Korean Lunar Calendar Converter — Zodiac & Seollal
Find the Korean lunar year for any Gregorian date. The result shows the Korean zodiac animal with its Korean Hangul name (쥐, 소, 호랑이 …), the date of Seollal (Korean Lunar New Year) for the current cycle and an approximate lunar month position. Furthermore, Seollal is South Korea's most important traditional holiday — a 3-day national holiday when families gather to honour ancestors and share traditional food.
How to use the Korean Lunar Calendar Converter
The Korean zodiac — 12 animals in Hangul
The Korean zodiac (띠, ddi) uses the same 12-year cycle as the Chinese zodiac. Furthermore, each animal has a native Korean name used in everyday cultural contexts — from fortune-telling to personal descriptions. Koreans commonly ask "your ddi is what?" as a way of estimating someone's age.
| Animal | Korean (Hangul) | Romanisation | Recent years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rat | 쥐 | Jwi | 2020, 2032 |
| Ox | 소 | So | 2021, 2033 |
| Tiger | 호랑이 | Horangi | 2022, 2034 |
| Rabbit | 토끼 | Tokki | 2023, 2035 |
| Dragon | 용 | Yong | 2024, 2036 |
| Snake | 뱀 | Baem | 2025, 2037 |
Seollal and Chuseok — the two great Korean lunar holidays
The Korean lunar calendar governs two of Korea's most important national holidays. Furthermore, Seollal (Lunar New Year) falls on 1st day of the 1st lunar month — the same day as Chinese New Year. Chuseok (Harvest Moon Festival) falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month — always a full moon. Moreover, both are 3-day national holidays when tens of millions of Koreans travel to their ancestral hometowns.
How the Korean lunar calendar works
The Korean lunar calendar uses the same astronomical new moon dates as the Chinese lunar calendar. Furthermore, Seollal falls on the same day as Chinese New Year — the second new moon after the winter solstice. The calendar year changes on Seollal, so dates before Seollal in any Gregorian year belong to the previous Korean lunar year.
Seollal = same date as Chinese New Year (2nd new moon after winter solstice)
Year change = occurs on Seollal (not 1 January)
Chuseok = 15th day of 8th lunar month (full moon in late Sep/early Oct)
Worked example: Year of the Snake 2025
Seollal 2025 falls on 29 January 2025 — beginning the Year of the Snake (뱀, Baem) in the Korean calendar.
| Detail | Value for Seollal 2025 |
|---|---|
| Gregorian date | 29 January 2025 |
| Korean zodiac year | Year of the Snake (뱀, Baem) |
| Chuseok 2025 | 6 October 2025 (15th day of 8th lunar month) |
| Next Seollal | 17 February 2026 (Year of the Horse) |
What is the Korean lunar calendar?
The Korean lunar calendar (음력, Eumllyeok) follows the same astronomical lunar cycles as the Chinese calendar. Furthermore, it uses native Korean animal names for the 12-year zodiac cycle and governs the timing of Korea's major traditional observances. The calendar remains culturally significant despite Korea's primary use of the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes.
Korean traditional astronomy developed its own almanac tradition — the Manseryeok (만세력) — which calculates lunar months, auspicious dates and zodiac influences. Furthermore, the Manseryeok remains widely consulted for choosing wedding dates, naming ceremonies and ancestral memorial times. Moreover, fortune-telling based on the four pillars of destiny (사주팔자, Saju-palja) uses the Korean lunar calendar as its foundation.
Seollal — Korean Lunar New Year
Seollal is Korea's most important traditional holiday and a 3-day national holiday. Furthermore, families gather for sebae (deep bows to elders), share tteokguk (rice cake soup) and perform charye (ancestral rites). Moreover, tens of millions of Koreans travel home for Seollal — creating the world's largest annual domestic mass transit event proportional to population. Seollal falls on the same day as Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tết.
Why the Korean lunar calendar matters
South Korea is a major global economy and cultural exporter. Furthermore, understanding Korean traditional calendar observances is important for businesses operating in Korea or engaging with Korean communities worldwide. Seollal and Chuseok significantly reduce business activity in Korea — offices close, factories pause and logistics networks slow. Moreover, Korean business culture places significant importance on these traditional holidays.
Korean cultural exports — K-pop, K-drama and Korean cuisine — have made Korean cultural practices including zodiac year awareness globally popular. Furthermore, knowing the current Korean zodiac year is relevant for K-pop fan communities, Korean cultural centres and Korean-language programs worldwide. Moreover, Korean New Year product launches, seasonal marketing and entertainment releases are often timed around Seollal.
The Korean zodiac in everyday culture
Koreans frequently reference zodiac animals in everyday conversation. Furthermore, asking about someone's "띠" (ddi — zodiac animal) is a common way to estimate age without directly asking a person's birth year. Moreover, Korean fortune-telling traditions including saju (四柱, four pillars) and tojeong bigyeol use the lunar calendar birth date as the basis for life analysis. These traditions influence everything from career advice to marriage compatibility assessments.
Frequently asked questions
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Chinese Lunar Calendar
Find the Chinese zodiac animal for any date. Furthermore, Chinese New Year dates 2000–2035 are precomputed.
→Vietnamese Lunar Calendar
Find the Vietnamese lunar year with local Tết date. Furthermore, Vietnamese zodiac animal names in Vietnamese are shown.
→Moon Phase Calculator
Find the moon phase for any date. Furthermore, Seollal and Chuseok both begin on specific moon phases.
→Days Until Calculator
Count days until Seollal or Chuseok. Furthermore, a multi-event dashboard tracks ten countdowns at once.
→Date Difference Calculator
Exact gap between two dates in every unit. Additionally, milestone markers show every 100th and 1000th day.
→Calendar Generator
Generate a monthly calendar with event markers. Furthermore, mark Seollal, Chuseok and other Korean dates.
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