Since the division of the Korean Peninsula in 1948, South and North Korea have independently developed their astronomical almanacs: Ryeokseo at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in South Korea and Cheonmunryeok at the Pyongyang Astronomical Observatory in North Korea. This study compares Ryeokseo and Cheonmunryeok for the year 2015, focusing on publication systems, content, terminology, and differences in data calculation methods. Additionally, it examines the calendars of South and North Korea from 2018 to 2023, analyzing similarities and differences in the representation of calendrical dates, public holidays, and other related aspects. The findings reveal that while the structure and content of the astronomical almanacs are similar in both countries, notable variances exist in the versions of ephemerides, time scales, and calculation precision. Consequently, identical data points are often recorded with slightly different values in each country's almanacs. Furthermore, approximately 28% of the terms used in North Korea's astronomical almanac are either not utilized in South Korea or have different definitions. Regarding calendar systems, those of South and North Korea are largely similar, resulting in no significant discrepancies in dates. However, there are notable differences in the observance of public holidays. While traditional holidays are common to both, most holidays are distinctively celebrated. Notably, North Korea does not observe religious holidays, and many of its holidays are associated with the regime.
We study the operation of a lunisolar calendar in Korea and its time data calculation method. The dates based on the lunisolar calendar have been conventionally used in Korea after the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1896. With the Astronomy Act enacted in 2010, the lunisolar calendar is presently being used as an official calendar along with the Gregorian calendar. However, no institutionalized regulations have been provided on the time data calculation method by the lunisolar calendar. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute very recently established the regulations on the lunisolar calendar operation in Korea. We introduce the regulations together with historical substances and analyze the time data calculated according to the regulations for 600 years from 1901 to 2500. From our study, we find that the value of ΔT (i.e., the difference between the terrestrial time and the universal time) is the most critical parameter causing uncertainty on the data. We also find that all new Moon days in the almanacs agree with our calculations since 1912. Meanwhile, we find that new Moon and winter solstice times are found to be very close to midnight in 38 and five cases, respectively. For instance, the new Moon time on January 14, 2097 is 0 h 0 min 8 s. In this case, deciding the first day (i.e., new moon day) in a lunar month is difficult because of the large uncertainty in the value of ΔT. Regarding with a lunar leap month, we find that the rules of inserting the leap month do not apply for 17 years. In conclusion, we believe that our findings are helpful in determining calendar days by using the lunisolar calendar.