CALENDAR UTILITY (KOREAN-SPECIFIC)
Solar-Lunar Calendar Converter
Convert solar dates to lunar dates and vice versa. Obtain traditional Korean lunisolar 60-cycle stems and branches (Gan-Zhi) and zodiac animals.
Understanding Lunisolar Calendar System
The Gregorian solar calendar is based on the Earth's annual rotation around the sun (~365 days), while the traditional lunisolar calendar utilizes the moon's monthly cycle of phases (~29.5 days). To prevent seasons from drifting, the East Asian traditional lunisolar calendar incorporates 24 solar terms (determined by solar longitude) and leap months.
Korean Traditional Calendar Rules
In traditional Korean astrology and feng-shui practices, the zodiac animal sign and the year's stem-branch (Hanja) do not swap on Lunar New Year's Day (Seollal). Instead, they change at the exact astronomical moment of Ipchun (立春), which marks the beginning of spring (usually February 4th). This converter strictly follows traditional standards for high astronomical accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why does the lunar date differ from the solar date?
A standard 12-month lunar year runs about 11 days shorter than a solar year. Over three years, the gap expands to a full month, causing calendar dates to mismatch seasonal patterns. To fix this gap, a leap month is inserted periodically.
What is a leap month (intercalary month)?
An extra lunar month added roughly once every three years (specifically 7 times in a 19-year cycle) to realign the lunar cycles with the solar year. It ensures agricultural and seasonal names match actual seasons.
How accurate are the conversion outputs?
The computations utilize a compiled lookup table containing lunar bitmasks mapping the years 1900 to 2100. This table is derived from standard astronomical charts verified by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).