Public Holidays in North Korea 2026
17 listed public holiday dates in 2026
North Korea's public holiday calendar is dominated by state anniversaries and commemorations of the ruling Kim family, alongside several traditional lunar holidays.
North Korea Public Holidays 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Thursday | New Year's Day |
| Feb 8 | Sunday | Korean People's Army Foundation Day |
| Feb 16 | Monday | Birthday of Kim Jong Il |
| Feb 17 | Tuesday | Seollal |
| Mar 3 | Tuesday | First Full Moon Day |
| Mar 8 | Sunday | International Women's Day |
| Apr 15 | Wednesday | Birthday of Kim Il Sung |
| May 1 | Friday | May Day |
| Jun 6 | Saturday | Children's Union Foundation Day |
| Jul 27 | Monday | Victory Day |
| Aug 15 | Saturday | Liberation Day |
| Aug 25 | Tuesday | Day of Songun |
| Sep 9 | Wednesday | National Day |
| Sep 25 | Friday | Chuseok |
| Oct 10 | Saturday | Party Foundation Day |
| Nov 16 | Monday | Mother's Day |
| Dec 27 | Sunday | Constitution Day |
* 2027 lunar dates are provisional. North Korea has limited public English-language official calendar information, so these dates should be rechecked before publication.
State Anniversaries and Lunar Holidays 2026
15 April and 16 February commemorate Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. National Day is 9 September, while Seollal and Chuseok follow the Korean lunar calendar.
Holiday Rules in North Korea
Reliable official English-language annual holiday calendars are limited. Lunar dates are therefore marked provisional where they depend on calendar conversion.
North Korea Holiday Calendar: What to Know
- National Day is 9 September.
- Liberation Day is 15 August.
- Seollal and Chuseok are lunar holidays.
- Economic and internet data are unusually difficult to verify independently.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is North Korea National Day?
It is observed on 9 September.
Why are 2027 lunar holidays marked with an asterisk?
Their Gregorian dates depend on Korean lunar-calendar conversion and official annual practice.
What is celebrated on 15 April?
The birthday of Kim Il Sung.
Why are some More About figures less precise?
North Korea publishes limited internationally comparable economic and digital-access data.
Sources & methodology
View sources used for this page
Institutional country reporting confirms North Korean law provides paid holidays and documents national-holiday practice; public official annual calendars remain unusually limited.
Independent calendar cross-check used for date, weekday and observed-day review. Government notices and statutory rules take precedence where they differ.
Source status: institutional evidence supports North Korea’s paid-holiday framework, but a complete, readily accessible annual government calendar could not be independently located. The 2026/2027 date tables therefore remain explicitly source-constrained, use an independent calendar cross-check, and should not be represented as claim-by-claim government-calendar verified.