한국어

Born in 2020

If you were born in 2020, you're 5 or 6 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the White Rat.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age5 or 6
  • Korean age7
  • Year age6
    • The year 2020
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)White Rat
  • Sexagenary cycleGyeong-ja (庚子年)
  • Five element Metal (金)
  • Leap yearLeap year
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White RatGyeong-ja (庚子年) · Metal (金)

In the sexagenary cycle, 2020 is Gyeong-ja (庚子年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Metal (金), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the White Rat (子).

Born 12 years apart - same Rat
1984age 421996age 302008age 18

The year you were born: 2020

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 20🦠 South Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 patient.
  2. January 31🇬🇧 The United Kingdom left the European Union.
  3. February 9🎬 At the 92nd Academy Awards, Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" became the first Korean film to win Best International Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture.
  4. April 15🗳️ The Democratic Party and the Platform Party swept the 21st National Assembly election with 180 seats.
  5. June 16💥 North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office building in Kaesong.
  6. September 5🎵 BTS's "Dynamite" became the first song by a South Korean act to top the Billboard Hot 100.
  7. October 25🕯️ Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Electronics, died at 78.
  8. November 7🇺🇸 Joe Biden won the U.S. presidential election.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Itaewon Class"TV drama "The World of the Married"TV drama "Hospital Playlist"TV drama "It's Okay to Not Be Okay"TV drama "Stranger 2"TV drama "The Penthouse: War in Life"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 2020 🗓️

What someone born in 2020 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    2020Age 0
  2. Starts elementary schoolUpcoming
    2027Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle schoolUpcoming
    2033Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time jobUpcoming
    2035Age 15

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

  5. Starts high schoolUpcoming
    2036Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration cardUpcoming
    2037Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licenceUpcoming
    2038Age 18

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

  8. Can voteUpcoming
    2038Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobaccoUpcoming
    2039Year 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
    2039Age 19

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

  11. Military service examinationUpcoming
    2039Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2080Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2085Age 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.

2020 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 2020.

Babies born in 2020

272,337babies

Then and now
  • When they were born272,337
  • Today (2025)280,450

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 birth83.5 yrsMen 80.5 · Women 86.5Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman0.84Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth104.8104.8 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)

Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 2020 is 6 if they've already had their birthday this year and 5 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 7, and their year age is 6.
Counting from 2026, a 5-year-old was born in 2020.
2020 is the year of the White Rat. In the sexagenary cycle it's Gyeong-ja (庚子), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Metal (金), the animal picks up the color White. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
Yes. 2020 runs 366 days and February goes all the way to the 29th, so some people born in 2020 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 🌐