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| Visiting an amusement park like Everland is popular way to celebrate Children's Day. (Korea Tourism Organization) |
I think this May is full of family activities and fun. In Korea, Children’s Day (어린이날) is held annually on May 5. On May 1, 1923, children’s book writer Bang Jeong-hwan wrote a letter, “An Open Letter to Adults,” that calls on people to treat children with respect, especially in the manner in which adults speak to them, and make sure that they neither shout nor mistreat children. Actually, Children’s Day was celebrated on May 1, but as this coincided with Labor Day, it was moved to May 5 and became an official public holiday in 1975.
Everybody gets excited when they look at the calendar and notice that one of the days is marked in red, meaning it's an official holiday. These special red days mean that workers get a day off work and children get a day off school. Three days after Children’s Day, on May 8, is Parents’ Day (어버이날). The day was originally designated as Mother’s Day, but as there was not a Father’s Day, the two days were combined to make Parents’ Day. However, this day is not a public holiday. Traditionally, children give their parents carnations on Parents’ Day. As a result, many convenience stores and shops will have special displays so that children can easily buy flowers or other small gifts for their parents.
As parents often don’t have much time to see their children due to overtime or working on the weekend, many families make an extra effort to do something special on Children’s Day. Parents will often take their children somewhere special and treat them to snacks or ice cream on Children’s Day. Places like amusement parks, zoos and having a picnic in the park are especially popular.
As well as these common Children’s Day activities, there are many other things that you can do in Korea on your day off. You could go hiking up a mountain, take a one-day trip to the countryside, or even just rest at home.
Happy Children’s Day!
my article has been published in here~
Honorary Reporter 2018