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Born in 1987

If you were born in 1987, you're 38 or 39 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Red Rabbit.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age38 or 39
  • Korean age40
  • Year age39
    • The year 1987
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Red Rabbit
  • Sexagenary cycleJeong-myo (丁卯年)
  • Five element Fire (火)
  • Leap yearCommon year
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Red RabbitJeong-myo (丁卯年) · Fire (火)

In the sexagenary cycle, 1987 is Jeong-myo (丁卯年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Fire (火), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Red Rabbit (卯).

Born 12 years apart - same Rabbit
1951age 751963age 631975age 511999age 272011age 152023age 3

The year you were born: 1987

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 14🕯️ Park Jong-chul, a Seoul National University student, died while being tortured at the Namyeong-dong interrogation center.
  2. March 22⚖️ The Brothers Home case in Busan came to light.
  3. April 13🏛️ President Chun Doo-hwan announced the April 13 measure, declaring he would pick his successor under the existing constitution.
  4. June 10✊ The June Democratic Struggle began.
  5. June 29📢 Roh Tae-woo, then the ruling party's leader, announced the June 29 Declaration.
  6. July 5🎗️ Lee Han-yeol, who had been hit by a tear gas canister, died of his injuries.
  7. November 29✈️ Korean Air Flight 858 was blown up, killing all 115 people on board.
  8. December 16🗳️ Roh Tae-woo of the Democratic Justice Party won the 13th presidential election, beating Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.
⭐ Born that year
Lionel Messi, Argentine soccer playerRyu Hyun-jin, baseball playerLee Min-ho, actorMoon Geun-young, actorLee Seung-gi, singer and actorHan Hyo-joo, actor
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Love and Ambition"TV drama "TV Art of War"Film "The Surrogate Woman"Film "Mimi and Cheolsu's Youth Sketch"Film "Our Joyful Young Days"
🏆 Nobel Prizes that year
  • EconomicsRobert Solow
  • LiteratureJoseph Brodsky
  • PhysicsJ. Georg Bednorz, Karl Alexander Müller
  • Physiology or MedicineSusumu Tonegawa
  • PeaceÓscar Arias Sánchez
  • ChemistryDonald Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, Charles Pedersen

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 1987 🗓️

What someone born in 1987 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    1987Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    1994Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    2000Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    2002Age 15

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

  5. Starts high school
    2003Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    2004Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    2005Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    2005Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    2006Year 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
    2006Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    2006Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2047Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2052Age 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.

1987 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 1987.

Babies born in 1987

623,831babies

Then and now
  • When they were born623,831
  • Today (2025)615,866

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

  • Life expectancy at birth70.1 yrsMen 65.9 · Women 74.3Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman1.53Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth108.8108.8 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 1987 ⭐

Lee Min-hoActorJune 22, 1987 · 39 years old❤️ Red RabbitMoon Geun-youngActorMay 6, 1987 · 39 years old❤️ Red RabbitJi Chang-wookActorJuly 9, 1987 · 39 years old❤️ Red RabbitHan Hyo-jooActorFebruary 22, 1987 · 39 years old❤️ Red RabbitT.O.PSingerNovember 4, 1987 · 38 years old❤️ Red RabbitJang Keun-sukActorAugust 4, 1987 · 39 years old❤️ Red RabbitSeo In-gukSingerOctober 23, 1987 · 38 years old❤️ Red RabbitJay ParkSinger, ActorApril 25, 1987 · 39 years old❤️ Red Rabbit
Who else was born in 1987?Everyone born in 1987

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1987 is 39 if they've already had their birthday this year and 38 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 40, and their year age is 39.
Counting from 2026, a 38-year-old was born in 1987.
1987 is the year of the Red Rabbit. In the sexagenary cycle it's Jeong-myo (丁卯), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Fire (火), the animal picks up the color Red. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
No. 1987 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 🌐