What Is Seollal, Korean Lunar New Year?

A Korean Girl Explains Seollal, Korean New Year

Seollal or Korean Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in Korea.

Here’s what Seollal is, when it happens, and what makes it special!

Quick Summary

  • Seollal is Korean Lunar New Year where families come together, honor ancestors, and eat a lot.
  • Seollal follows the lunar calendar, so its date changes each year. It’s usually in late January or early February. In 2025, Seollal will be celebrated from January 27 to 30.
  • One of the highlights of Seollal is tteokguk (savory rice cake soup).

What Is Seollal?

Seollal is a Korean holiday, celebrating the first day of the lunar year.

Seollal began in the Three Kingdoms period, diversified during the Goryeo Dynasty, and continued into the Joseon Dynasty until today.

It’s such an important celebration that even debt wasn’t collected from Seollal to Daeboreum (the first full moon of the lunar year).

Koreans also honor ancestors through ancestral rites during Seollal.

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Ancestral rite table illustration from my book: A Korean Girl Explains

The differences between the ancestral rites of Chuseok and Seollal (Lunar New Year) are the menu items on the ancestral rite table: Songpyeon (rice cakes) is served on Chuseok, and Tteokguk (rice cake soup) on Seollal.

When Is Seollal?

Seollal follows the lunar calendar, so its date changes each year. It’s usually in late January or early February.

In 2025, Seollal will be celebrated from January 27 to 30.

The holiday typically lasts for three days. The day before Seollal, the day itself, and the day after.

This year, the Korean government extended the Seollal holiday by adding one extra temporary holiday.

It gives Koreans time to travel to their hometowns, spend time with family, and pay respects to their ancestors, just like Chuseok.

What Is the Specialty Food of Seollal?

One of the highlights is tteokguk (rice cake soup).

Eating tteokguk symbolizes gaining a year of age and is a must-have dish during the holiday.

The soup is made with thinly sliced rice cakes in a savory broth, often garnished with egg, ground beef, and seaweed.

At my relative’s house in Jeolla-do, we used to eat pheasant in tteokguk, instead of beef. Now, they use chicken. Either way, it’s delicious!

Other popular holiday foods are Japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), Jeon (savory pancakes of all types), and galbijjim (braised short ribs).

What Is Gift-Giving Culture Like During Seollal?

Gift-giving is a must during Seollal. We never show up empty-handed.

Koreans exchange gifts with family, relatives, and even business relations to express gratitude.

Popular gifts are high-quality fruits, health supplements, premium Korean beef sets, or even luxury toiletries.

For younger family members, a highlight of the holiday is getting sebaetdon or cash in envelopes from every adult after performing ritualistic bowing known as sebae.

How to Say Happy Seollal?

The traditional greeting for Seollal is “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo (새해 복 많이 받으세요)”, which means “Receive lots of blessings in the New Year.”

This phrase is used to wish good luck and happiness to others.

For your Korean friends, you can simply say, “Happy Seollal!” as well.


Seollal is a fun celebration where kids get to eat a lot, enjoy feeling one year older, and receive lots of cash from adults.

For both children and adults, Seollal is a great time to see other family members and celebrate the new year.

Happy Seollal!

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