Though only about 30% of the population professes Christianity, Christmas is a national holiday in South Korea. Seasonal customs are a unique blend of local, Japanese, and American traditions. As in Japan, which had treated Korea as a colony for the first half of the 20th century, Christmas is viewed by many as a time for romance and for couples to spend time together. (K-Pop Christmas music focuses on affairs of the heart rather than the sacred).
Few houses Korean display Christmas lights, but urban stores and streets are colourfully festooned during December, while Christmas trees are gaining popularity in homes. Christmas cards, largely winter-themed rather than religious, are a good way to keep in touch with family and friends.
Gift-giving is not as lavish as in many other parts of the world and largely confined to close family members, but children have gladly adopted the belief in Santa Claus or Santa Grandfather. The Gift-Bringer is sometimes clothed in the red and white familiar to Americans but often he appears as a white-bearded Korean elder of an earlier era in the traditional flat-topped hat. Korean Christmas cake is much more like the North American birthday-style confection which was adopted in Japan. Other favourite seasonal foods include Korean barbecue,
Korean Christians will celebrate with caroling and church services; Midnight Mass at Seoul’s neo-Gothic Myeongdong Cathedral is one of the best attended.
In North Korea, religion is banned and celebrating Christmas could bring harsh penalties