Liberation Day in South Korea (Gwangbokjeol) - August 15, the 1945 end of Japanese rule

Liberation Day (Gwangbokjeol, 광복절) on August 15 is a South Korean national public holiday marking the 1945 end of 35 years of Japanese colonial rule over Korea. Observed with a presidential address, the ringing of the Bosingak bell, and ceremonial events in Seoul.

The one-line summary

National public holiday on August 15, observed every year. Marks the 1945 end of Japanese colonial rule. Secular memorial category, standard tier. Also a national public holiday in North Korea.

Origin

Japan annexed Korea in 1910 after decades of increasing Japanese influence and after the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907 and the previous protectorate arrangements of 1905. Colonial rule lasted 35 years and shaped the major political and cultural trajectories of twentieth-century Korea, including the 1919 March 1st Movement, the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai (1919-1948), and the wartime mobilisation of the 1930s and 1940s.

On August 15, 1945, the Empire of Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration terms, ending World War II in Asia. The announcement was relayed to Korea at noon the same day, and the Bosingak bell in Jongno, Seoul was rung to inform the population. Korea was subsequently divided along the 38th parallel into Soviet and US occupation zones. The Republic of Korea was established on August 15, 1948, exactly three years after liberation; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established on September 9, 1948.

Liberation Day was made a national public holiday of the Republic of Korea in 1949 under the Public Holidays Act. The day has been observed annually since, with the official state ceremony and the presidential address as the central events.

When it falls

August 15, every year. Gwangbokjeol is a fixed Gregorian date and does not move. The day coincides with the Assumption of Mary in the Catholic liturgical calendar and with the Indian Independence Day. The 2026 observance on August 15 falls on a Saturday, so the official ceremony is held on the day itself with public office closures from Friday through Sunday.

How it is observed

The President of the Republic of Korea delivers a Liberation Day address at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, broadcast nationally. The address typically reviews the trajectory of the modern Korean state and frames contemporary policy. The Bosingak bell in Jongno, Seoul, is rung at noon on the day, recalling the moment in 1945 when the bell was rung to inform Koreans of the end of Japanese rule.

National taegeuk flags are displayed on public buildings. Government offices, banks, and most businesses close. The Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan hosts special exhibitions on the independence and liberation movements. Families visit the National Cemetery in Seoul and other memorial sites. North Korea holds parallel ceremonies in Pyongyang framed around the anti-Japanese partisan struggle and the legacy of Kim Il-sung.

Regional variations

Liberation Day is observed uniformly across South Korea as a national public holiday. North Korea observes August 15 as a national holiday with a different framing: the Juche calendar in North Korea numbers the year 1945 as Juche 34 (in the early post-war years) and treats the date as a commemoration of liberation from Japanese colonialism under partisan leadership. Korean diaspora communities in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka), the United States (Los Angeles, New York, Honolulu), China (Beijing, Yanbian), and the former Soviet Union (Vladivostok) hold observances.

Legal status

Gwangbokjeol on August 15 is a national public holiday in South Korea under the Public Holidays Act. The holiday was added in 1949, the year after the establishment of the Republic of Korea, and is one of the central patriotic days of the South Korean calendar. Government offices, banks, and most businesses close. North Korea also observes August 15 as a public holiday under the DPRK calendar.

Liberation Day by the numbers

Connection to other Korean holidays

Liberation Day forms the central date of the patriotic civic-memorial cluster in South Korea. It is preceded by the March 1st Movement Day on March 1, which marks the 1919 declaration of independence, and followed by National Foundation Day on October 3, which marks the mythic founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BCE. Constitution Day on July 17 (1948) and Memorial Day on June 6 round out the wider set of national-memorial dates on the South Korean calendar.

Contested memory

Liberation Day has been the focal point of recurring Korea-Japan disputes over wartime legacy. South Korean court rulings on wartime forced labour and comfort women have been issued around the August 15 anniversary. North Korea frames the day as the beginning of partisan struggle that culminated in the 1948 founding of the DPRK. In Japan, school textbooks have periodically revised the treatment of the colonial period, with each revision drawing formal protests from both Korean governments and from Korean diaspora communities.

Liberation Day and modern Korea

The Republic of Korea officially considers its legal origin to begin with the 1919 Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai, with the 1945 liberation marking the end of colonial rule and August 15, 1948 marking the formal establishment of the ROK. The annual Liberation Day address is one of the major set-piece speeches of the South Korean presidency, alongside the March 1st Movement address and the New Year press conference.

Sources

• Korea Herald, "Liberation Day address," 14 August 2025.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Korean Independence Movement.
• National Institute of Korean History, Liberation Day materials.
• Korea.net, official public holidays of the Republic of Korea.