How do I maximise annual leave in South Korea?

The most effective strategy is to place your leave days adjacent to public holidays and weekends. PocketLeave calculates every possible combination for South Korea and ranks them by ROI — total days off divided by leave days used — so you always know the best deals.

What is the best time of year to take leave in South Korea?

This depends on the public holiday calendar for South Korea. Periods with clustered public holidays generally offer the best ROI. Use the leave calculator on this page to see all ranked opportunities for the current year.

How many public holidays does South Korea have?

The number of national public holidays varies by year. Some countries also have state or regional holidays on top of national ones. Check the full table on this page for the current year's public holidays in South Korea.

Can I use PocketLeave for South Korea?

Yes. PocketLeave supports South Korea and fetches live, official public holiday data from the Nager.Date API. Select South Korea in the calculator to get your personalised leave plan with all opportunities ranked by ROI.

What does leave ROI mean?

Leave ROI (return on investment) is the ratio of total consecutive days off to annual leave days required to achieve that break. A 3× ROI means taking 1 day of leave gives you 3 days off in total — because the adjacent days are weekends or public holidays.

Annual Leave Calculator South Korea 2026 — Maximise Your Days Off

In South Korea in 2026, the best annual leave opportunity is Labour Day & Children's Day Bridge (1 May – 5 May), where just 1 leave day delivers 5 consecutive days off — a 5.0× ROI. There are 18 public holidays in South Korea in 2026, with Lunar New Year Break and New Year's Day Break also offering strong returns.

South Korea has 11 public holidays including Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and Seollal (Lunar New Year) — both spanning three days each. The summer period from Constitution Day in July through Liberation Day and National Foundation Day in October offers strong leave stacking potential. Use PocketLeave to calculate your best leave opportunities for 2026 and get the most out of every day off.

Top 3 Leave Opportunities in 2026

5.0× ROI

Labour Day & Children's Day Bridge

1 May – 5 May

Use 1d leaveGet 5 days off

4.5× ROI

Lunar New Year Break

14 Feb – 22 Feb

Use 2d leaveGet 9 days off

4.0× ROI

New Year's Day Break

1 Jan – 4 Jan

Use 1d leaveGet 4 days off

South Korea Public Holidays 2026

Date	Holiday	Day
1 Jan 2026	New Year's Day	Thursday
16 Feb 2026	Lunar New Year	Monday
17 Feb 2026	Lunar New Year	Tuesday
18 Feb 2026	Lunar New Year	Wednesday
2 Mar 2026	Independence Movement Day	Monday
1 May 2026	Labour Day	Friday
5 May 2026	Children's Day	Tuesday
25 May 2026	Buddha's Birthday	Monday
3 Jun 2026	Local Election Day	Wednesday
6 Jun 2026	Memorial Day	Saturday
17 Jul 2026	Constitution Day	Friday
17 Aug 2026	Liberation Day	Monday
24 Sept 2026	Chuseok	Thursday
25 Sept 2026	Chuseok	Friday
26 Sept 2026	Chuseok	Saturday
5 Oct 2026	National Foundation Day	Monday
9 Oct 2026	Hangul Day	Friday
25 Dec 2026	Christmas Day	Friday

Frequently Asked Questions — South Korea

Ready to maximise your leave in South Korea?

Enter your leave balance and let PocketLeave find every high-ROI break in the 2026 calendar for South Korea.

Calculate My Leave for South Korea

Best Days to Take Annual Leave in South Korea 2026