New Year's Day

New Year’s Day in Korea is observed on January 1 according to the Gregorian calendar and is known as Sinjeong (신정), or “solar New Year.” In South Korea, January 1 is a national public holiday and marks the beginning of the civil and administrative year. Korea adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1896 during the Gabo Reform era, although older lunar-calendar customs continued to hold deep cultural importance.

The most traditionally significant Korean New Year celebration is Seollal, the Lunar New Year, which falls on a different date each year and begins the first day of the lunar calendar. As a result, January 1 and Seollal coexist in modern Korean culture: January 1 is associated with the international calendar, official holidays, countdowns, and new beginnings, while Seollal is more strongly connected with ancestral remembrance, family reunions, and traditional rites. In 2026, New Year’s Day falls on Thursday, January 1.

Typical January 1 celebrations in Korea include watching midnight countdowns, gathering with friends or family, exchanging New Year’s wishes, and making resolutions for health, study, career, and prosperity. In Seoul, the Bosingak bell-ringing ceremony in Jonggak is a well-known New Year’s Eve event, while many people travel to the eastern coast, islands, or mountain viewpoints to watch the first sunrise of the year. Television programs, concerts, and public countdown events also contribute to the festive atmosphere.

The greeting “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo” (새해 복 많이 받으세요), meaning “May you receive lots of luck and blessings in the New Year,” is widely used. Tteokguk, a sliced rice-cake soup traditionally eaten on Seollal, is also enjoyed by some people on January 1, although it is more specifically associated with the Lunar New Year. Formal family bowing, ancestral ceremonies, and gift-giving belong primarily to Seollal rather than the January 1 holiday, but both New Year observances share themes of renewal, good fortune, family well-being, and hopes for a prosperous year.