In Korea you might be a year or two older than you think. Enter your birthday and find out.
Ask a Korean how old they are and the number you get back is usually their Korean age. You are 1 on the day you are born, and then the whole country gains a year together on January 1. Nobody waits for their own birthday.
That is why a baby born on December 31 is 2 years old the next morning, and why your Korean age is one or two years above the number on your passport.
On June 28, 2023, South Korea made international age the default. Unless a law, a contract, or a government form says otherwise, the age written on it is now the same one you use at home.
Everyday life did not follow. Korean age is still what decides who is older in a group, which honorifics get used, and what people say when they introduce themselves.
| Age | Starts at | Goes up on |
|---|---|---|
| Korean age | 1, on the day you're born | January 1 |
| International age | 0, on the day you're born | Your birthday |
| Year age | 0, on January 1 of your birth year | January 1 |
Year age is simply the current year minus your birth year. Korea keeps it for military conscription and for the age you can legally buy alcohol and cigarettes.
Twelve animals repeat in a fixed order, one per year, and yours says something about you the way a star sign does. It is small talk you will run into within minutes of meeting someone new.
One catch: the animal changes at ipchun, around February 4, not on January 1. If your birthday is in January or early February, you belong to the previous year's animal - this calculator does that correction for you.
Enter your birthday and we'll work out every age Korea uses.
