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Born in 1978

If you were born in 1978, you're 47 or 48 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Golden Horse.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age47 or 48
  • Korean age49
  • Year age48
    • The year 1978
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Golden Horse
  • Sexagenary cycleMu-o (戊午年)
  • Five element Earth (土)
  • Leap yearCommon year
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Golden HorseMu-o (戊午年) · Earth (土)

In the sexagenary cycle, 1978 is Mu-o (戊午年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Earth (土), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Golden Horse (午).

Born 12 years apart - same Horse
1942age 841954age 721966age 601990age 362002age 242014age 12

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.
⭐ Born that year
Ha Jung-woo, actorKobe Bryant, American basketball playerVolodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian comedian and presidentKim Ha-neul, actorNamkoong Min, actorYi So-yeon, astronaut
🎬 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"
🏆 Nobel Prizes that year
  • EconomicsHerbert Simon
  • LiteratureIsaac Bashevis Singer
  • PhysicsArno Allan Penzias, Robert Woodrow Wilson, Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa
  • Physiology or MedicineWerner Arber, Daniel Nathans, Hamilton Othanel Smith
  • PeaceMuhammad Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin
  • ChemistryPeter Mitchell

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 1978 🗓️

What someone born in 1978 becomes eligible for, year by year.

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

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1991Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1993Age 15

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

  5. Starts high school
    1994Age 15 · 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).

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.

1978 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 1978.

Babies born in 1978

750,728babies

Then and now
  • When they were born750,728
  • Today (2025)713,936

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

Famous people born in 1978 ⭐

YirumaSingerFebruary 15, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden HorseHa Ji-wonActorJune 28, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden HorseGarySinger, SongwriterFebruary 24, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden HorseKim Ha-neulActor, ModelFebruary 21, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden HorseLee Ji-ahActorAugust 6, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden HorseLinda ParkActorJuly 9, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden HorseKim Sa-rangActor, ModelJanuary 12, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden HorseNamkoong MinActor, ModelMarch 12, 1978 · 48 years old💛 Golden Horse
Who else was born in 1978?Everyone born in 1978

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 🌐