한국어

Born in 2022

If you were born in 2022, you're 3 or 4 in 2026 - and your tti (Korean zodiac animal) is the Black Tiger.

    Your age in 2026
  • International age3 or 4
  • Korean age5
  • Year age4
    • The year 2022
  • tti (Korean zodiac animal)Black Tiger
  • Sexagenary cycleIm-in (壬寅年)
  • Five element Water (水)
  • Leap yearCommon year
Was this page helpful?
Black TigerIm-in (壬寅年) · Water (水)

In the sexagenary cycle, 2022 is Im-in (壬寅年). Its heavenly stem carries the element Water (水), and that element decides the color - which makes it a year of the Black Tiger (寅).

Born 12 years apart - same Tiger
1986age 401998age 282010age 16

The year you were born: 2022

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

📰 What happened that year
  1. February 24🚨 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation inside Ukraine.
  2. March 10🗳️ Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party won South Korea’s 20th presidential election, narrowly beating Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party.
  3. April 18😷 South Korea lifted all COVID-19 social distancing rules after 2 years and 2 months.
  4. June 21🚀 The Nuri rocket's second launch put a satellite into orbit.
  5. July 8🇯🇵 Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed while campaigning.
  6. September 8👑 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died at 96.
  7. October 29🕯️ A deadly crowd crush occurred in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul.
  8. December 3⚽ South Korea beat Portugal in the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar and reached the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years.
🎬 Films and TV from that year
TV drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo"TV drama "Reborn Rich"TV drama "Twenty-Five Twenty-One"TV drama "My Liberation Notes"TV drama "Our Blues"TV drama "Business Proposal"

Source: Wikipedia · retold from the record

Life timeline for people born in 2022 🗓️

What someone born in 2022 becomes eligible for, year by year.

  1. Born
    2022Age 0
  2. Starts elementary schoolUpcoming
    2029Age 6 · elementary

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

  3. Starts middle schoolUpcoming
    2035Age 12 · middle school
  4. Can take a part-time jobUpcoming
    2037Age 15

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

  5. Starts high schoolUpcoming
    2038Age 15 · high school
  6. Gets a resident registration cardUpcoming
    2039Age 17

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

  7. Can get a driver's licenceUpcoming
    2040Age 18

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

  8. Can voteUpcoming
    2040Age 18

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

  9. Can buy alcohol and tobaccoUpcoming
    2041Year 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
    2041Age 19

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

  11. Military service examinationUpcoming
    2041Year age 19

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

  12. Statutory retirement ageUpcoming
    2082Age 60

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

  13. National Pension startsUpcoming
    2087Age 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.

2022 by the numbers

What Korea's statistics office recorded about 2022.

Babies born in 2022

249,186babies

Then and now
  • When they were born249,186
  • Today (2025)255,233

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 79.9 · Women 85.6Born in 2024: 83.7 yrs
  • Births per woman0.78Children per woman over a lifetimeIn 2025: 0.8
  • Sex ratio at birth104.7104.7 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 2022 is 4 if they've already had their birthday this year and 3 if they haven't. In Korean age they're 5, and their year age is 4.
Counting from 2026, a 3-year-old was born in 2022.
2022 is the year of the Black Tiger. In the sexagenary cycle it's Im-in (壬寅), and because the heavenly stem carries the element Water (水), the animal picks up the color Black. One catch: the tti turns over at ipchun, around February 4, so a birthday before that counts as the previous year's animal.
No. 2022 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 🌐