About January 2026
January 2026 has 31 days. On the Korean lunar calendar it runs from lunar month 11, day 13, 2025 to lunar month 12, day 13, 2025. In the sexagenary cycle the lunar year is 2025: 乙巳 (eul-sa).
The new moon (day 1 of a lunar month) falls on January 19, and day 15 on January 3. Day 15 is a calendar date, so the fullest moon can be a day off.
Solar terms this month
- Minor Cold (小寒) — begins January 5 at 17:23 KST, when the Sun reaches 285° ecliptic longitude: the cold of deep winter sets in.
- Major Cold (大寒) — begins January 20 at 10:45 KST, when the Sun reaches 300° ecliptic longitude: the last solar term of winter.
Lunar months in this solar month: month 11 (30 days), month 12 (29 days). A lunar month has 29 or 30 days depending on the Moon's cycle.
Public holidays and workdays
Public holidays this month: January 1 (New Year's Day). Of 22 weekdays, 21 are workdays.
Long weekends and leave this month
There is no break of three or more days made of weekends and public holidays this month.
With leave: take Fri, Jan 2 off for 4 days in a row, Thu, Jan 1 ~ Sun, Jan 4. Plan all your leave days: leave planner →
How to read the day pillar and solar terms
The day pillar (iljin) is the sexagenary name given to each day. Ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches pair up in turn, so the same name returns every 60 days. A manseryeok lists the pillars of the year, month, day and hour, and the day pillar in Korean saju (Four Pillars) is the day pillar of the birth date.
The 24 solar terms divide the Sun’s path into 15° steps. They follow the solar calendar, so they fall on nearly the same dates every year, and each begins at an exact minute. Times are Korea Standard Time (UTC+9).
Lunar dates and day pillars come from the korean-lunar-calendar library (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute tables). Solar term times come from the manseryeok library, matched to KASI’s tables to the minute.