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Seollal 2027: Korean Lunar New Year Traditions And What Visitors Should Know

Station sign for Seollal 2027: Korean Lunar New Year Traditions And What Visitors Should Know

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설날Line 1 · Start Here

Seollal 2027, Korean Lunar New Year, falls on Sunday 7 February 2027. The public holiday runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February, including a substitute holiday on the 9th. Families gather, perform a morning rite for their ancestors, bow to elders in a ritual called sebae, eat tteokguk (rice cake soup) and play yutnori. Seoul goes quiet, and palaces have opened free in recent years.

Picture it. You step out of your hotel on the Sunday morning, it’s below freezing, and the street that was packed on Friday is nearly empty. Here’s what’s happening behind those closed doors, and what you can join.

Sunbae Says: If a Korean family invites you over for Seollal, learn one sentence before you go: 새해 복 많이 받으세요. Say it with a small bow at the door and you’ve done most of the work.

When Is Seollal 2027?

Seollal is the first day of the first lunar month. In 2027 that’s Sunday 7 February, according to the official 2027 calendar published by the Korea AeroSpace Administration on 29 June 2026 (in Korean), which issues Korea’s calendar standard.

The legal holiday is three days: the day before, the day itself and the day after. Because Seollal lands on a Sunday, a substitute holiday is added on Tuesday 9 February.

Date What It Is
Sat 6 Feb 2027 Seollal eve (holiday, on a Saturday)
Sun 7 Feb 2027 Seollal
Mon 8 Feb 2027 Day after Seollal
Tue 9 Feb 2027 Substitute holiday

Heads Up: Many international calendars list Lunar New Year 2027 as 6 February. That’s the date used in China. Korea’s official calendar is calculated for Korean time, and in 2027 it puts Seollal a day later. Book tours, restaurants and trains around the Korean dates.

The Year Of The Red Sheep

2027 is 정미년 (jeongminyeon). The earthly branch 미 is the sheep (often called the goat in English), and the heavenly stem 정 belongs to fire, which is linked with red. In the same system, 2026 was 병오년, the year of the red horse, as the Korea Times explained. Expect sheep on New Year cards and gift boxes from January.

What Families Do On The Morning Of Seollal

Charye: The Ancestral Rite

In many families the day starts with 차례 (charye), a rite honouring ancestors with a table of food, bows and a quiet moment. It’s the same rite families hold at Chuseok, and my Chuseok guide explains the table rules. The Seollal difference is tteokguk at the centre.

Tables are shrinking. In February 2026 Confucian scholars recommended a Seollal table of four to six items centred on tteokguk, and said jeon, the fried fritters that eat up hours of prep, isn’t specifically recommended. Plenty of families skip charye altogether, and Christian families may hold a prayer service instead of bowing. No single version is the “right” one.

Sebae: The New Year Bow

After charye comes 세배 (sebae). Younger family members bow to their elders, oldest first, and say “새해 복 많이 받으세요”. The National Folk Museum of Korea (in Korean) describes it as bowing to family and village elders to greet the new year; in the past it could happen any time in the first five days, and today it’s usually Seollal morning.

Here’s the simple version, as it’s commonly taught:

  1. Stand facing the elder, who sits on the floor. Clasp your hands at your stomach. Men traditionally put the left hand on top, women the right.
  2. Kneel, keeping your hands together, and lower them to the floor.
  3. Bend forward until your forehead nears your hands. Hold for a beat.
  4. Rise, stand, and give a small nod.
  5. Sit and listen. The elder offers 덕담 (deokdam), good wishes for your year.

Families vary a lot. If you’re a guest, watch the person before you and copy them. A respectful standing bow from a visitor is always welcome.

Sebaetdon: Money In Crisp New Notes

Elders then give children 세뱃돈 (sebaetdon), New Year money, usually in an envelope. Crisp new notes are the tradition, and banks exchange them in the days before the holiday. Before Seollal 2026, the Bank of Korea (in Korean) exchanged new notes from 9 to 13 February, 9am to 4pm, with daily limits of 1,000,000 won each in 50,000 and 10,000 won notes. Commercial bank branches do the same from their own stock, and it runs out. My money in Korea guide covers getting cash as a visitor.

What To Say, And How To Reply

새해 복 많이 받으세요 (saehae bok mani badeuseyo) means “receive many blessings in the new year”. It’s the greeting of the season, used from late December to well after Seollal, in person and in every group chat. The easy reply is to say it straight back. After a sebae, elders answer with their own wishes for you instead.

Tteokguk And “One More Year”

The dish of the day is 떡국 (tteokguk): thin, coin shaped slices of white rice cake in clear broth. Korea.net explains the symbolism: white for a fresh start, the long rice cake for a long life, the coin shape for prosperity. The old saying is that you’re a year older once you’ve eaten your tteokguk.

That saying comes from traditional Korean age, which made a baby one at birth and added a year for everyone at New Year. From 28 June 2023, a law made international age the standard in legal and public documents, which made most Koreans one or two years younger on paper. A few areas still count by birth year, including school entry, military service, and alcohol and tobacco sales. The tteokguk joke survives anyway.

You don’t need an invitation to try it. In January and February many restaurants add tteokguk or tteok mandu guk (with dumplings); my ordering guide gets you through the kiosk.

[AFFILIATE: Klook Korean cooking class (tteokguk or mandu)]

Games, Hanbok And Lucky Pouches

Yutnori (윷놀이) is the Seollal game. You throw four wooden sticks, and how they land tells you how far your pieces move around the board. VisitKorea’s Seollal guide describes teams racing their pieces this way. It gets loud and competitive.

Jegichagi (제기차기) is a keepy uppy game with a small weighted shuttlecock. Hanbok (한복) comes out for sebae in some families, especially on small children, and bokjumeoni (복주머니) are embroidered lucky pouches, today a popular craft and souvenir.

Seollal For Visitors: What You Can Join

The best free thing is palaces. Over Seollal 2026 the Korea Heritage Service opened the four main palaces, Jongmyo Shrine and the Joseon royal tombs free from 14 to 18 February, with no closing days, and Jongmyo switched from timed entry to free walking, according to the Ministry of Culture’s Korea.net news service (in Korean). The Changdeokgung rear garden was excluded, and Gyeongbokgung handed out 6,000 free New Year prints (sehwa) after the 10:20am and 2:20pm guard ceremonies. The same free opening ran for Chuseok 2026, so free entry over Seollal 2027 is expected, but it isn’t announced yet.

Heads Up: Gyeongbokgung normally closes on Tuesdays, and Tuesday 9 February 2027 is the substitute holiday. In 2026 the palaces stayed open through the break and all closed the day after it ended. Until the 2027 notice is out, check the royal palaces site before you plan Gyeongbokgung for the 9th or the day after.

The National Folk Museum of Korea, inside the Gyeongbokgung grounds, held its 2026 Seollal event on 16 February with yutnori fortune telling, envelope and lucky pouch crafts, and jegichagi and spinning top play areas. Treat that as an example; the 2027 programme usually appears in January. Namsangol Hanok Village ran a free festival from 16 to 18 February 2026 too.

Option Best For Cost Time My Take
Palace morning plus tteokguk lunch First timers Free in recent years Half a day My pick for Seollal day itself
National Folk Museum games Families with kids Free 2 to 3 hours Go on the eve, when programmes peak
Namsangol Hanok Village festival Everyone Free in 2026 2 hours Easiest to reach, closed Mondays
Cooking class or food tour Solo travellers Varies 2 to 3 hours Check it runs on the holiday before you pay

My holiday travel guide covers what’s open and closed, trains and traffic, and my What’s On calendar will carry the 2027 events once they’re confirmed.

Offers Worth Knowing

Free palace entry over the holiday: the 2026 practice, expected again in 2027. Free palace entry in hanbok, all year: you need a proper jeogori (jacket with an overlapping collar) with a skirt or trousers, and gender doesn’t matter; my palace dress code guide has the details.

[AFFILIATE: Klook hanbok rental near Gyeongbokgung]

Getting There

Gyeongbokgung: 2 minutes from Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 5 (Line 3, orange), per the royal palaces’ directions page (in Korean). The National Folk Museum is about 15 minutes’ walk from the same exit or from Anguk Station Exit 1.

Namsangol Hanok Village: about 3 minutes from Chungmuro Station Exit 4 (Line 3, orange, or Line 4, sky blue).

From Myeong-dong, Chungmuro is one stop on Line 4 (sky blue), and Gyeongbokgung is about 10 minutes further on Line 3 (orange). A tourist transit pass covers every ride; my transit card guide explains which one.

What Locals Know

The new note scramble is real. Koreans queue at bank branches in the week before Seollal for crisp notes, and popular branches run short. Before Chuseok 2026, Newspim noted banks also ran mobile exchange booths at airports and stations, with 24 hour options at Incheon. If you want new notes, change money early in the week.

Sebaetdon has a going rate. Korean money guides citing 2025 surveys by SK Communications and KakaoPay put it at roughly 10,000 to 20,000 won for preschoolers, 30,000 to 50,000 won for primary school children and 50,000 to 100,000 won for teenagers. The same surveys found about a third of adults wanted to skip it to ease the burden.

The greeting starts early. 새해 복 많이 받으세요 runs from late December through February. Say it to a shopkeeper in mid January and you’ll get a smile, not a correction.

Dress For Real Cold

Seollal sits in the coldest stretch of the year. Seoul’s February normals from the Korea Meteorological Administration are a high of about 5°C and a low of about minus 3°C, and wind by the palaces makes it feel colder. Hanbok rentals are thin; wear thermals underneath. My autumn and winter packing guide has the layering list, and if you arrive in late December, my Korea in December guide covers the run up.

[SUNBAE STORY] What to add: a real Seollal moment from your years in Korea (your first sebae with a Korean family, receiving or giving sebaetdon, or a yutnori game that got out of hand). | Where it goes: replace this box with 2 to 4 sentences.

Pick Your Version

If It’s Your First Time. Stay in central Seoul, sleep in on Seollal morning, and walk a palace after lunch. Eat tteokguk that evening. My Start Here hub is the place to begin.

If You’re Bringing Kids. The Folk Museum’s play areas are made for them. Dress them in layers and keep the outdoor part short; my Seoul with kids in winter guide has warm indoor backups.

If You’re Travelling Solo. Seollal can feel lonely when everyone’s with family. Book a food tour or cooking class for the day itself, if one is running, then spend the next morning at a palace.

[AFFILIATE: Agoda hotels near Gwanghwamun]

Sunbae’s Picks

My pick for the day itself: a palace in the morning, then tteokguk somewhere warm.

If I were a guest in a Korean home, I’d bring a fruit box or a gift set, offer to carry dishes, and let the family decide whether I join the bow. My unwritten rules guide covers the house etiquette.

I’d skip any long road trip on 6 February or 8 February. Everyone else is on the road.

I’d do a round of yutnori if anyone offers. You’ll be taught the rules in two minutes and teased for your throws in three.

What’s Changing

More Koreans spend Seollal abroad. Over the 2026 Seollal period, Incheon Airport handled 1,386,057 passengers, a record daily average of 231,010 (in Korean), and 14 February 2026 set an all time single day record of 247,104. That’s still the airport’s busiest holiday ever, ahead of Chuseok 2026. My read: central Seoul gets quieter, the airport gets louder, so arrive early if you’re flying out over the holiday.

Simpler rites. Scholars now recommend four to six dishes and no mandatory jeon. Fewer hours in the kitchen means more families out and about on the day after Seollal.

Worth It / Skip It

Worth It: Being in Seoul for the holiday itself. Empty streets, free palaces (if the 2026 practice repeats) and a real sense of the season.

Skip It: Planning a big market or shopping day. Many traditional markets and small shops close for a few days; hours vary, so check before you go.

Word Of The Stop

덕담 (deokdam): words of blessing. It’s what an elder says to you after your sebae, like “may everything you wish for come true this year”. Offer your own to a host and watch them smile.

Map And Directions

  1. 1
    Gyeongbokgung 경복궁
    3Gyeongbokgung StationEXIT5

    2 min walk. Free over Seollal 2026 with no closing days; 2027 not yet announced. Normally closed Tuesdays, and Tue 9 Feb 2027 is the substitute holiday.

    Naver MapKakaoMapGoogle Maps
  2. 2
    National Folk Museum of Korea 국립민속박물관
    3Gyeongbokgung StationEXIT5 (or Anguk Station EXIT1)

    About 15 min walk. Free Seollal games and crafts (16 Feb in 2026); 2027 programme usually posted in January.

    Naver MapKakaoMapGoogle Maps
  3. 3
    Namsangol Hanok Village 남산골한옥마을
    3Chungmuro StationEXIT4

    About 3 min walk. Free Seollal festival 16 to 18 Feb 2026. Closed Mondays; open 9am to 8pm in winter.

    Naver MapKakaoMapGoogle Maps
  4. 4
    Bank of Korea Headquarters 한국은행 본부Area pin
    4Hoehyeon StationCheck Naver Map for the exit

    New note exchange in the week before Seollal (9 to 13 Feb in 2026, 9am to 4pm); 2027 dates not yet announced.

    Naver MapKakaoMapGoogle Maps

Last Mile

  • Myeong-dong Station → Chungmuro Station about 2 min
  • Chungmuro Station → Gyeongbokgung Station about 10 min
  • Gyeongbokgung Station EXIT5 → National Folk Museum of Korea about 15 min
Get the map appsNNaver Map App Store Google PlayKKakaoMap App Store Google PlayBoth work in English. With the app installed, the Naver Map and KakaoMap buttons open directions straight to the pin.

Tap a button to open directions on your phone. In Korea, Naver Map and KakaoMap give full walking directions; Google Maps covers subway and bus but, as of September 2026, still has no turn by turn walking or driving here. Pins marked “Area pin” show a neighbourhood, not a door.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Is Seollal 2027?

Seollal is Sunday 7 February 2027. The public holiday runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February, including a substitute holiday on the 9th.

Is Everything Closed In Korea During Seollal?

No. Convenience stores, most chain cafés and many restaurants in tourist areas stay open. Traditional markets and small family businesses often close for a few days, and the National Museum of Korea closes on Seollal day.

What Do You Say For Korean Lunar New Year?

“새해 복 많이 받으세요” (saehae bok mani badeuseyo): “receive many blessings in the new year”. Say it back if someone says it to you.

Should A Visitor Do Sebae Or Give Sebaetdon?

Only if you’re with a family and they invite you to. A standing bow is fine. If you’d like to give money to the children, put new notes in an envelope, but a small gift for the household is just as welcome.

What Animal Is 2027 In The Korean Zodiac?

The sheep. 2027 is 정미년, commonly called the year of the red sheep.

Next Stop

Resources

How I Checked This

On 5 Oct 2026 I rechecked the 2027 dates against the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s 2027 calendar, sebae against the National Folk Museum of Korea, the age law and tteokguk against Korea.net, new note exchange against the Bank of Korea and Newspim, the 2026 palace opening against the Ministry of Culture’s Korea.net service and the royal palaces site, Incheon figures against Kyunghyang Shinmun and the Korea Economic Daily, and the simplified table against Korea JoongAng Daily. Not yet announced: free palace entry, Tuesday opening, Folk Museum events and note exchange dates for Seollal 2027. Sebaetdon amounts come from Korean guides citing 2025 surveys, and the temperatures are rounded KMA normals.

Sources

Written by your sunbae. 24 years living in Seoul, former Korean TV and radio presenter, university professor, and two decades behind the decks in the city’s clubs. Every fact here is checked against official sources and, wherever possible, on the ground.

Beep Check: verified 5 Oct 2026. Rules, prices and dates change; confirm with the official source before you travel.

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