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Born in 2021

A closer look at your age if you were born in 2021.

    Your age
  • International age4 or 5
  • Korean age6
  • Year age5
    • Zodiac and cycle
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)White Ox
  • Sexagenary cycleSin-chuk (辛丑年)
  • Five element Metal (金)
  • Leap yearCommon year
Other Ox years
1985age 40-411997age 28-292009age 16-17

Life timeline for people born in 2021 🗓️

Key milestones by age, year by year.

  1. Born
    2021Age 0
  2. Starts elementary schoolUpcoming
    2028Age 6-7 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle schoolUpcoming
    2034Age 12-13 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time jobUpcoming
    2036Age 15

    Under 15, or under 18 and still in middle school, you need an employment permit (Labor Standards Act, Art. 64).

  5. Starts high schoolUpcoming
    2037Age 15-16 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration cardUpcoming
    2038Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licenceUpcoming
    2039Age 18

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

  8. Can voteUpcoming
    2039Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobaccoUpcoming
    2040Year 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
    2040Age 19

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

  11. Military service examinationUpcoming
    2040Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2081Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2086Age 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: 2021

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. January 6🏛️ Trump supporters staged an insurrection in Washington, D.C.
  2. January 20🇺🇸 Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.
  3. February 1⛓️ Myanmar's military staged a coup, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and others and declaring a yearlong state of emergency.
  4. April 25🏆 Actor Youn Yuh-jung became the first Korean actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
  5. August 8🏅 The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, held without spectators, closed.
  6. August 15🏳️ Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban, and a Taliban interim government took over.
  7. October 21🚀 South Korea launched the Nuri rocket.
  8. December 31⚖️ Former president Park Geun-hye was released as part of a special New Year’s pardon.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "The Penthouse 2"TV drama "Hospital Playlist 2"TV drama "Vincenzo"TV drama "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha"TV drama "The Red Sleeve"TV drama "Our Beloved Summer"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

2021 by the numbers

Population and other key statistics.

  • Births in 2021260,562
  • Registered residents in 2025267,994

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 birth83.6 yrsMen 80.6 · Women 86.6Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman0.81Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth105.1105.1 boys per 100 girls

Source: Statistics Korea birth statistics and life tables; Ministry of the Interior and Safety resident population(as of 2025)

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Frequently asked questions ❓

In 2026, someone born in 2021 is 5 if they've already had their birthday this year and 4 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 6, and their year age is 5.
Counting from 2026, a 4-year-old was born in 2021.
2021 is the year of the White Ox. In the sexagenary cycle it's Sin-chuk (辛丑), 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.
No. 2021 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 🌐