Gwangbokjeol (光復節), National Liberation Day

"Gwangbokjeol," or National Liberation Day, is held on August 15 as a national holiday day and legal holiday to commemorate August 15, 1945, the day on which the country was finally liberated from thirty-five years of Japanese colonial rule.

After Korea's liberation in October 1945, the U.S. military government in Korea abolished the national holidays established by the Japanese and newly enacted different public festivals and holidays. Korea declared its government on the third anniversary of the country's liberation from Japan on August 15, 1948. At the Cabinet meeting held in May 1949, "August 15, National Independence Day" was enacted as a national commemorative day; however, in accordance with "Legislation No. 53 of the Legislation on National Commemorative Days" proclaimed on October 1, 1949, the name was changed to "National Liberation Day." Ever since then Korea has commemorated the National Liberation Day on August 15 of each year.

National Liberation Day is a national holiday held to commemorate the independence fighters who fought and died for the country and to celebrate the liberation of the Korean people. However, under circumstances in which the dominance of the Japanese Empire and the legacies of the war in East Asia have not been fully resolved even after more than seventy years, and with the country still divided, as it is viewed, merely commemorating the past historic event might not serve the purpose. Over time its meaning has shifted toward a day on which to wish or pray for the unification of the Korean Peninsula and for peace in East Asia.

(Source: National Folk Museum of Korea)

The Korean Cultural Centre SA will be closed on Thursday, 15 August 2024 in observance of the National Liberation Day of Korea.