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Born in 1984

If you were born in 1984, you're 41 or 42 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Blue Rat.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age41 or 42
  • Korean age43
  • Year age42
    • The year 1984
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Blue Rat
  • Sexagenary cycleGap-ja (甲子年)
  • Five element Wood (木)
  • Leap yearLeap year
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Blue RatGap-ja (甲子年) · Wood (木)

In the sexagenary cycle, 1984 is Gap-ja (甲子年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Wood (木), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Blue Rat (子).

Born 12 years apart - same Rat
1948age 781960age 661972age 541996age 302008age 182020age 6

The year you were born: 1984

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 1📺 Nam June Paik aired "Good Morning, Mr. Orwell," his answer to Orwell's prophecy.
  2. January 14🔥 A fire at the Daea Tourist Hotel in Busan killed 38 people.
  3. January 24🖥️ Apple released the Macintosh 128K.
  4. May 6⛪ Pope John Paul II canonized 103 Korean martyrs at Yeouido.
  5. May 8🏅 The Soviet Union announced a boycott of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics, and 14 communist-bloc countries followed.
  6. September 6🇯🇵 Chun Doo-hwan became the first South Korean head of state to visit Japan, and Emperor Hirohito expressed deep regret over the unfortunate past.
  7. December 2☠️ A Union Carbide chemical plant exploded in Bhopal, India.
  8. December 19🇭🇰 Britain and China signed an agreement to return Hong Kong to China.
⭐ Born that year
Kim Jong-un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission and general secretary of the Workers' Party of North KoreaShin Min-a, actorLee Je-hoon, actorYoo Yeon-seok, actorScarlett Johansson, American actorLeBron James, American basketball player
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Love and Truth"TV drama "Plum Blossom in the Snow"Film "Whale Hunting"Film "That Winter Was Warm"Film "Declaration of Fools"
🏆 Nobel Prizes that year
  • EconomicsRichard Stone
  • LiteratureJaroslav Seifert
  • PhysicsCarlo Rubbia, Simon van der Meer
  • Physiology or MedicineNiels K. Jerne, Georges J.F. Köhler, César Milstein
  • PeaceDesmond Tutu
  • ChemistryBruce Merrifield

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 1984 🗓️

What someone born in 1984 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    1984Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1991Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1997Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    1999Age 15

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

  5. Starts high school
    2000Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    2001Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    2002Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    2002Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    2003Year 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
    2003Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    2003Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2044Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2049Age 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.

1984 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 1984.

Babies born in 1984

674,793babies

Then and now
  • When they were born674,793
  • Today (2025)658,085

98% of that year's babies are still here with us. ✨

  • Life expectancy at birth68.3 yrsMen 64 · Women 72.6Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman1.74Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth108.3108.3 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 1984 ⭐

Sandara ParkSingerNovember 12, 1984 · 41 years old💙 Blue RatPark BomSingerMarch 24, 1984 · 42 years old💙 Blue RatKoo Hye-sunActorNovember 9, 1984 · 41 years old💙 Blue RatSevenSinger, ActorNovember 9, 1984 · 41 years old💙 Blue RatShin Min-aActor, ModelApril 5, 1984 · 42 years old💙 Blue RatYoon Eun-hyeSinger, ActorOctober 3, 1984 · 41 years old💙 Blue RatYesungSinger, ActorAugust 24, 1984 · 41 years old💙 Blue RatPark Han-byulActor, ModelNovember 17, 1984 · 41 years old💙 Blue Rat
Who else was born in 1984?Everyone born in 1984

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1984 is 42 if they've already had their birthday this year and 41 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 43, and their year age is 42.
Counting from 2026, a 41-year-old was born in 1984.
1984 is the year of the Blue Rat. In the sexagenary cycle it's Gap-ja (甲子), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Wood (木), the animal picks up the color Blue. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
Yes. 1984 runs 366 days and February goes all the way to the 29th, so some people born in 1984 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 🌐