Public Holidays

I was at the store this morning around 10AM and in line in front of me was a woman with a cart full of beer and meat. Can mean only one thing. Memorial Day weekend. So I thought now might be a good time to talk about South Korean vs. US Holidays.

I expect that most countries (with a national army) celebrate Memorial Day. I wanted to look into what other holidays the US shares with South Korea.

Interestingly enough it turns out that The United States doesn't actually have national holidays. I guess it never occurred to me because I've been in school where my holidays are allowed to be dictated by government. However, it is against Constitutional law to enforce a national holiday. Essentially, the government here cannot force a movie theatre chain to close on Christmas day. But my understanding is that in Korea there are national holidays in which most everything is closed. There are exceptions I'm sure, but from what I've read most businesses observe the holidays. And if you're not in a business within the service industry you are most definitely given the holiday.

Since the United States doesn't have official national holidays, for comparative purposes I've decided to use all of the data on which banks and government offices are closed.

South Korea                                             United States  : federal holidays

New Year's Day                                        New Year's Day
Korean New Year's (3 days)                  Martin Luther King Jr Day
Independence Day                                  Presidents Day
Children's Day                                          Memorial Day
Buddha's Birthday                                   Independence Day
Memorial Day                                           Labor Day
Liberation Day                                          Columbus Day
Midautumn Festival (3 days)                 Veterans Day
National Foundation Day                        Thanksgiving (2 days)
Hangul Day                                                Christmas (2 days)
Christmas

15 days off!                                                  12 days off!

Children's Day

Harvest Festival

Now. Let's go over what you're likely to get in terms of vacation time as a teacher in Korea. First, get rid of the expectation that you get summer vacation like teachers in America get. It's not like that. The kids do get a long vacation, and perhaps many of the teachers as well, but remember you are not a bona fide korean teacher. You are a GET (Guest English Teacher), and you don't qualify for the same time off as Korean teachers. You will likely get: 8 days off paid vacation in the summer and 10 days off paid vacation in the winter in addition to the national holidays listed above. That's over a month! I can understand if you're already a teacher and have become accustomed to 2.5 months off every summer, but if your like me (a working stiff/recent graduate) you should be pleased as punch to get this much paid vacation. I've NEVER gotten PAID vacation. Well except Christmas. All in all, if you have reasonable expectation, it's a pretty sweet deal.

But remember! Not all contracts are the same. READ YOUR CONTRACT!!

....and have a lovely holiday weekend.

XOXO
Kim(chi)!