Korean Public Holidays That Disrupt Your Travel Plans
The three-day holiday most people don't plan for
Seollal and Chuseok aren't single-day holidays — each is legally a three-day block: the day before, the day itself, and the day after. Chuseok 2026, for example, runs September 24-26. Book a trip that starts the day the holiday "officially" falls and you've actually landed in the middle of a three-day national migration that started the evening before. Both holidays are set by the lunar calendar, so they land on different Gregorian dates every year — Seollal drifts between late January and late February, Chuseok between mid-September and early October. Checking the current year's actual dates before booking anything is the single most useful thing a visitor can do, since no fixed rule of thumb applies from one year to the next.
What actually closes
Banks, government offices, post offices, and most small businesses close for all three official holiday days. Family-run restaurants, neighborhood markets, and independent cafes frequently shut too, since owners travel to see relatives — this is the part that catches people building an itinerary around specific food stalls or a favorite hole-in-the-wall. Large attractions, department stores, chain restaurants, convenience stores, and hotels generally stay open and operate close to normal hours. The subway and city buses keep running on their usual schedule. If a trip overlaps either holiday, having backup restaurant options is worth more than any other single preparation, since convenience stores end up covering a lot of meals that week.
Palaces are free, and it's worth knowing that
Counterintuitively, Seollal and Chuseok are some of the best days to visit Seoul's royal sites rather than the worst. The Korea Heritage Service typically opens the four grand palaces — Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, and Deoksugung — along with Jongmyo Shrine and the Joseon royal tombs, free of charge during both holiday periods, often alongside extra cultural performances and hanbok events aimed at both Korean families and visiting tourists. This is one of the few cases where a public holiday actually improves a specific plan rather than derailing it. Regular admission and closure rules resume immediately once the holiday period ends.
Transport tickets disappear fast
The other major disruption is transport. KTX and SRT tickets for Seollal and Chuseok travel dates open for booking exactly one month in advance and commonly sell out within hours, not days. Domestic flights to Jeju and other regional hubs see the same spike, along with express buses and rental cars. If a trip's dates overlap either holiday period, booking the KTX or a flight the moment the booking window opens matters more than anything else on the checklist — see KTX vs. SRT vs. intercity bus and domestic flights vs. KTX for Jeju for how far ahead each option needs to be locked in. Highways also see heavy congestion in both directions as families drive to hometowns and back.
The substitute holiday rule is stricter than it looks
Korea grants a substitute (makeup) holiday when certain holidays fall on a Sunday or overlap each other, but the rule isn't applied evenly. Seollal, Chuseok, and Children's Day get a substitute day added when they land on a Sunday or collide with another holiday. Other fixed-date holidays, including New Year's Day and Memorial Day, do not get a substitute day under the same circumstances — if they fall on a Sunday, that time off is simply lost. This asymmetry is why some years produce an unexpected extra day off around a lunar holiday while a Sunday-landing Christmas or New Year's doesn't shift at all. It's worth a quick check before assuming any holiday automatically becomes a long weekend.
The rest of the year's holidays, briefly
Beyond Seollal and Chuseok, Korea's fixed annual holidays are: New Year's Day (January 1), Independence Movement Day (March 1), Children's Day (May 5), Buddha's Birthday (a lunar date, generally in May), Memorial Day (June 6), Liberation Day (August 15), National Foundation Day (October 3), Hangeul Day (October 9), and Christmas (December 25). Most of these are single-day holidays and cause far less disruption than Seollal or Chuseok — shops and attractions mostly stay open, though government offices and banks close. Buddha's Birthday is worth flagging separately since temples nationwide hold lantern festivals and decorations go up for weeks beforehand, which is a reason to visit rather than avoid that period.
How to actually plan around it
If dates are flexible, the simplest move is avoiding the Seollal and Chuseok windows entirely, since almost every other friction point on this list stems from those two periods specifically. If dates aren't flexible, the priorities in order are: confirm the current year's actual holiday dates before booking anything, secure intercity transport the moment booking opens, and accept that some neighborhood restaurants will be closed regardless of preparation. Airports and arrival points also get busier right around these holidays as Koreans return from or head out on trips of their own, so building extra time into airport transfers on the days immediately surrounding either holiday is a reasonable precaution.
The short version
- Seollal and Chuseok are three-day holidays (day before, day of, day after), timed by the lunar calendar, so dates shift every year
- Banks, government offices, and many small restaurants and markets close; palaces, chain stores, convenience stores, and the subway stay open
- The four grand palaces, Jongmyo Shrine, and the royal tombs are typically free during both holidays
- KTX, SRT, and domestic flight tickets open one month ahead and can sell out within hours
- Only some holidays (Seollal, Chuseok, Children's Day) get a substitute day when they land on a Sunday — others don't
- Korea's other national holidays are single fixed dates and cause much less disruption
- If dates are flexible, avoiding the Seollal/Chuseok windows sidesteps most of the friction described here
Official sources
This guide is checked against Korea Tourism Organization. Prices, hours, and procedures change — confirm time-sensitive details there before you rely on them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are palaces and museums open during Seollal and Chuseok?
Yes, and they're often free. The four grand palaces, Jongmyo Shrine, and the Joseon royal tombs are typically opened free of charge during both holiday periods, making them some of the better days to visit rather than avoid.
Will restaurants be closed during Chuseok or Seollal?
Many small, family-run restaurants and market stalls close since owners travel to see relatives, but chain restaurants, department stores, and convenience stores generally stay open on close to normal hours.
How far in advance do I need to book KTX tickets for these holidays?
Booking opens exactly one month before the travel date, and tickets for Seollal and Chuseok travel days routinely sell out within hours of the window opening.
Do Seollal and Chuseok always add an extra day off if they fall on a weekend?
They get a substitute holiday if they land on a Sunday or overlap another holiday, but that rule doesn't apply to every Korean holiday — New Year's Day and Memorial Day, for instance, don't get a makeup day under the same conditions.
Why do the dates for Seollal and Chuseok change every year?
Both are set by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, so Seollal falls anywhere from late January to late February and Chuseok from mid-September to early October depending on the year.
Is it better to avoid visiting Korea during Seollal and Chuseok entirely?
It depends on the trip. Transport booking and small-restaurant closures are real friction, but free palace admission and quieter city streets (as locals leave for hometowns) can work in a visitor's favor if travel dates and city bookings are locked in early.