한국어

Born in 2018

If you were born in 2018, you're 7 or 8 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Golden Dog.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age7 or 8
  • Korean age9
  • Year age8
    • The year 2018
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Golden Dog
  • Sexagenary cycleMu-sul (戊戌年)
  • Five element Earth (土)
  • Leap yearCommon year
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Golden DogMu-sul (戊戌年) · Earth (土)

In the sexagenary cycle, 2018 is Mu-sul (戊戌年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Earth (土), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Golden Dog (戌).

Born 12 years apart - same Dog
1982age 441994age 322006age 20

The year you were born: 2018

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 26🔥 A major fire at Sejong Hospital in Miryang killed 51 people and injured 141.
  2. March 23🚔 Former president Lee Myung-bak was jailed at the Seoul East Detention Center on bribery and embezzlement charges.
  3. April 27🤝 President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held an inter-Korean summit at the Peace House in Panmunjom, the first in 11 years.
  4. June 12🇸🇬 U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit in Singapore.
  5. June 27⚽ Goals from Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min gave South Korea a 2-0 win over Germany in the World Cup group stage.
  6. August 1🥵 Seoul hit 39 degrees Celsius, its highest temperature in 111 years.
  7. September 18🕊️ President Moon Jae-in landed at Pyongyang's Sunan airport, opening the third inter-Korean summit.
  8. October 30⚖️ The Supreme Court ruled that Japanese companies must pay 100 million won each to Koreans forced into labor under Japanese colonial rule.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "SKY Castle"TV drama "Mr. Sunshine"TV drama "My Mister"TV drama "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim"TV drama "Something in the Rain"TV drama "Memories of the Alhambra"
🏆 Nobel Prizes that year
  • LiteratureOlga Tokarczuk (announced in 2019)
  • EconomicsWilliam Nordhaus, Paul Romer
  • PhysicsArthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou, Donna Strickland
  • Physiology or MedicineTasuku Honjo, James P. Allison
  • PeaceDenis Mukwege, Nadia Murad
  • ChemistryFrances Arnold, George P. Smith, Gregory Winter

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 2018 🗓️

What someone born in 2018 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    2018Age 0
  2. Starts elementary school
    2025Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle schoolUpcoming
    2031Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time jobUpcoming
    2033Age 15

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

  5. Starts high schoolUpcoming
    2034Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration cardUpcoming
    2035Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licenceUpcoming
    2036Age 18

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

  8. Can voteUpcoming
    2036Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobaccoUpcoming
    2037Year age 19

    From January 1 of the year you turn 19 - this one uses year age, not your birthday (Youth Protection Act).

  10. Legal adulthoodUpcoming
    2037Age 19

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

  11. Military service examinationUpcoming
    2037Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2078Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2083Age 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.

2018 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 2018.

Babies born in 2018

326,822babies

Then and now
  • When they were born326,822
  • Today (2025)334,444

There are more people registered now than were born that year. ✨

The resident register also counts people who became Korean citizens later, so it can run past the birth count.

  • Life expectancy at birth82.7 yrsMen 79.7 · Women 85.7Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman0.98Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth105.4105.4 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)

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 2018 is 8 if they've already had their birthday this year and 7 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 9, and their year age is 8.
Counting from 2026, a 7-year-old was born in 2018.
2018 is the year of the Golden Dog. In the sexagenary cycle it's Mu-sul (戊戌), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Earth (土), the animal picks up the color Golden. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
No. 2018 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 🌐