Korean New Year

Korean Lunar New Year's Day
Traditional game tuho being played.
Also called	Lunar New Year (as a collective term including other Asian Lunar New Year festivals, used outside of Asia.)
Observed by	Korean people around the world
Type	Cultural, Confucian
Significance	The first day of the Korean calendar (lunar calendar)
Date	Chinese lunar new year
2016 date	February 8, Monkey
2017 date	January 28, Rooster
2018 date	February 16, Dog
2019 date	February 5, Pig
Frequency	annual
Related to	Chinese New Year, Japanese New Year, Mongolian New Year, Tibetan New Year, Vietnamese New Year

Korean New Year (Hangul: 설날; RR: Seollal; MR: Sŏllal, also known as: Wondan (원단; 元旦), Wonil (원일; 元日), Shinwon (신원; 新元)) is the first day of the Korean lunar calendar. It is one of the most significant traditional Korean holidays. The celebration lasts three days: the day before Korean New Year day, Korean New Year day itself, and the day after Korean New Year day. "Seollal" generally refers to Eumnyeok Seollal (음력 설날, lunar new year), also known as Gujeong (Hangul: 구정; Hanja: 舊正). "Seollal" may also refer to Yangnyeok Seollal (양력 설날, solar new year), also known as Shinjeong (Hangul: 신정; Hanja: 新正).

Korean New Year generally falls on the day of the second new moon after winter solstice, unless there is a very rare intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year. In such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice; the next occurrence of this will be in 2033.

Korean New Year is generally the same day as Chinese New Year except when new moon occurs between 15:00 UTC (Korean midnight) and 16:00 UTC (Chinese midnight). In such case (on average once every 24 years), new moon happens on the "next day" in Korea compared to China, and Korean New Year will be one day after Chinese New Year.

Records of Koreans celebrating Lunar New Year can be traced back to traditional Chinese literary works such as the Book of Sui and the Old Book of Tang, which contain excerpts about celebrations of new year in Silla. In the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), all the government officials gathered in the Five Grand Palaces to make New Year's greetings.