Will Korea introduce Monday holidays?

Incheon Internatonal Airport bustles with travelers in this photo taken on Sept. 27, 2024, ahead of the extended holiday that included Armed Forces Day and National Foundation Day in October of the same year. Yonhap

A recent study showed moving public holidays to Mondays could lead to 2.1 trillion won ($1.51 billion) of consumer spending per day, increasing expectations for the government to move some holidays in its efforts to revive the economy.

The initiative was originally proposed under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration but lost momentum after the martial law fiasco last December. It remains to be seen whether the Lee Jae Myung administration will follow up on the initiative.

The study, commissioned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and conducted by the Korean Society for Public Personnel Administration, found that implementing Monday-designated public holidays to create more three-day weekends would result in consumer spending worth about 2.1 trillion won per day.

Currently, Korea's public holidays are on fixed dates, so many of them fall midweek.

The study also said that a corresponding three-day long weekend would lead to about 3.8 trillion won in economic output and nearly 1.7 trillion won in added value.

Of this, the food and lodging industries would see a combined output of over 1.57 trillion won, accounting for over 41 percent of the total.

Holidays that could be considered for moving to Mondays include Children’s Day (May 5), Memorial Day (June 6) and Hangeul Day (Oct. 9). Most other holidays are designated to commemorate events that happened on specific dates, such as National Liberation Day, which marks Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, 1945.

Children's Day was designed to boost public recognition of children as respected members of society, while Memorial Day honors soldiers and civilians who died in service to the country, particularly during the 1950-53 Korean War. Hangeul Day celebrates the invention and proclamation of Hangeul, the Korean writing system, in the 15th century, by King Sejong the Great.

The study said the designation of three-day weekends would likely bolster employee welfare and quality of life.

The U.S. and Japan have already put in place similar systems.

Japan has a system known as "Happy Monday," which was introduced to encourage longer weekends and boost domestic tourism and consumer spending.

In Japan, public holidays that traditionally fell on specific dates were moved to Mondays: Coming of Age Day (Jan. 15) is now observed on the second Monday of January; Marine Day (July 20) comes on the third Monday of July; and Sports Day (Oct. 10) is observed on the second Monday of October.

The system is known to improve work-life balance and promote tourism, giving people more opportunities to rest and travel.

The study said if Korea makes Monday holidays official, household spending will increase. The tourism industry in particular is set to thrive with overall domestic demand strengthening.

“More people will choose to travel on three-day holidays, and this in turn will boost spending on lodging, eateries, transportation and cultural activities. The follow-on effects will generate revenue for other industries, leading to more jobs and regional economic vitality,” the study said.