한국어

Born in 1942

If you were born in 1942, you're 83 or 84 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Black Horse.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age83 or 84
  • Korean age85
  • Year age84
    • The year 1942
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Black Horse
  • Sexagenary cycleIm-o (壬午年)
  • Five element Water (水)
  • Leap yearCommon year
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Black HorseIm-o (壬午年) · Water (水)

In the sexagenary cycle, 1942 is Im-o (壬午年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Water (水), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Black Horse (午).

Born 12 years apart - same Horse
1906age 1201918age 1081930age 961954age 721966age 601978age 48

The year you were born: 1942

Here's what the world was up to that year 👀

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 1🕊️ Twenty-six Allied nations signed a joint declaration in Washington.
  2. January 20🕯️ Germany decided at the Wannsee Conference to exterminate the Jews.
  3. April 18✈️ Sixteen American B-25 bombers hit Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, and other major Japanese cities. It's known as the Doolittle Raid.
  4. May 8🎖️ Japan decided to extend military conscription to Korea.
  5. June 5⚓ The Battle of Midway began in the Pacific.
  6. September 13💥 German troops pushed into the city of Stalingrad.
  7. October 1📖 About 30 scholars, including Choi Hyun-bae, Lee Geuk-ro, and Lee Hee-seung, were arrested in the Korean Language Society Incident, a colonial crackdown on scholars working to compile a Korean dictionary.
  8. November 8🌊 American and British troops landed in North Africa. The operation was known as Operation Torch.
⭐ Born that year
Paul McCartney, British singer and songwriterStephen Hawking, British scientist (d. 2018)Joe Biden, 46th president of the United StatesJimi Hendrix, American musician and guitaristPark Jie-won, politicianHyun Chul, singer (d. 2024)

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 1942 🗓️

What someone born in 1942 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    1942Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1949Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1955Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1957Age 15

    Ages 13-14 can work only with an employment permit (Labor Standards Act).

  5. Starts high school
    1958Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    1959Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    1960Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    1960Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    1961Year 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
    1961Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    1961Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement age
    2002Age 60

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

  13. National Pension starts
    2002Age 60

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

Ages follow international age unless noted. Buying alcohol or tobacco and the military service examination use year age - the calendar year you turn that age - so they can land a year earlier than you expect. School entry, retirement and the National Pension are general rules and can differ case by case.

1942 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 1942.

People born in 1942, as of 2025

305,697people

Source: Statistics Korea - Birth Statistics(1970~2025) and Life Tables(~2024); Ministry of the Interior and Safety - Resident Registration Population(as of 2025) (KOSIS)

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1942 is 84 if they've already had their birthday this year and 83 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 85, and their year age is 84.
Counting from 2026, a 83-year-old was born in 1942.
1942 is the year of the Black Horse. In the sexagenary cycle it's Im-o (壬午), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Water (水), the animal picks up the color Black. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
No. 1942 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 🌐