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Born in 1983

If you were born in 1983, you're 42 or 43 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Black Pig.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age42 or 43
  • Korean age44
  • Year age43
    • The year 1983
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Black Pig
  • Sexagenary cycleGye-hae (癸亥年)
  • Five element Water (水)
  • Leap yearCommon year
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Black PigGye-hae (癸亥年) · Water (水)

In the sexagenary cycle, 1983 is Gye-hae (癸亥年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Water (水), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Black Pig (亥).

Born 12 years apart - same Pig
1947age 791959age 671971age 551995age 312007age 192019age 7

The year you were born: 1983

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 11🤝 Yasuhiro Nakasone made the first official visit to South Korea by a sitting Japanese prime minister, held a summit with President Chun Doo-hwan and agreed on $4 billion in economic cooperation.
  2. February 25🇰🇷 Li Ung-pyong defected to South Korea.
  3. June 12⚽ South Korea's team reached the semifinals of the FIFA World Youth Championship for players under 20, held in Mexico.
  4. June 30📺 KBS 1TV began airing a live program to reunite families separated by the Korean War.
  5. August 3💾 Samsung Semiconductor developed a 64K DRAM chip.
  6. September 1💔 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down over Soviet airspace, killing all 269 people on board.
  7. October 9💥 A bomb went off at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Rangoon while President Chun Doo-hwan was visiting Burma, killing 17 officials including Deputy Prime Minister Suh Suk-joon and wounding 15.
  8. October 20⚾ The Haitai Tigers beat the MBC Chungyong in the Korean Series for their first title.
⭐ Born that year
Jang Mi-ran, weightlifterLee Ha-nui, Miss Korea winner and actorSon Dam-bi, singerKim Shin-young, comedianYoung Tak, trot singerJung Yu-mi, actor
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Gannani"TV drama "High School Student Diary"TV drama "The Merchant Broker"Film "Flower of the Equator"Film "Daughter of Fire"Film "Human Market"
🏆 Nobel Prizes that year
  • EconomicsGérard Debreu - United States
  • LiteratureWilliam Golding - United Kingdom
  • PhysicsSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, William A. Fowler - United States
  • Physiology or MedicineBarbara McClintock - United States
  • PeaceLech Wałęsa - Poland
  • ChemistryHenry Taube - Canada

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 1983 🗓️

What someone born in 1983 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    1983Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1990Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1996Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1998Age 15

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

  5. Starts high school
    1999Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    2000Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    2001Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    2001Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    2002Year 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
    2002Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    2002Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2043Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2048Age 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.

1983 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 1983.

Babies born in 1983

769,155babies

Then and now
  • When they were born769,155
  • Today (2025)742,966

97% of that year's babies are still here with us. ✨

  • Life expectancy at birth67.7 yrsMen 63.4 · Women 71.9Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman2.06Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth107.3107.3 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 1983 ⭐

Steven YeunActorDecember 21, 1983 · 42 years old🖤 Black PigLeeteukSingerJuly 1, 1983 · 43 years old🖤 Black PigKim Hee-chulSingerJuly 10, 1983 · 43 years old🖤 Black PigJung Yu-miActorJanuary 18, 1983 · 43 years old🖤 Black PigKim Young-kwangActorJune 28, 1983 · 43 years old🖤 Black PigPark Hae-jinActor, ModelMay 1, 1983 · 43 years old🖤 Black PigSung HoonActor, ModelFebruary 14, 1983 · 43 years old🖤 Black PigSon Dam-biSinger, ActorSeptember 25, 1983 · 42 years old🖤 Black Pig
Who else was born in 1983?Everyone born in 1983

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1983 is 43 if they've already had their birthday this year and 42 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 44, and their year age is 43.
Counting from 2026, a 42-year-old was born in 1983.
1983 is the year of the Black Pig. In the sexagenary cycle it's Gye-hae (癸亥), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Water (水), the animal picks up the color Black. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
No. 1983 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 🌐