Sneak peek:  

2024 key dates calendar for October to December, released three weeks early! 📅✨

Get an early start with our 2024 key dates calendar for October to December!! Check out Korean holidays and special moments for the upcoming months!

🖐 The letters within [ ] are the actual Korean pronunciation, while those within ( ) are the official Korean Romanization.

October 3rd

🚪 개천절[gae-cheon-jeol] 

The National foundation Day 

This day is known as the day the heavens opened ⭐ 

Just like Greek and Roman mythologies, Korea has its own mythology called the 단군 신화(Dan-gun-sin-hwa): The Myth of Dangun. 

A Fascinating Myth Related to [gae-cheon-jeol]

Long ago, there was 환인 (Hwan-in), known as the god of the heavens, who had a son named 환웅 (Hwan-ung). Hwan-ung always wanted to descend to the human world to benefit it greatly. Hwan-in instructed Hwan-ung to govern the world, and Hwan-ung immediately descended to Mount Taebaek with 3,000 celestial beings. There, Hwan-ung founded 신시 (Sin-si), meaning the ‘City of Gods’, and ruled the human world with the spirit of 홍익인간 (Hong-ik-in-gan), which means “Widely benefiting the human world”

One day, a bear and a tiger came to Hwan-ung, begging to be turned into humans. Hwan-ung told them, “If you stay in a cave without sunlight for 100 days, eating only mugwort and garlic, you can become human.”

The tiger couldn't endure it and left, but the bear persevered and transformed into a woman, whom Hwan-ung named 웅녀 (Ung-nyeo). Hwan-ung and Ung-nyeo married and had a son, 단군 왕검 (Dan-gun-wang-geom), who founded Korea's first nation, 고조선 (Go-jo-seon). 

This day signifies the beginning of Korean national history by Dan-gun-wang-geom, the son of Hwan-ung who descended from the heavens. It commemorates the birth of the Korean nation and the founding of its history.

October 9th

🎉 한글날[han-geul-nal]

Hangeul Day

A day to celebrate the world's only script with a known date of creation, creator, and principles of creation—also the youngest alphabet, Hangeul 

In Korea, national holidays, known as 국경일[guk-gyeong-il], are legally designated to commemorate significant events. There are five national holidays in Korea, which include 삼일절[sam-il-jeol], 제헌절[je-heon-jeol], 광복절[gwang-bok-jeol], 개천절[gae-cheon-jeol], and the 한글날[han-geul-nal] that we are introducing now. 

※ [sam-il-jeol]: Independence Movement Day

[je-heon-jeol]: Constitution Day

[gwang-bok-jeol]: Korean Liberation Day

[gae-cheon-jeol]: The National foundation Day

November 11th

🧡 빼빼로데이[ppae-ppae-ro-de-i]

Pepero Day 

A day when a corporate-initiated promotion turned into a gift-giving culture 

Isn't this day unique and special in Korea, even though it's neither a national holiday nor a traditional festival? 

In Korea, there's a snack called 빼빼로 (Pepero) (similar to Japan's 'Pocky'), which is a chocolate-coated biscuit stick. The date 11/11 resembles Pepero sticks, and companies started promoting this day by encouraging people to exchange these snacks as gifts, which gradually became a cultural practice. 

December 25th

❄ 성탄절 [seong-tan-jeol] 

Christmas 

Another name for 성탄절 is 크리스마스[keu-ri-sseu-ma-sseu].  

As we mentioned before, Korea has various religions. Holidays related to Buddhism and Christianity are designated as public holidays. On this day, there are many cultural events in Korea, and we usually spend time with friends, loved ones, or family. 

You can make the most of your time in Korea by keeping track of the important dates we've shared with you, so don't forget to mark them on your calendar!