Do Koreans celebrate January 1st?
Michael Gray
Updated on May 24, 2026
Koreans celebrate New Year's Day at the start of the year on the lunar calendar (Solnal) and have done so for thousands of years. However, many Koreans now also celebrate the New Year at the start of the solar calendar (January 1) as Westerners do. Thus, many people in Korea and abroad celebrate New Year's Day twice.