Christmas Day

Christmas Day, observed on December 25, is a national public holiday in South Korea and will fall on Friday, December 25, 2026. Its historical roots in Korea are closely connected with the arrival of Protestant missionaries in the late nineteenth century and the earlier introduction of Catholicism during the late Joseon period. Catholic communities developed from Korean scholars who encountered Christian teachings through contact with China, while Protestant missions later established churches, schools, hospitals, and printing institutions that helped Christianity become an influential part of modern Korean society.

Although Christmas is a major religious observance for South Korea’s Christian communities, it has also developed into a broadly secular winter holiday. Church services and charitable work remain central for believers, while department stores, cafés, hotels, shopping districts, and media present Christmas as a festive occasion associated with lights, gifts, romantic outings, and family leisure. Unlike Lunar New Year and Chuseok, Christmas is not traditionally rooted in Korea’s premodern seasonal calendar, so its contemporary culture reflects a blend of Christian practice, international influence, urban consumer culture, and distinctly Korean social customs.

Many Korean Christians attend Christmas Eve or Christmas Day worship services, including special choir performances, nativity presentations, sermons, and community programs. Churches may organize charity drives, food distribution, visits to elderly or disadvantaged people, and events for children. Homes and commercial districts may display Christmas trees, wreaths, illuminated decorations, and Santa-themed decorations, although private celebrations vary considerably by family and religious background. Young couples and friends often mark the day with restaurant meals, café visits, exchanging small gifts, and taking photographs in decorated neighborhoods such as Seoul’s Myeong-dong, Cheonggyecheon, or department-store districts.

Christmas meals in Korea have no single mandatory national menu. Common choices include Western-style restaurant courses, roast chicken, steak, pasta, pizza, or shared meals ordered for delivery. A decorated Christmas cake—especially a cream cake, fruit cake, or roll cake—is particularly popular, and bakeries commonly sell seasonal cakes shaped with Santa Claus, snowmen, or Christmas trees. Typical greetings include “메리 크리스마스” (Meri Keuriseumaseu, “Merry Christmas”) and the more formal “즐거운 성탄절 보내세요” (Jeulgeoun Seongtanjeol bonaeseyo, “Have a joyful Christmas”).