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Born in 2019

If you were born in 2019, you're 6 or 7 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Golden Pig.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age6 or 7
  • Korean age8
  • Year age7
    • The year 2019
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Golden Pig
  • Sexagenary cycleGi-hae (己亥年)
  • Five element Earth (土)
  • Leap yearCommon year
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Golden PigGi-hae (己亥年) · Earth (土)

In the sexagenary cycle, 2019 is Gi-hae (己亥年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Earth (土), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Golden Pig (亥).

Born 12 years apart - same Pig
1983age 431995age 312007age 19

The year you were born: 2019

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. March 1🇰🇷 South Korea marked 100 years since the March 1st Independence Movement, and independence activist Yu Gwan-sun was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea Medal of the Order of Merit for National Foundation.
  2. March 15😢 A far-right terrorist opened fire at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people.
  3. April 11⚖️ The Constitutional Court ruled the abortion ban incompatible with the constitution after 66 years.
  4. May 25🏆 Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" became the first Korean film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
  5. June 30🤝 President Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and President Trump met at Panmunjom.
  6. August 2🇯🇵 Japan dropped South Korea from its whitelist of preferred trading partners.
  7. September 6🏛️ The National Assembly held a confirmation hearing for justice minister nominee Cho Kuk.
  8. December 31🦠 The first COVID-19 case turned up in Wuhan, China.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "When the Camellia Blooms"TV drama "Hotel del Luna"TV drama "Crash Landing on You"TV drama "Stove League"TV drama "The Fiery Priest"TV drama "The Light in Your Eyes"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 2019 🗓️

What someone born in 2019 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    2019Age 0
  2. Starts elementary schoolThis year 🎉
    2026Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle schoolUpcoming
    2032Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time jobUpcoming
    2034Age 15

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

  5. Starts high schoolUpcoming
    2035Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration cardUpcoming
    2036Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licenceUpcoming
    2037Age 18

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

  8. Can voteUpcoming
    2037Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobaccoUpcoming
    2038Year 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
    2038Age 19

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

  11. Military service examinationUpcoming
    2038Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2079Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2084Age 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.

2019 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 2019.

Babies born in 2019

302,676babies

Then and now
  • When they were born302,676
  • Today (2025)310,444

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 birth83.3 yrsMen 80.3 · Women 86.3Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman0.92Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth105.5105.5 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 2019 is 7 if they've already had their birthday this year and 6 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 8, and their year age is 7.
Counting from 2026, a 6-year-old was born in 2019.
2019 is the year of the Golden Pig. In the sexagenary cycle it's Gi-hae (己亥), 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. 2019 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 🌐