Korean calendar facts for kids
The old Korean calendar is a way of telling time that tracks the moon's phases and the days of the solar year. It's similar to other old calendars used in East Asia. The dates were figured out based on Korea's own time zone, called its meridian. Many important Korean holidays and traditions are still based on this old calendar.
The Gregorian calendar, which is the one most of the world uses today, officially started being used in Korea in 1896. However, many important Korean events from the past are still remembered using the old calendar's dates. Today, the most important holiday based on the old Korean calendar is Seollal. This is the first day of the Korean New Year. Other special days include Daeboreum, which is the first full moon of the year. It's also known as Boreumdaal. Dano is a spring festival, and Chuseok is a big autumn harvest festival. Samjinnal marks the beginning of spring. There are also smaller events like Yudu in summer and Chilseok during the monsoon season.
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How the Korean Calendar Changed
Early Calendar History
The old Korean calendar originally came from the old Chinese calendar. For a long time, from 270 to 963 AD, Korea used its own special Korean era names to number the years. After that, sometimes Korean era names were used along with Chinese era names until 1894. Between 1894 and 1895, a calendar based on the moon was used. The years were counted from the start of the Joseon Dynasty, which began in 1392.
Switching to the Gregorian Calendar
Korea officially started using the Gregorian calendar on January 1, 1896. They gave this new era a special Korean era name called "Geonyang." This means "adopting the solar calendar."
Counting Years in South Korea
After Korea was freed from Japanese rule, from 1945 to 1961, South Korea used a special way to count Gregorian calendar years. They started counting from the year 2333 BC. This was believed to be when the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon began. These years were called Dangi (단기 / 檀紀) years. For example, the year 1945 was Dangi 4278, and 1961 was Dangi 4294. Before 1945, this Dangi numbering was often used unofficially with the lunar calendar. After 1961, it was rarely used in South Korea.
Counting Years in North Korea
In North Korea, a different calendar system called the Juche calendar has been used since 1997. This calendar counts its years starting from the birth of their first leader, Kim Il Sung.
