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Public holidays in North Korea

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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. 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.

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. The second most important is the Day of the Shining Star on 16 February, the birthday of Kim Jong Il. , Kim Jong Un's birthday is still not a public holiday. Other holidays of great importance are the Party Foundation Day (10 October) and the Day of the Foundation of the Republic (9 September). North Koreans often schedule their wedding days on important national holidays.

North Korea regularly carries out missile and nuclear tests on such important anniversaries.

List of annual holidays

Date	English name	Notes	Remarks	Local name
1 January	url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=13620	title=Kim Jong Un's birthday still not a holiday	author=Seol Song Ah	date=7 December 2015	access-date=13 January 2017	work=Daily NK}}	Celebrates the opening of the Gregorian New Year.
15 January	Chosongul Day	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	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.
16 February	Day of the Shining Star	Kim Jong Il's birthday.	2 days
2 March	Tree Planting Day	People across the country plant trees.
8 March	International Women's Day	Commemorates the history of women across the country.
last day of 12th lunar month	Seotdal Geumeum	Korean New Year, based on the Korean calendar.
1st day of 1st lunar month	Seolmyeongjeol	Korean New Year, based on the Korean calendar.
15 April	Day of the Sun	Birthday of Kim Il Sung.	3 days	태양절
21 April	Kang Pan Suk's birthday	Commemorates the birth of Kim Il Sung's mother.
25 April	Military Foundation Day	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.		인민군 창건일
15th day of 1st lunar month	Daeboreum	Based on the Korean calendar.
1st day of 2nd lunar month		Based on the Korean calendar.
3rd day of 3rd lunar month	Samjinnal	Based on the Korean calendar.
105th day after Winter Solstice	Hansik	Based on the Korean calendar.
8th day of 4th lunar month	Chopail	Based on the Korean calendar.
1 May	author=Lee Sang Yong	date=16 December 2014	title=North Korea's Official 2015 Calendar Revealed	url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=12682&cataId=nk01700	work=Daily NK	access-date=13 January 2017}}		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	Surinal	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	Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War	The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement		조국해방전쟁 승리 기념일
15 August	Liberation Day	Established after the liberation of Korea in 1945.		조국해방기념일
25 August	Day of Songun	A new holiday established in 2013 commemorating Kim Jong Il's inspection visit to the [Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Armored Division](105th-armored-division-north-korea) 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.		광명성절
28 August	Youth Day		조국해방기념일
9 September	Day of the Foundation of the Republic	Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948.		인민정권 창건일
15th day of 6th lunar month		Based on the Korean calendar.
7th day of 7th lunar month	Chilseok	Based on the Korean calendar.
15th day of 7th lunar month	Baekjung	Based on the Korean calendar.
15th day of 8th lunar month	Chuseok	Based on the Korean calendar, North Korean Mid-Autumn Festival.
10 October	Party Foundation Day	Founding of the Workers' Party of Korea in 1945.		노동당 창건일
9th day of 9th lunar month	Jungyangjeol	Based on the Korean calendar.
16 November	Mother's Day	A new holiday from 2012 onward honoring all mothers.
18 November	Missile Industry Day	Dedicated to celebrate a Hwasong-17 ICBM launch that took place on 18 November 2022.		로케트공업절
20 December	Dongji	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	Constitution Day	Enactment of the Socialist Constitution of North Korea in 1972.
31 December	New Year's Eve	Celebrates the closing of the Gregorian Year.

Momentous changes in political holidays in North Korean calendars

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.

In the 2015 calendar, a new public holiday 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.

In the 2017 calendar, July 3 became a public holiday called "Day of the Strategic Forces" (전략군절).

References

Kang Mi Jin. (13 January 2017). "Official 2017 Calendar Seen as out of Touch".
(16 August 2016). "North Koreans make the most of Liberation Day". dailynk.com.
Calum MacLeod. (26 April 2013). "Korean defectors recall 'Day of the Sun'". USA TODAY.
Barbra Kim. (21 February 2012). "What Really Glimmers Behind the 'Day of the Shining Star'". CSIS Asia Program.
(4 December 2018). "Kim Jong-un's birthday remains unmarked in 2019 calendars". The Korean Herald.
Yonhap News Agency, Seoul. (27 December 2002). "North Korea Handbook". M.E. Sharpe.
(2017). "Salakahvilla Pohjois-Koreassa: Markku Toimelan jännittävä tie Pohjois-Korean luottomieheksi". Docendo.
Shinkman, Paul D.. (4 October 2017). "CIA Official Predicts North Korean Provocation on Columbus Day". U.S. News & World Report.
Seol Song Ah. (7 December 2015). "Kim Jong Un's birthday still not a holiday". Daily NK.
(20 February 2018). "What's the difference between North Korea's February 8th Army Day and April 25th Military Foundation Day?".
(February 2018). "A Few Facts on North Korea's Army Day | 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea".
(February 12, 2015). "Day of Shining Star to Be Marked in Norway". Korean Central News Agency.
"Tree-Planting Day in the DPR-Korea embodies Socialist and traditional Asian Cultural Values".
"Tree-planting Day Marked in DPRK".
{{youTube. 91rjZ0k9PfE. North Korea Tree-planting Day
Lee Sang Yong. (16 December 2014). "North Korea's Official 2015 Calendar Revealed". Daily NK.
Anton Sokolin. (2023-11-06). "North Korea debuts new holiday to mark launch of largest nuclear missile". NK News.
Thanh Vân. (2023-11-05). "Triều Tiên lập ngày nghỉ lễ mới để đánh dấu vụ phóng thành công tên lửa ICBM Hwasong-17". Báo và phát thanh, truyền hình Thanh Hóa.
Cho Jong Ik. (December 25, 2013). "2014 Calendar Reveals Few Surprises". DailyNK.
(16 December 2014). "North Korea's Official 2015 Calendar Revealed".
(13 January 2017). "Official 2017 calendar seen as out of touch".

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