Seollal, Hansik, Dano, Sambok, Chuseok, Dongji — days Koreans have observed for centuries are collectively called "japjeol." Here's how they differ from the 24 solar terms, plus the date, origin, and customs of each one.
Japjeol (雜節) is a catch-all term for holidays and folk observances that fall outside the sun-based system of the 24 solar terms. "Jap" means "mixed" or "miscellaneous" — most of these days, like Seollal and Chuseok, are set by the lunar calendar rather than the sun's position, so their solar-calendar date shifts from year to year.
Where the 24 solar terms were engineered as a precise system for tracking farm seasons, japjeol days grew organically out of community needs — honoring ancestors, praying for a good harvest, warding off bad luck — and were passed down through oral tradition and folk custom over centuries. That's also why the exact customs vary somewhat by region and era.
Dongji is a solar term fixed by the sun's position, and at the same time a japjeol holiday observed with red bean porridge and rituals to ward off bad luck. Rather than two entirely separate systems, it's best to think of japjeol as lunar-based folk customs layered on top of the solar-term calendar. See Korea's 24 Solar Terms for the date and meaning of each solar term.
Korea's biggest holiday, marking the first day of the year. Families hold ancestral rites, exchange New Year's bows (sebae), and eat tteokguk (rice cake soup) — traditionally said to add a year of age. Because it follows the lunar calendar, the solar-calendar date shifts between late January and mid-February each year.
The year's first full moon. People crack nuts like peanuts and walnuts (bureom) to ward off skin ailments, and eat five-grain rice and namul dishes for health and a good harvest. Traditions like burning a straw hut (daljip taeugi) and rat-fire games (jwibullori) come from this day.
The day swallows were believed to return from the south, marking the arrival of spring. People made hwajeon (flower pancakes) topped with azalea petals and enjoyed spring outings.
"Cold food day" — one of the few japjeol dates set by a solar calculation (105 days from Dongji) rather than the lunar calendar. It's said to commemorate Jie Zhitui, a loyal official of the Chinese state of Jin who died in a fire, so no fires were lit and only cold food was eaten. It also became a day for tending ancestral graves.
Celebrates the birth of the Buddha. Temples across Korea hang colorful lotus lanterns and hold lantern parades — a tradition that continues in full force today.
Also called "Surinal," once ranked alongside Seollal and Chuseok as one of Korea's three biggest holidays. People washed their hair in iris water to ward off bad luck and played on swings or wrestled (ssireum) to pray for a good harvest and good health. The Gangneung Dano Festival is inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The name comes from "washing one's hair in water flowing east." Before the worst of summer heat arrived, people bathed and washed their hair in clear streams to wash away bad luck and beat the heat.
Chobok is the third gyeong-day after the summer solstice, Jungbok the fourth, and Malbok the first gyeong-day after the start of autumn — together they usually fall between mid-July and mid-August. These are the hottest days of the year, and the tradition of eating nourishing dishes like samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) to beat the heat is still widely practiced.
Known for the folk tale of the weaver girl Jiknyeo and cowherd Gyeonu, separated by the Milky Way and allowed to meet just once a year by crossing a bridge of magpies and crows. Rain on this day was traditionally seen as their tears of joy.
Said to derive from "gathering the seeds of a hundred grains." As the year's farm work was largely done by this point, it also became known as "Meoseumnal" — a day when landowners gave farmhands new clothes, money, and a day off.
Also called "Hangawi," one of Korea's two biggest holidays alongside Seollal. Families hold ancestral rites with the season's new grain and fruit, visit ancestral graves, and make songpyeon (rice cakes) together.
Named for the doubling of the odd (yang) number nine. It fell during peak chrysanthemum season, when people ate chrysanthemum pancakes and went out for autumn foliage viewing — a holiday less widely observed today than the others on this list.
The longest night of the year, and one of the few days that's both a solar term and a widely observed folk holiday. People ate red bean porridge (patjuk), believing its red color warded off evil spirits, and treated the day as a kind of "mini New Year," since it was said you only truly aged a year once Dongji had passed. See Korea's 24 Solar Terms for more on its place in the solar calendar.
Napil was a day to hold a year-end thanksgiving rite (naphyang) for ancestors and various deities, closing out the year's farm work and daily life. On the following lunar New Year's Eve, families kept the lights burning and stayed up all night — a custom called "suse" (guarding the year) — to welcome the new year.
Turn on "Display settings → Show solar terms" in the sanCheck app settings, and weather-relevant folk holidays like Chobok, Jungbok, Malbok, Hansik, and Dano will show up automatically in today's briefing.