Constitution Day (South Korea)

Constitution Day
Constituent National Assembly Opening Ceremony in 1948
Official name	Constitution Day
Observed by	South Koreans
Type	National celebration day but not a public office holiday
Significance	Marks the proclamation of the South Korean constitution
Date	17 July
Next time	17 July 2025 (2025-07-17)
Frequency	Annual

Constitution Day
Hangul	제헌절
Hanja	制憲節
Revised Romanization	jeheonjeol
McCune–Reischauer	chehŏnchŏl
IPA	[t͡ɕe̞.hʌ̹n.t͡ɕˀʌ̹ɭ]

Constitution Day or Jeheonjeol (Korean: 제헌절) in South Korea is observed on 17 July, the day that the South Korean constitution was proclaimed in 1948. The date was deliberately chosen to match the founding date of 17 July of the Joseon dynasty.^[1]

Background

Although the Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japanese rule by the Allies after the end of World War II on 15 August 1945, it was caught in the middle of a Cold War power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States. It took until 1948 for a democratic election for National Assembly members to be held in South Korea. The elected assembly members set upon creating a constitution, and decided upon a presidential and unicameral system. The constitution was formally adopted on 12 July 1948 and promulgated by South Korean President Syngman Rhee on 17 July 1948.^[2][3]

History

Constitution Day was proclaimed to be a South Korean national holiday on 1 October 1949, with the creation of the National Holiday Law.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2008, Constitution Day in South Korea is no longer a "no work" public holiday,^[4] following the restructure of laws regarding the public sector with a 40-hour work week. As a result, South Korea no longer has any official public holiday celebrating the nation of South Korea itself or its institutions.^[4] It is however, still a national holiday for commemoration.^[2]

Activities

On Constitution Day in South Korea, a commemorative ceremony is held with the President, Chairman of the National Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the original constitutional assembly members in attendance, and citizens hang the national flag in commemoration. Special activities such as marathons are often held.^[5]

See also

• Public holidays in South Korea

References

1. (in Korean) Constitution Day (제헌절) Archived 10 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
2. (in Korean) Constitution Day (제헌절) at Doosan Encyclopedia
3. (in Korean) Constitution Day (제헌절 Archived 10 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Britannica Korea
4. Myers, Brian Reynolds (28 December 2016). "Still the Unloved Republic". Sthele Press. Retrieved 26 June 2019. And it was under Lee Myung Bak that people had to start going to work on Constitution Day, meaning that the ROK no longer has a true republican holiday in the calendar.
5. (in Korean) A million walking together, Nanum News, 3 September 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-10.

External links

• (in Korean) Musical score for the song played on Constitution Day