Memorial Day in 2025

When is Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is a public holiday in South Korea on June 6th. It commemorates those who died during the Korean War and other conflicts.

History of Memorial Day

The Korean War began on June 25th 1950, when troops from Communist-ruled North Korea invaded South Korea.

There was a boycott of the United Nations by the Soviet Union at the time, and therefore, no veto, which allowed the UN to intervene when it became apparent that the superior North Korean forces would easily take over the entire country.

The Soviets and the Chinese backed North Korea, with the participation of millions of Chinese troops. After large advances on both sides, the war eventually reached a stalemate.

The 1953 armistice, never signed by South Korea, split the peninsula along the demilitarized zone near the original demarcation line.

Did you know?

No peace treaty has ever been signed and technically, the two countries are still at war.

The Korean War was the first war in which a world organization, the United Nations (UN), played a military role and a major challenge for the United Nations, which had come into existence only five years earlier.

Across South Korea, officials and citizens will pray and lay flowers at the graves of the war dead. It is common practice to display the flag of South Korea on the front doors of homes to commemorate the civilians and soldiers who died in war.

In 1956, South Korea held its first memorial ceremony for soldiers who died in the Korean War. Memorial Day was declared a public holiday on April 19th 1956, just three years after the war ended.