Other than Korean history, I also learned more about the national holiday in Korea. There is a special one that is different from what I expect which is Children's day. Children’s day is a way for Korea to celebrate the children of the country. It’s an opportunity for parents to take a break from their busy lives and to spend quality time with their children. Children’s Day in South Korea is celebrated on May 5th. This date, May 5th, has a certain symmetry to it and is therefore easy for people to remember. Although many countries worldwide have a day designated as “Children’s Day,” the dates vary from country to country. For example,the USA celebrates it on the second Sunday of June, and Brazil celebrates it on October 12th. Japan is the only country other than Korea that celebrates Children’s Day on May 5th. Moreover, many countries that celebrate Children’s Day don’t designate the day as a national holiday or do anything exceptional such as China which celebrate the children of the country on June 1st. The origins of Children’s Day in South Korea come from the 1920s. During that time, students wanted to draw attention to their situation to improve their status. One of the main supporters of the movement was children’s writer Dr. Bang Jeong-Hwan, who started using the word 어린이 (eorini) to mean children. “Children’s Day” in Korean is called 어린이날 (eorininal). This word is made up of the word for children (어린이 | eorini), and the word for day (날 | nal). It is, therefore, easy to learn and remember. Children’s Day is a public holiday. Children’s Day was originally on May 1st, but as this coincided with Labor Day, it was moved to May 5th. The day became an official public holiday in the 1970s. Koreans have been enjoying a day off work on May 5th ever since.
As parents in Korea often don’t have much time to see their children due to overtime or working on the weekend, many families make an extra effort to do something special on Children’s Day. Children’s Day in South Korea also falls in May, which usually means that the weather will be good for outside activities as it is warm but not too hot or humid.Parents will often take their children somewhere special and treat them to snacks or ice cream on Children’s Day. Places like amusement parks, zoos, and parks are trendy places for South Koreans to take their children on May 5th.
Visiting an amusement park is a popular activity on Children’s Day. Two of the most popular amusement parks in Korea are Lotteworld and Everland. Everland is located in Yongin, near Seoul. People can reach it by taking the “Everline” monorail that connects the park to the Seoul subway network. However, it may be quicker to take an express bus to the park. Everland contains a zoo, a safari park, and many rides (놀이기구 | noligigu) and rollercoasters within its large grounds. Lotte World is located at Jamsil subway station, and half of the amusement park is inside, making it a good choice if the weather is bad. The amusement park also contains an indoor ice rink next to a department store and large mall. Seoul Land is another amusement park near Seoul. It is near Seoul Zoo at Seoul Grand Park (대공원 | daegongwon) subway station in Gwacheon.
Replies
It is a very beautiful concept for parents to have the opportunity to take a day off in celebration of their children as well as the arduous task they have of raising a human being. The fact that this is a public holiday goes to show the way that the government has sponsored rest and I am happy to see that it is a part of Korean culture. The rest of the world has a lot to learn from this practice.
I heard of Children's Day in Korean dramas, but kept forgetting to look into it so I'm glad you learned about it and wrote such an informative post! I find that so interesting that Korea celebrates the children of the country, but I think that's really smart and, honestly, extremely endearing. It seems to be helpful too if it also provides parents an opportunity to take a break from their already busy lives to spend some quality time with their children. Though I don't know if it's a day off for them if they end up taking their kids everywhere and going to the amusement park because that seems exhausting in itself--poor parents. Overall, I think it's great that Korea has a national holiday like this and hopefully other countries can implement this as well!