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Born in 1938

A closer look at your age if you were born in 1938.

    Your age
  • International age87 or 88
  • Korean age89
  • Year age88
    • Zodiac and cycle
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Golden Tiger
  • Sexagenary cycleMu-in (戊寅年)
  • Five element Earth (土)
  • Leap yearCommon year
Other Tiger years
1902age 123-1241914age 111-1121926age 99-1001950age 75-761962age 63-641974age 51-52

Life timeline for people born in 1938 🗓️

Key milestones by age, year by year.

  1. Born
    1938Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1945Age 6-7 · elementary

    The March after turning 6 - Korean school years start in March, not September.

  3. Starts middle school
    1951Age 12-13 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1953Age 15

    Under 15, or under 18 and still in middle school, you need an employment permit (Labor Standards Act, Art. 64).

  5. Starts high school
    1954Age 15-16 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    1955Age 17

    Issued from the first day of the month after turning 17 (Resident Registration Act).

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    1956Age 18

    Class 2 ordinary licence. Mopeds are allowed from 16 (Road Traffic Act).

  8. Can vote
    1956Age 18

    Must be 18 on election day (Public Official Election Act).

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    1957Year age 19

    From January 1 of the year you turn 19 - this one uses year age, not your birthday (Youth Protection Act).

  10. Legal adulthood
    1957Age 19

    Adulthood begins on the 19th birthday (Civil Act, Article 4).

  11. Military service examination
    1957Year age 19

    Held in the year a man turns 19 (Military Service Act · year age · men only).

  12. Statutory retirement age
    1998Age 60

    The floor employers must set, not a fixed date (Act on Prohibition of Age Discrimination · reference).

  13. National Pension starts
    1998Age 60

    Between 63 and 65 depending on your birth year, with at least 10 years of contributions (National Pension Act · reference).

1938 by the numbers

Population and other key statistics.

People born in 1938, as of 2025

158,876people

Source: Statistics Korea birth statistics and life tables; Ministry of the Interior and Safety resident population(as of 2025)

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Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1938 is 88 if they've already had their birthday this year and 87 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 89, and their year age is 88.
Counting from 2026, a 87-year-old was born in 1938.
1938 is the year of the Golden Tiger. In the sexagenary cycle it's Mu-in (戊寅), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Earth (土), the animal picks up the color Golden. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
No. 1938 is a common year - 365 days, and February ends on the 28th.
Korean age starts at 1 the day you're born, and everybody adds a year together on January 1 instead of on their birthday. That makes it one or two years higher than international age. Since June 2023, Korean law, contracts, and official documents all use international age, but you'll still hear Korean age in everyday conversation.

Sources 🌐