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Born in 1966

If you were born in 1966, you're 59 or 60 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Red Horse.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age59 or 60
  • Korean age61
  • Year age60
    • The year 1966
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Red Horse
  • Sexagenary cycleByeong-o (丙午年)
  • Five element Fire (火)
  • Leap yearCommon year
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Red HorseByeong-o (丙午年) · Fire (火)

In the sexagenary cycle, 1966 is Byeong-o (丙午年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Fire (火), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Red Horse (午).

Born 12 years apart - same Horse
1930age 961942age 841954age 721978age 481990age 362002age 24

The year you were born: 1966

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. March 3🏛️ South Korea's National Tax Service was established.
  2. May 26🇬🇾 Guyana gained independence.
  3. July 11⚽ The 1966 FIFA World Cup kicked off in England.
  4. August 18🚩 In China, a million Red Guards gathered for a massive Cultural Revolution rally led by Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square.
  5. September 22🗑️ Lawmaker Kim Doo-han threw human waste at Prime Minister Chung Il-kwon and his cabinet ministers to protest the saccharin smuggling scandal - the National Assembly excrement-throwing incident.
  6. October 2👩‍⚕️ The first group of 251 South Korean nurses was sent to West Germany.
  7. October 14📜 The Great Dharani Sutra, the world's first printed document, was discovered.
  8. November 30🇧🇧 Barbados gained independence.
⭐ Born that year
Baek Jong-won, business executive and culinary researcherLee Kyung-sil, comedianJi Suk-jin, TV personality and comedianPyo Chang-won, politician and criminal profilerKim Bo-sung, actorByun Jin-sub, singer
🎬 Films and TV from that year
Film "Late Autumn"Film "Early Rain"Film "The Boarder"
🏆 Nobel Prizes that year
  • LiteratureShmuel Yosef Agnon, Nelly Sachs
  • PhysicsAlfred Kastler
  • Physiology or MedicineCharles Brenton Huggins, Peyton Rous
  • ChemistryRobert Sanderson Mulliken

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 1966 🗓️

What someone born in 1966 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    1966Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1973Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1979Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1981Age 15

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

  5. Starts high school
    1982Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    1983Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    1984Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    1984Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    1985Year 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
    1985Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    1985Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageThis year 🎉
    2026Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2030Age 64

    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.

1966 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 1966.

People born in 1966, as of 2025

791,291people

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

Famous people born in 1966 ⭐

Kang Soo-younActorAugust 18, 1966 · 59 years old❤️ Red HorseJi Suk-jinTV hostFebruary 10, 1966 · 60 years old❤️ Red HorseShin Seung HunSinger, SongwriterMarch 21, 1966 · 60 years old❤️ Red HorseDo Ji-wonActorMarch 5, 1966 · 60 years old❤️ Red HorseKim Hea KyungSingerSeptember 12, 1966 · 59 years old❤️ Red HorseLee Seung-chulSinger, ActorDecember 5, 1966 · 59 years old❤️ Red HorseLee Won-jongActorJanuary 1, 1966 · 60 years old❤️ Red HorseShin Jung-geunActorSeptember 26, 1966 · 59 years old❤️ Red Horse
Who else was born in 1966?Everyone born in 1966

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1966 is 60 if they've already had their birthday this year and 59 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 61, and their year age is 60.
Counting from 2026, a 59-year-old was born in 1966.
1966 is the year of the Red Horse. In the sexagenary cycle it's Byeong-o (丙午), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Fire (火), the animal picks up the color Red. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
No. 1966 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 🌐