Chuseok was restored as a three-day public holiday in South Korea in 1989.
The holiday had a complicated legal history during South Korea’s modernization. Its status and length changed over time as governments adjusted the public calendar, even though families continued observing the festival through travel, food, ancestral rites, and reunions.
The 1989 restoration recognized Chuseok as a major national holiday lasting three days: the day before, the day of Chuseok, and the day after. When weekends or substitute holidays interact with those dates, the practical break can be longer in particular years.
This historical date is different from the lunar date of Chuseok itself, which falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. The holiday’s annual Gregorian dates therefore move, while the 1989 policy milestone remains fixed.