Similar to our Independence day of July 4th, South Korea celebrates their Liberation Day on August 15th of each year. In 1945, Japan signed the Allies' terms of surrender to end World War ll which terminated Japan's occupation of Korea. On the 15th of August in 1948, the Republic of Korea was established by Syngman Rhee, South Korea's first president. It's interesting to think about how the US has been a nation for almost 250 years and South Korea hasn't been around for even a century. The sensation of their victory of final independence after being colonized and in war must still be fresh and strong.
Liberation Day is called 광복절 gwangbogjeol which literally translates to "the day the light returned". In North Korea, it is referred to as 조국해방의 날 Jogukhaebangui nal which literally translates to "liberation of fatherland day". It is the only holiday shared between the two countries because it happened right before the Korean War split them into North and South Korea that we know today. To celebrate this holiday in South Korea, their flag otherwise called Taegeukgi (태극기), meaning supreme, ultimate flag, is flown just about everywhere, along streets and outside people's homes. The white background represents peace and the blue and red circle was inspired by the yin and yang that represent balance. The black trigrams represent fundamental principles of movement and harmony.
People also get the day off of work to celebrate. There is a special ceremony where the president will visit Independence Hall of Korea for the playing of their national anthem.
https://10mag.com/national-liberation-day-gwangbokjeol/ ;
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html
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