Koreans to Enjoy 66 Days of Holidays in 2006

Next year. Koreans will enjoy 66 days of holidays, two days more than this year. If one takes the five-day workweek system into consideration, the number rises to 116.

According to “Essential points of calendar 2006,” released by the Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute on February 16, the year 2006, the year of the dog, contains 53 Sundays and 16 days of legal holidays (including Chuseok and lunar New Year holidays), making the total 69 days. However, as two days of the legal holidays are Sundays, and next year’s Buddhist Day falls on Children’s Day (which is also a legal holiday), the actual holidays are calculated as 66 days.

In 2006, there will be two two-day-long holidays. Constitution Day (July 17th) and Christmas will be on Monday, allowing Koreans to rest themselves from Sunday to Monday.

Three-day long holidays will be on the lunar New Year holidays, from January 28 to 30. Chuseok holidays will be as long as four days, including the Sunday right after the official Chuseok holidays of October 5 (Thursday) – October 7 (Saturday).

For institutions that follow a five-day workweek system, there will be 69 days of legal holidays and 52 Saturdays, making the total 121. However, as four legal holidays fall on Saturday or Sunday and Children’s Day falls on Buddhist Day, they will be closed for 116 days.

cosmos@donga.com