한국어

Born in 1977

If you were born in 1977, you're 48 or 49 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Red Snake.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age48 or 49
  • Korean age50
  • Year age49
    • The year 1977
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Red Snake
  • Sexagenary cycleJeong-sa (丁巳年)
  • Five element Fire (火)
  • Leap yearCommon year
Was this page helpful?
Red SnakeJeong-sa (丁巳年) · Fire (火)

In the sexagenary cycle, 1977 is Jeong-sa (丁巳年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Fire (火), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Red Snake (巳).

Born 12 years apart - same Snake
1941age 851953age 731965age 611989age 372001age 252013age 13

The year you were born: 1977

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. March 27✈️ Two Boeing 747s collided on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people in the worst accident in aviation history.
  2. July 1🏥 South Korea started its health insurance system, initially covering employees at companies with 500 or more workers.
  3. August 20⚡ Kori Unit 1, South Korea's first nuclear power plant, began sending electricity to the grid.
  4. September 15🏔️ Ko Sang-don became the first Korean to reach the summit of Everest, making South Korea the eighth country to put a climber on the summit.
  5. November 11💥 The Iri Station explosion took place.
  6. November 19🕊️ Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel, meeting Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
  7. December 22📦 South Korea's exports passed 10 billion dollars.
⭐ Born that year
PSY, singerWon Bin, actorKim Hee-sun, actorSe Ri Pak, golferLee Young-pyo, soccer playerEmmanuel Macron, the 25th president of France
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Hometown of Legends"Film "Winter Woman"Film "Robot Taekwon V"Film "Under a Sky Without a Mother"Film "Yalgae, a Joker in High School"Film "Taekwon Boys Maruchi and Arachi"
🏆 Nobel Prizes that year
  • EconomicsJames Meade, Bertil Ohlin
  • LiteratureVicente Aleixandre
  • PhysicsPhilip Warren Anderson, Nevill Francis Mott, John Hasbrouck Van Vleck
  • Physiology or MedicineRosalyn Yalow, Andrew V. Schally, Roger Guillemin
  • PeaceAmnesty International
  • ChemistryIlya Prigogine

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 1977 🗓️

What someone born in 1977 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    1977Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1984Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1990Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1992Age 15

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

  5. Starts high school
    1993Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    1994Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    1995Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    1995Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    1996Year 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
    1996Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    1996Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2037Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2042Age 65

    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.

1977 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 1977.

Babies born in 1977

825,339babies

Then and now
  • When they were born825,339
  • Today (2025)769,434

93% of that year's babies are still here with us. ✨

  • Life expectancy at birth65 yrsMen 60.9 · Women 69.1Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman2.99Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth104.2104.2 boys per 100 girls

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 1977 ⭐

PsySingerDecember 31, 1977 · 48 years old❤️ Red SnakeSo Ji-subSinger, ActorNovember 4, 1977 · 48 years old❤️ Red SnakeWon BinActor, ModelNovember 10, 1977 · 48 years old❤️ Red SnakeKim Hee-sunActorJune 11, 1977 · 49 years old❤️ Red SnakeJi SeongActorFebruary 27, 1977 · 49 years old❤️ Red SnakeHeo Sung-taeActorOctober 20, 1977 · 48 years old❤️ Red SnakePark Eun-hyeActorFebruary 21, 1977 · 49 years old❤️ Red SnakeChae Jung-anSinger, ActorOctober 21, 1977 · 48 years old❤️ Red Snake
Who else was born in 1977?Everyone born in 1977

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1977 is 49 if they've already had their birthday this year and 48 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 50, and their year age is 49.
Counting from 2026, a 48-year-old was born in 1977.
1977 is the year of the Red Snake. In the sexagenary cycle it's Jeong-sa (丁巳), 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. 1977 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 🌐