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Born in 1996

A closer look at your age if you were born in 1996.

    Your age
  • International age29 or 30
  • Korean age31
  • Year age30
    • Zodiac and cycle
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Red Rat
  • Sexagenary cycleByeong-ja (丙子年)
  • Five element Fire (火)
  • Leap yearLeap year
Other Rat years
1960age 65-661972age 53-541984age 41-422008age 17-182020age 5-6

Life timeline for people born in 1996 🗓️

Key milestones by age, year by year.

  1. Born
    1996Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    2003Age 6-7 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle school
    2009Age 12-13 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time job
    2011Age 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
    2012Age 15-16 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration card
    2013Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licence
    2014Age 18

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

  8. Can vote
    2014Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobacco
    2015Year 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
    2015Age 19

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

  11. Military service examination
    2015Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2056Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2061Age 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: 1996

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 31🎤 Seo Taiji and Boys announced they were breaking up.
  2. March 1🏫 South Korea changed its term for elementary school from gungmin hakgyo, which had been used since 1941, to chodeung hakgyo.
  3. April 7⚾ Chan Ho Park threw four scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs to become the first Korean pitcher to win a Major League game.
  4. May 31⚽ South Korea and Japan were picked to co-host the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
  5. July 5🐑 Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, was born.
  6. August 26⚖️ The Seoul District Court sentenced former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo to death and to life in prison on charges including leading a mutiny and an insurrection.
  7. September 18🪖 North Korean commandos infiltrated Gangneung in Gangwon Province, and the manhunt continued until November 7.
  8. October 11🌐 South Korea became the 29th member of the OECD.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "First Love"TV drama "Tears of the Dragon"TV drama "Lover"Film "The Gingko Bed"Film "A Petal"Film "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

1996 by the numbers

Population and other key statistics.

  • Births in 1996691,226
  • Registered residents in 2025681,551

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

  • Life expectancy at birth74.2 yrsMen 70.2 · Women 78.3Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman1.57Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth111.5111.5 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 1996 ⭐

JennieBlackpink · SingerJanuary 16, 1996 · 30 years oldMinatozaki SanaTwice · Singer, DancerDecember 29, 1996 · 29 years oldMomoTwice · SingerNovember 9, 1996 · 29 years oldYoo Jeong-yeonTwice · SingerNovember 1, 1996 · 29 years oldJoyRed Velvet · SingerSeptember 3, 1996 · 30 years oldChunghaSingerFebruary 9, 1996 · 30 years oldLee HiSingerSeptember 23, 1996 · 30 years oldKim Se-jeongSinger, ActorAugust 28, 1996 · 30 years old
Everyone born in 1996
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Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 1996 is 30 if they've already had their birthday this year and 29 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 31, and their year age is 30.
Counting from 2026, a 29-year-old was born in 1996.
1996 is the year of the Red Rat. In the sexagenary cycle it's Byeong-ja (丙子), 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.
Yes. 1996 runs 366 days and February goes all the way to the 29th, so some people born in 1996 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 🌐