labor Day) [15] | Celebrates the economic and social achievements of workers. | |||
| 1 June | International Children's Day | ||||
| 6 June | Korean Children's Union Foundation Day | Public holiday marking the 1946 foundation of the Korean Children's Union. | |||
| 19 June | Anniversary of Kim Jong Il's commencement of work in the Workers' Party Central Committee | Officially a public holiday since 2015 but celebrated unofficially before, this holiday marks Kim Jong Il's 1964 graduation from Kim Il Sung University and start of work in the party organization. | |||
| 5th day of 5th lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 3 July | Day of the Strategic Forces | A new holiday established on 24 June 2016 by Ordinance No. 1177 of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly which commemorates the foundation of the Korean People's Army Strategic Force on 3 July 1999. | |||
| 27 July | The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement | Korean: 조국해방전쟁 승리 기념일 | |||
| 15 August | Established after the liberation of Korea in 1945. | Korean: 조국해방기념일 | |||
| 25 August | A new holiday established in 2013 commemorating Kim Jong Il's inspection visit to the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Armored Division of the Korean People's Army on August 25, 1960, which is always regarded as the "start of the Songun revolutionary leadership" by the North Korean government. | Korean: 광명성절 | |||
| 28 August | Youth Day | Korean: 조국해방기념일 | |||
| 9 September | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948. | Korean: 인민정권 창건일 | |||
| 15th day of 6th lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 7th day of 7th lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 15th day of 7th lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 15th day of 8th lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar, North Korean Mid-Autumn Festival. | ||||
| 10 October | Founding of the Workers' Party of Korea in 1945. | Korean: 노동당 창건일 | |||
| 9th day of 9th lunar month | Based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 16 November | A new holiday from 2012 onward honoring all mothers. | ||||
| 18 November | Missile Industry Day[16] | Dedicated to celebrating a Hwasong-15 ICBM launch that took place on Nov. 29, 2017 | Korean: 로케트공업절 | ||
| 20 December | Winter solstice, based on the Korean calendar. | ||||
| 24 December | Kim Jong Suk's birthday | Commemorates the birth of Kim Jong Il's mother. | |||
| 27 December | Enactment of the Socialist Constitution of North Korea in 1972. | ||||
| 31 December | Celebrates the closing of the Gregorian New Year. |
During some years, certain dates related with the Kim regime are additionally designated as public holidays for propaganda purposes.
In the 2014 version of the North Korean calendar, "Generalissimo Day" (대원수추대일) briefly became a holiday that honors when Kim Jong Il posthumously received the title "Generalissimo of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in 2012.[17]
In the 2015 calendar, a new publicholiday was to be celebrated on June 19, marking the date in 1964 when Kim Jong Il graduated from Kim Il Sung University and began working as part of the Party’s organizational leadership. Various events related to the commemorative day take place every year on this date in North Korea, but this was the first time it has been recognized as a national holiday. [18]
In the 2017 calendar, July 3 became a public holiday called "Day of the Strategic Forces" (전략군절).[19]