Hello! I’m Danny, a professional Korean teacher at Podo Korean, here to make your Korean learning journey fun and engaging.
When is the most exciting moment in learning a new language and culture? It is probably when you realize that things we take for granted work completely differently in other countries.
It’s a bit late, but last week was the biggest holiday in Cambodia, where I live: ‘Choul Chnam Thmey.’ Surprisingly, this holiday is a huge festival celebrating the ‘New Year.’
It is very similar to Korea’s ‘Seollal,’ but there is one major difference. Are you thinking to yourself, ‘Huh? It’s April, and they’re only just celebrating the New Year?’
I was very surprised at first, too. Today, based on this surprising difference, we will take a deep dive into the types of calendars, Korea’s unique time-keeping methods, and holiday culture. Using the solar calendar and understanding the Korean lunar calendar is essential for any language learner.
1. The Solar Calendar We Commonly Know
In our daily lives, we mainly use a calendar where January 1st marks the start of the new year. This calendar is based on the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
We call this the ‘태양력‘(Solar Calendar) in technical terms. In everyday conversation, Koreans shorten this to ‘양력‘(Yangnyeok).
Most countries around the world use this solar calendar as the standard for business and daily life. That is why, wherever you go in the world, people celebrate the New Year on January 1st with fireworks.
제 생일은 양력으로 5월 10일입니다.
(My birthday is May 10th on the solar calendar.)
In Korea, official documents, business work, and school schedules are all based on this solar calendar. Most of the younger generation in modern Korea also celebrates their birthdays according to the solar calendar.
2. The Buddhist Calendar With Religious Significance
So, why do countries like Cambodia and Thailand use a calendar that leads to New Year festivals in April? It is because they use a special calendar based on Buddhist standards.
Countries like Thailand or Cambodia, where Buddhism is the state religion or holds absolute influence, use the Buddhist calendar for daily life and religious events. In Korean, we call this ‘불력‘(Bullyeok, Buddhist calendar).
This calendar starts with the year that Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, entered Nirvana (death) as the first year. It works on a similar principle to the Western calendar that divides time before and after the birth of Jesus.
According to this Buddhist calendar, the beginning of the year falls around mid-April, when the hottest and driest season ends. This is the reason why Thailand’s ‘Songkran’ and Cambodia’s ‘Choul Chnam Thmey,’ where people spray water to wish for each other’s blessings, are held at this time.
3. The Traditional Korean Lunar Calendar Tracking the Moon
If Buddhist countries have the Buddhist calendar, East Asian countries, including Korea, have the ‘음력‘ (Lunar Calendar), a traditional calendar used for a very long time. The lunar calendar is created based on the changing phases of the moon.
One month is calculated based on the cycle of about 29.5 days, from the crescent moon to the full moon and back to the dark moon. In the past, when Korean society was primarily agricultural, the lunar calendar was absolutely essential for understanding tides and seasonal changes.
Modern Koreans use the solar calendar in their daily lives, but the lunar calendar is still marked on calendars. If you look closely at a paper calendar in Korea, you can often see other numbers written in small text below the large numbers (solar dates); these are the lunar dates.
저희 할머니는 음력으로 생신을 지내십니다.
(My grandmother celebrates her birthday according to the lunar calendar.)달력 아래에 있는 작은 숫자가 음력 날짜야.
(The small numbers at the bottom of the calendar are the lunar dates.)
In particular, most Koreans over 60 remember and celebrate their birthdays according to the lunar calendar. So, the younger generation often goes through the fun, albeit laborious, task of checking the solar calendar date for their parents’ or grandparents’ birthdays every year.
4. Korea’s Biggest Holidays: 설날(Seollal) and 추석(Chuseok)
The two most important and largest holidays in Korea are both set based on the lunar calendar. They are ‘설날(Seollal), the first day of the year, and ‘추석(Chuseok), which gives thanks for the autumn harvest.
Seollal is the day that becomes January 1st on the lunar calendar. The date on the solar calendar changes slightly every year, but it usually falls in late January or February. While Koreans take a day off on January 1st (New Year’s Day), the true celebration of the New Year is enjoyed on the lunar January 1st.
올해 설날 연휴는 며칠부터 며칠까지입니까?
(From what date to what date is the Lunar New Year holiday this year?)설날 아침에는 가족이 모여서 떡국을 먹습니다.
(On Lunar New Year morning, the family gathers and eats Tteokguk.)
On the morning of Seollal, people eat white rice cake soup (떡국, Tteokguk) with the meaning of washing away bad energy and starting the new year with a clear mind. Also, younger people perform ‘Sebae’ (세배, a deep bow) to their elders, who in turn wish them health and good luck while giving them ‘Sebatdon’ (세뱃돈, New Year’s money).
Chuseok is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month and can be considered Korea’s Thanksgiving. On this day, when the round full moon rises, people return to their hometowns, perform memorial services with newly harvested rice and fruits, and make and eat Songpyeon.
As these holidays approach, train stations and highways become incredibly congested with people heading to their hometowns. In Korea, this is called the ‘Great National Migration.’
5. Essential Korean Vocabulary For Calendars
Now it is time to learn useful Korean vocabulary related to calendars and holidays. Knowing these words will be a great help when chatting with Korean friends about dates or holidays.
If you need deeper word study, I recommend using the official dictionary link operated by the government to check accurate pronunciations and additional example sentences.
양력 / 음력 (Solar calendar / Lunar calendar)
명절 (Holiday / Festive day)
(Traditional holidays usually based on the lunar calendar.)기념일 (Anniversary)
(Special days to remember, usually based on the solar calendar.)새해 복 많이 받으세요.
(Happy New Year. / May you receive many blessings in the new year.)
Koreans have a culture of wishing people well when holidays approach. The most representative greeting is “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo” (Happy New Year). This greeting is used on January 1st and on the Lunar New Year as well.
6. Cultural Empathy: Understanding Each Other’s Time
From the April Choul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia to the winter Seollal in Korea, the time and methods by which each country welcomes the New Year are all different. However, the heart of sending off the old and looking forward to new hope is the same everywhere in the world.
Whether it follows the movement of the sun, the changes of the moon, or the time of religious enlightenment, a calendar is like a mirror that holds the lives and history of the people of that country.
Learning Korean is not just about memorizing grammar or words. It is a process of understanding their hearts, such as why Koreans still value the lunar calendar, or why they drive such long distances to go home every holiday.
Which calendar does your country primarily use? If your country has special New Year customs, try thinking about how you could express them in Korean.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Today, we traveled through the world of various calendars, starting from the April New Year in Cambodia to the solar calendar, the Buddhist calendar, and the lunar calendar containing Korean traditions. Now you should have a perfect understanding of why Korean holidays like Seollal and Chuseok change dates every year.
Language is a vessel that holds culture. If you understand how Korean traditional culture and modern life blend together, your Korean language skills will become much more natural and rich.
Are you interested in learning this kind of vivid Korean culture and practical Korean necessary for real life? If you want to learn the real conversations and nuances of Koreans that you can’t learn from books, download the Podo Korean app.
At Podo Korean, I, Danny, have prepared systematic and fun lessons for you. I will return next time with another interesting story about Korean culture!
