Seollal (설날) is Korean Lunar New Year, a three-day national holiday in January or February and, alongside Chuseok, the biggest family occasion of the year. The greeting to learn is saehae bok mani badeuseyo (새해 복 많이 받으세요) — literally "receive lots of luck in the new year."
The whole country heads home for it, so if you're traveling during Seollal, book your trains early — the rails fill up days ahead.
The greeting everyone says
You'll hear this one on every corner, and it works twice over: Koreans use it at Seollal and on January 1, the solar new year (sinjeong, 신정). Say the full polite version to anyone older or unfamiliar. The clipped bada form is for friends only.
새해 복 많이 받으세요
saehae bok mani badeuseyo
Happy New Year (polite)
새해 복 많이 받아
saehae bok mani bada
Happy New Year (casual, to friends)
건강하세요
geonganghaseyo
Please stay healthy (to elders)
Sebae: the bow and the money
The heart of Seollal morning is sebae (세배), a formal deep bow that children and younger relatives perform to their elders, offering the New Year greeting as they rise. The elders answer with deokdam (덕담), words of blessing for the year ahead.
Then comes the part kids wait for: sebaetdon (세뱃돈), New Year money tucked into an envelope. Receive it the Korean way — with both hands, and a bow of thanks. That two-handed manner runs through all of Korean life, as our do's and don'ts guide explains.
Tteokguk: the soup that ages you
Every family eats tteokguk (떡국) at Seollal — a clear broth full of thin, oval rice-cake slices, often with egg and beef. It is comfort in a bowl, and it carries a bit of lore.
By old custom, everyone in Korea added a year not on their birthday but at New Year — which is why finishing your bowl of tteokguk was said to make you a year older. Since June 2023, Korea officially counts international age like the rest of the world, but the saying (and the soup) live on. Our Korean age guide untangles what changed.
Dressing up, honoring elders, and games
Many families wear hanbok (한복), the graceful traditional dress, for the occasion — bright silk, wrapped jackets, full skirts.
The morning may open with charye (차례), a respectful family rite honoring ancestors with a carefully set table of food. It is kept brief and dignified; as a guest, follow your hosts' lead and stay quiet.
Once the formalities ease, the games come out — most famously yunnori (윷놀이), a lively board game played by tossing four wooden sticks and racing tokens around the board, cousins and grandparents shouting over every throw.
Seollal isn't the only great migration. Chuseok (추석), the autumn harvest festival in September or October, empties the cities the same way, with the same packed trains and the same warm homecomings. If you're visiting around either one, plan transport well ahead and expect some smaller shops to close.
Keep learning Korean
Seollal is Korea at its warmest — family, food, and a single lucky phrase repeated a hundred times. Learn that phrase and a few more with our free Korean greetings phrases, then lock them in with audio and spaced repetition in the Pretalk app, so you're ready to wish anyone a bright new year.
