This is a list of public holidays in North Korea. See also the Korean calendar for a list of traditional holidays. , the North Korean calendar has 71 official public holidays, including Sundays. In the past, North Koreans relied on rations provided by the state on public holidays for feasts. Recently, with marketization people are able to save up money and buy the goods they need.
The Day of the Sun, the birthday of its founder and first leader Kim Il Sung, on 15 April is the most important holiday in the country. The second most important is the Day of the Shining Star on 16 February, the birthday of Kim Jong Il. , Kim Jong Un's birthday is still not a public holiday. Other holidays of great importance are the Party Foundation Day (10 October) and the Day of the Foundation of the Republic (9 September). North Koreans often schedule their wedding days on important national holidays.
North Korea regularly carries out missile and nuclear tests on such important anniversaries.
List of annual holidays
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Date !! English name !!Notes!!Remarks!! Local name
|-
| 1 January || New Year's Day || Celebrates the opening of the Gregorian New Year. || ||
|-
| 15 January || Chosongul Day || The day commemorates the invention (1443) and the proclamation (1446) of Chosongul, the native alphabet of the Korean language. King Sejong the Great, inventor of Chosongul, is one of the most honored rulers in Korean history. || ||
|-
| 8 February || Military Foundation Day || The Korean People's Army was established on 8 February 1948, and that day was celebrated as Army Day until 1978, when it was moved to 25 April, the date of the formation of Kim Il Sung's guerilla. It was moved back to 8th of February in 2015. || ||
|-
| 16 February || Day of the Shining Star|| 2 days ||
|-
| 2 March || Tree Planting Day || People across the country plant trees. || ||
|-
| 8 March || International Women's Day
|| Celebrates the economic and social achievements of workers. || ||
|-
| 1 June || International Children's Day || Dedicated to celebrate a Hwasong-17 ICBM launch that took place on 18 November 2022. || ||
|-
| 20 December || Dongji ||Winter solstice, based on the Korean calendar. || ||
|-
| 24 December || Kim Jong Suk's birthday || Commemorates the birth of Kim Jong Il's mother.|| ||
|-
| 27 December || Constitution Day
In the 2015 calendar, a new public
holiday was to be celebrated on June 19, marking the date in 1964 when Kim Jong Il graduated from Kim Il Sung University and began working as part of the Party’s organizational leadership. Various events related to the commemorative day take place every year on this date in North Korea, but this was the first time it has been recognized as a national holiday.
In the 2017 calendar, July 3 became a public holiday called "Day of the Strategic Forces" (전략군절).
See also
- Culture of North Korea
- List of Korean traditional festivals
- North Korean calendar
- Public holidays in South Korea