Ali DealsAliExpress Deals한국어

Born in 1978

A closer look at your age if you were born in 1978.

    Your age
  • International age47 or 48
  • Korean age49
  • Year age48
    • Zodiac and cycle
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Golden Horse
  • Sexagenary cycleMu-o (戊午年)
  • Five element Earth (土)
  • Leap yearCommon year
Other Horse years
1942age 83-841954age 71-721966age 59-601990age 35-362002age 23-242014age 11-12

Life timeline for people born in 1978 🗓️

Key milestones by age, year by year.

  1. Born
    1978Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1985Age 6-7 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1991Age 12-13 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1993Age 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
    1994Age 15-16 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    1995Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    1996Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    1996Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    1997Year 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
    1997Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    1997Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2038Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2043Age 65

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

The year you were born: 1978

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 14🎬 Actor Choi Eun-hee was abducted from Hong Kong and taken to North Korea.
  2. April 20✈️ Korean Air Lines Flight 902 was shot down.
  3. June 25⚽ Argentina won its first World Cup, on home soil.
  4. July 6🏛️ Park Chung-hee was elected to a 9th presidential term by an indirect vote of delegates to the National Conference for Unification.
  5. August 12🤝 China and Japan signed a treaty of peace and friendship.
  6. September 17🕊️ Egypt's President Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Begin signed the Camp David Accords.
  7. October 16⛪ John Paul II of Poland became the 264th pope.
  8. November 18⚠️ The Peoples Temple mass suicide took place in Guyana.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Trap of Youth"Film "The Woman I Abandoned"Film "Really Really Like You"Film "Heavenly Homecoming to Stars 2"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

1978 by the numbers

Population and other key statistics.

  • Births in 1978750,728
  • Registered residents in 2025713,936

95% of that year's babies are still here with us. ✨

  • Life expectancy at birth65.3 yrsMen 61.1 · Women 69.5Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman2.64Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth111.3111.3 boys per 100 girls

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

Famous people born in 1978 ⭐

YirumaPianistFebruary 15, 1978 · 48 years oldHa Ji-wonActorJune 28, 1978 · 48 years oldKim Ha-neulActor, ModelFebruary 21, 1978 · 48 years oldLee Ji-ahActorAugust 6, 1978 · 48 years oldGarySinger, SongwriterFebruary 24, 1978 · 48 years oldKim Sa-rangActor, ModelJanuary 12, 1978 · 48 years oldLinda ParkActorJuly 9, 1978 · 48 years oldNamkoong MinActor, ModelMarch 12, 1978 · 48 years old
Everyone born in 1978
Was this page helpful?

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1978 is 48 if they've already had their birthday this year and 47 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 49, and their year age is 48.
Counting from 2026, a 47-year-old was born in 1978.
1978 is the year of the Golden Horse. In the sexagenary cycle it's Mu-o (戊午), 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. 1978 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 🌐