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Born in 1985

A closer look at your age if you were born in 1985.

    Your age
  • International age40 or 41
  • Korean age42
  • Year age41
    • Zodiac and cycle
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Blue Ox
  • Sexagenary cycleEul-chuk (乙丑年)
  • Five element Wood (木)
  • Leap yearCommon year
Other Ox years
1949age 76-771961age 64-651973age 52-531997age 28-292009age 16-172021age 4-5

Life timeline for people born in 1985 🗓️

Key milestones by age, year by year.

  1. Born
    1985Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1992Age 6-7 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    1998Age 12-13 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    2000Age 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
    2001Age 15-16 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    2002Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    2003Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    2003Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    2004Year 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
    2004Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    2004Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2045Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2050Age 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: 1985

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. February 12🗳️ South Korea held its 12th National Assembly election.
  2. May 29🏟️ The Heysel Stadium disaster happened in Brussels, Belgium.
  3. August 12✈️ Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed in Gunma Prefecture, killing 520 of the 524 people on board - the deadliest single-aircraft accident ever.
  4. September 21🤝 Separated families met in Seoul and Pyongyang for the first time since the peninsula was divided.
  5. September 22💱 The Plaza Accord was signed.
  6. November 3⚽ South Korea's national soccer team qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in 32 years, since 1953.
  7. November 13🌋 A volcano erupted in Colombia, killing about 23,000 people.
  8. November 20💻 Windows 1.0 was released.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
Film "Deep Blue Night"Film "Eo Wu-dong"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

1985 by the numbers

Population and other key statistics.

  • Births in 1985655,489
  • Registered residents in 2025649,453

99% of that year's babies are still here with us. ✨

  • Life expectancy at birth68.9 yrsMen 64.6 · Women 73.2Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman1.66Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth109.4109.4 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 1985 ⭐

Song Joong-kiActorSeptember 19, 1985 · 41 years oldClaudia KimActorJanuary 25, 1985 · 41 years oldArden ChoActorAugust 16, 1985 · 41 years oldLee Kwang-sooActor, ModelJuly 14, 1985 · 41 years oldKanginSuper Junior-Happy · Singer, ActorJanuary 17, 1985 · 41 years oldSeo Hyun-jinSinger, ActorFebruary 27, 1985 · 41 years oldShindongSuper Junior · SingerSeptember 28, 1985 · 41 years oldGo Joon-heeActor, ModelAugust 31, 1985 · 41 years old
Everyone born in 1985
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Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1985 is 41 if they've already had their birthday this year and 40 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 42, and their year age is 41.
Counting from 2026, a 40-year-old was born in 1985.
1985 is the year of the Blue Ox. In the sexagenary cycle it's Eul-chuk (乙丑), 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.
No. 1985 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 🌐