Wondering about Children’s Day in Korea? Here is a quick look at this family holiday on May 5th.
About Children’s Day
South Korean kids look forward to Children’s Day (어린이날) every year. They look forward to family activities and time off from school. This is their day to shine.
Children’s Day is a ‘red day’ or public holiday on the Korean calendar. A ‘red day’ means that salaried employees have a paid day off for Children’s Day. The public holiday dedicated to celebrating kids occurs on the 5th of May each year. Children’s Day often falls near a weekend which means many families may travel.
KWOW has an excellent introduction to Children’s Day that talks about the history of the holiday.
Celebrating Children’s Day
Families will often spend the day together enjoying the kids’ favorite activities and foods. This means that parks, theme parks, malls, theaters, museums, and more will be packed with families enjoying the day.
Children’s Day Sales
Additionally, businesses capitalize on Children’s day by offering sales, deals, and discounts. Malls and department stores will often have special kid-oriented events and activities.
Embracing Children’s Day in Korea
This family holiday may feel uplifting and enjoyable for those that love to feel community. The feeling of family and connection permeates the public spaces. It’s a time to sit back and learn more about South Korea and how the culture comes together to celebrate and appreciate their children.
Potential Inconveniences on Children’s Day
Obviously, any of the following inconveniences may or may not occur depending on where you live in South Korea and the current social climate. However, the awareness that the following issues may occur may allow you to better plan ahead and avoid stress:
- If you don’t like kids consider spending time at home. Suddenly, kids appear in every part of your life at a time when they ‘should’ be in school. This would be a great time to stay home and catch up on your favorite TV shows or read a book.
- Expect bad traffic. Families travel all over the place for events and fun activities during this holiday. Don’t expect to get anywhere fast.
- Expect hectic parking. Holidays usually mean circling the parking lot or neighborhood a few times before you find a place. Give yourself extra time if you need to go somewhere.
- Expect booking travel to be harder. When Children’s Day falls near a weekend booking travel and traffic that weekend may be hectic. Families will be booking all the hotels and doing all the activities.
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