Parents' Day (Korea)
Next: May 8, 2027
A red carnation for Mum and Dad.
The story
Where it comes from
Parents' Day, Eobeoinal, is Korea's day for thanking mothers and fathers. Mother's Day reached Korea through churches around 1930, and from 1956 the country kept 8 May as Mother's Day. In 1973 a new government regulation on commemorative days widened it to honour fathers, adults and elders too, and renamed it Parents' Day. Filial piety has long been the heart of Korean ethics, so the day gave a modern shape to a very old value.
How it's celebrated
Children pin a red carnation corsage on their parents' and grandparents' chests and give them presents, and many schoolchildren write thank-you letters. Grown-up children take their parents out for a meal or a trip, or give money or health foods. The Ministry of Health and Welfare holds a national ceremony honouring devoted sons, daughters and families. It is a commemorative day rather than a public holiday, so most people still go to work.
Did you know
- Koreans first read about Mother's Day carnations in a Dong-A Ilbo article of 16 May 1925, which described Americans wearing white carnations for their mothers.
- Korea has no separate Mother's Day or Father's Day; Parents' Day honours both at once.
- Bills to make Parents' Day a public holiday have been put to the National Assembly more than a dozen times since 2010.
The greeting
Thank you, Mum and Dad · 낳아 주시고 길러 주셔서 감사합니다
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