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Born in 1980

A closer look at your age if you were born in 1980.

    Your age
  • International age45 or 46
  • Korean age47
  • Year age46
    • Zodiac and cycle
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)White Monkey
  • Sexagenary cycleGyeong-sin (庚申年)
  • Five element Metal (金)
  • Leap yearLeap year
Other Monkey years
1944age 81-821956age 69-701968age 57-581992age 33-342004age 21-222016age 9-10

Life timeline for people born in 1980 🗓️

Key milestones by age, year by year.

  1. Born
    1980Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1987Age 6-7 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1993Age 12-13 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1995Age 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
    1996Age 15-16 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    1997Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    1998Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    1998Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    1999Year 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
    1999Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    1999Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2040Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2045Age 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: 1980

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. April 21⛏️ The Sabuk incident, a coal miners' uprising, began.
  2. May 17🪖 The new military leadership extended martial law nationwide, and all universities were ordered to close.
  3. May 18🕯️ The Gwangju Uprising began, with the first clash between paratroopers and students at Chonnam National University.
  4. August 2📺 Color TV sets went on sale in South Korea for the first time.
  5. September 1🏛️ Chun Doo-hwan was sworn in as South Korea's 11th president.
  6. September 22💥 Iraq invaded Iran, starting the Iran-Iraq War.
  7. November 30📰 A government-ordered consolidation of the press shut down broadcasters including TBC and DBS.
  8. December 8🎸 Mark Chapman shot and killed John Lennon in New York City.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Country Diaries"Film "A Fine, Windy Day"Film "The Last Witness"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

1980 by the numbers

Population and other key statistics.

  • Births in 1980862,835
  • Registered residents in 2025828,806

96% of that year's babies are still here with us. ✨

  • Life expectancy at birth66.1 yrsMen 61.9 · Women 70.4Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman2.82Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth105.3105.3 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 1980 ⭐

Cho Jung-seokActorDecember 26, 1980 · 45 years oldChun Jung-myungActorNovember 29, 1980 · 45 years oldKim Tae-heeActorMarch 29, 1980 · 46 years oldKim So-yeonActorNovember 2, 1980 · 45 years oldGong Hyo-jinActorApril 4, 1980 · 46 years oldKim Nam-gilActorMarch 13, 1980 · 46 years oldLee Yo-wonActor, ModelApril 9, 1980 · 46 years oldHan Chae-youngActorSeptember 13, 1980 · 46 years old
Everyone born in 1980
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Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1980 is 46 if they've already had their birthday this year and 45 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 47, and their year age is 46.
Counting from 2026, a 45-year-old was born in 1980.
1980 is the year of the White Monkey. In the sexagenary cycle it's Gyeong-sin (庚申), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Metal (金), the animal picks up the color White. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
Yes. 1980 runs 366 days and February goes all the way to the 29th, so some people born in 1980 only get a real birthday every four years.
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 🌐