Korean age is different than the age used in most countries. The whole concept of age is deeply embedded in the Korean language and Korean culture.
We’ll fill you in on what you need to know about age in Korea. We’ll also show you how to calculate your own Korean age. You can choose our easy formula or our Korean age calculator.
Let’s get to it!
Do you want a downloadable guide for this topic? We have a free PDF resource for you here:
Get “Korean Age” Free PDF Guide
Contents
- 1 What is Korean Age?
- 1.1 How does the Korean age system work?
- 2 Korean Age Calculator
- 3 Why is Korean Age Important?
- 4 Why is the Korean Age System Different?
- 5 What’s my Korean age?
- 5.1 1. Use the “Korean Age +1 Formula”
- 5.2 2. Use the “Korean Age Birthday Formula”
- 5.3 3. Use the Korean Age Calculator
- 5.4 International Age vs Korean Age
- 6 How to Say Your Age in Korean
- 7 When is the international age used in Korea?
- 8 Legal Age in Korea
- 9 Legal Drinking Age in Korea
- 10 Military conscription age in Korea
- 11 When Do Koreans Celebrate Their Birthdays?
- 12 Wow, we are the same age!
- 13 Wrap up
What is Korean Age?
Korean age is a way that South Koreans calculate their age. It is always one or two years more than your international age. In counting someone’s age in Korea, Koreans also consider a year in the womb, so everyone is one year old at birth. Everyone gets one year added to their Korean age on New Year’s Day. South Korea is also the only country that practices this.
How does the Korean age system work?
Here’s an easy way to think about it. Your Korean age will always be at least one year older than your international age. That’s because the Korean age adds one year because of the time you spent in the womb before being born (approximately one year).
Your age in Korea will change on New Year’s Day, not on your birthday. People in Korea still celebrate their birthdays on the day they were born and count their actual age. However, it doesn’t affect their Korean age as it changes on January 1st.
For example, if you were born on April 1st, you would still celebrate your birthday on April 1st. The international age will change for you, and not the Korean age, since it won’t change until January 1st. Korean age isn’t calculated based on your birthday.
Important note on the Korean age system
By June 2023, the government decided that the Korean age system would no longer be permitted to be used on official documents like medical and legal documents in South Korea. This new age system was established to reduce confusion in counting age by adopting the same system used in the rest of the world, which means only the international system will remain. This also means that Koreans will be a year or two younger as opposed to their age, which follows the traditional Korean age system.
South Koreans stated in a government survey conducted in September 2022 that after the new law goes into effect, they will start using the international system in their daily lives.
According to Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party, this revision aims to reduce unnecessary socio-economic costs because having different ways of calculating age can be confusing and also leads to legal and social disputes.
As Korea changes the system for counting ages, South Korea’s Minister of Government Legislation, Lee Wan Kyu, oversees the official change. They also expect legal disputes, complaints, and social confusion caused by how to calculate a person’s age to be reduced greatly.
Get “Korean Age” Free PDF Guide
Korean Age Calculator
If you’re curious about your Korean age, you can use the Korean age calculator below. We also recommend you try the formulas we provide before using the Korean age calculator—more on that in a bit.
Enter your birth year below, and the Korean age calculator will show you your age in Korea.
Enter Your Birth Year:
Your Korean age is years old.
The calculator above will use the Korean age formula and automatically calculate your Korean age.
Why is Korean Age Important?
Age in Korea is very important in Korean culture. Far more important than it is in Europe or the USA.
Often, the first question that people ask is, “How old are you?” People’s age is important not just for things like whether you are old enough to buy cigarettes and alcoholbut for a whole variety of social interactions in Korea.
People use different languages when speaking to people of different ages. They expect people to act differently, with younger people expected to pour drinks or older people expected to pay for things.
Even the way you refer to your friends is based on their age; if they are a year older than you, they might be your 누나 (nuna) or 언니 (eonni), if they are younger, they will be your 동생 (dongsaeng).
With all this importance on age, answering the question “How old are you?” is very important. But the answer depends on the meaning of the question.
Why is the Korean Age System Different?
It is different from the international age (or Western age) because of two reasons. First, you are automatically one year old at birth. Second, you age another year because of the turn of the calendar year. Your date of birth doesn’t affect your Korean age.
In contrast, if you are a baby born in the USA, then you are considered to be one day old on the day after you are born. The nine months that you spent inside your mommy’s tummy are not considered part of your age. Your age increases by one each time your date of birth passes.
In Korea, on the day of your birth, you are considered one year old; the time you spent in the womb counts as the first year of your life (despite it only being nine months). Because of this, your Korean age is always at least one year higher than your international age or Western age. Then, the change of the year on January 1st automatically advances a person’s Korean age by one. You can read more about Korean months here.
Get “Korean Age” Free PDF Guide
What’s my Korean age?
If you’re asking yourself, “How old am I in Korean age?” there are three simple ways to get the answer. One of the easiest and simplest ways of knowing your age in South Korea is to add one year to the current year and then subtract your year of birth. This method will make you one year older than your Western age.
For example, if the current year is 2021 and the year you were born is 1992, you’ll add one year to the current year (2021 + 1) and subtract your year of birth. This is (2021 + 1) – 1992 = 30.
Another method of knowing your age in Korea or using the Korean system is by adding one year to your Western age if your birthday has passed upon age calculation and adding two years if your birthday hasn’t passed yet. And lastly, use the Korean age calculator.
Pick whichever one you like the best among these. We recommend using this calculator last. Let’s take a look at the examples of each method below.
1. Use the “Korean Age +1 Formula”
(Current year – Year of Birth) + 1 = Korean Age
If you were born in 1995 and the year is 2019:
(2019 – 1995) + 1 = 25 years old (Korean age)
2. Use the “Korean Age Birthday Formula”
Birthday has passed this year: Your Age + 1 = Korean Age
Birthday has not passed this year: Your Age + 2 = Korean Age
If you are 25 and your birthday has passed:
25 + 1 = 26 years old (Korean age)
If you are 25 and your birthday has not passed this year:
25 + 2 = 27 years old (Korean age)
This means that your Korean age will be one or two years more than your Western age.
3. Use the Korean Age Calculator
Using the online Korean Age Calculator is super easy; just input your birth year. We recommend using the formulas above first and then checking your answer by using the Korean age calculator afterward.
Enter Your Birth Year:
Your Korean age is years old.
If you want to get a solid understanding of age in Korea, then you could try to calculate Korean age using formulas, like celebrities or people you know. Then, you can use the online Korean age calculator to check if you’re correct.
Keep in mind that the Korean age calculator uses today’s date. If you want to calculate a Korean age on a different date, use formulas 1 and 2.
Now that you know how to calculate Korean age, let’s look at some examples.
Get “Korean Age” Free PDF Guide
International Age vs Korean Age
Let’s compare the international age system and the Korean age system. Let’s use BTS’ Jungkook’s birthday as an example, which is September 1, 1997.
- International age:
- On January 1st, 2021, his international age is 23.
- On September 1st, 2021, his international age is 24.
- On January 1st, 2022, his international age is 24.
- Korean age:
- On January 1st, 2021, his Korean age is 25.
- On September 1st, 2021, his Korean age is 25.
- On January 1st, 2022, his Korean age is 26.
BTS Members Age
If you have already familiarized yourself with how to determine your Korean age from the example above, then a bit more practice won’t hurt! Here are the birthdays of the rest of the BTS members that you can use to practice knowing someone’s Korean age.
- Kim Namjoon – September 12, 1994
- Min Yoongi – March 9, 1993
- Jung Hoseok – February 18, 1994
- Kim Taehyung – December 30, 1995
- Park Jimin – October 13, 1995
- Kim Seokjin – December 4, 1992
Get “Korean Age” Free PDF Guide
How to Say Your Age in Korean
Knowing how to say your Korean age in the Korean language is really useful when learning how to speak Korean. It’s for sure to come up in conversation. You can say your Korean age by using this sentence. The online age calculator and formulas above will help you get the correct Korean age to use.
Example:
저는 스무 살입니다 (jeoneun seumu sarimnida).
This means “I am 20 years old“. You can substitute your age by using the chart below. If you don’t know how Korean numbers work, then check out this resource.
| Korean | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 한 살 | han sal | 1 year old |
| 두 살 | du sal | 2 years old |
| 세 살 | se sal | 3 years old |
| 네 살 | ne sal | 4 years old |
| 다섯 살 | daseot sal | 5 years old |
| 여섯 살 | yeoseot sal | 6 years old |
| 일곱 살 | ilgop sal | 7 years old |
| 여덟 살 | yeodeol sal | 8 years old |
| 아홉 살 | ahop sal | 9 years old |
| 열 살 | yeol sal | 10 years old |
| 열한 살 | yeolhan sal | 11 years old |
| 열두 살 | yeoldu sal | 12 years old |
| 열세 살 | yeolse sal | 13 years old |
| 열네 살 | yeolle sal | 14 years old |
| 열다섯 살 | yeoldaseot sal | 15 years old |
| 열여섯 살 | yeollyeoseot sal | 16 years old |
| 열일곱 살 | yeorilgop sal | 17 years old |
| 열여덟 살 | yeollyeodeol sal | 18 years old |
| 열아홉 살 | yeorahop sal | 19 years old |
| 스무 살 | seumu sal | 20 years old |
| 스물한 살 | seumulhan sal | 21 years old |
| 스물두 살 | seumuldu sal | 22 years old |
| 스물세 살 | seumulse sal | 23 years old |
| 스물네 살 | seumulle sal | 24 years old |
| 스물다섯 살 | seumuldaseot sal | 25 years old |
| 스물여섯 살 | seumullyeoseot sal | 26 years old |
| 스물일곱 살 | seumurilgop sal | 27 years old |
| 스물여덟 살 | seumullyeodeol sal | 28 years old |
| 스물아홉 살 | seumurahop sal | 29 years old |
| 서른 살 | seoreun sal | 30 years old |
| 서른한 살 | seoreunhan sal | 31 years old |
| 서른두 살 | seoreundu sal | 32 years old |
| 서른세 살 | seoreunse sal | 33 years old |
| 서른네 살 | seoreunne sal | 34 years old |
| 서른다섯 살 | seoreundaseot sal | 35 years old |
| 서른여섯 살 | seoreunyeoseot sal | 36 years old |
| 서른일곱 살 | seoreunilgop sal | 37 years old |
| 서른여덟 살 | seoreunyeodeol sal | 38 years old |
| 서른아홉 살 | seoreunahop sal | 39 years old |
| 마흔 살 | maheun sal | 40 years old |
| 마흔한 살 | maheunhan sal | 41 years old |
| 마흔두 살 | maheundu sal | 42 years old |
| 마흔세 살 | maheunse sal | 43 years old |
| 마흔네 살 | maheunne sal | 44 years old |
| 마흔다섯 살 | maheundaseot sal | 45 years old |
| 마흔여섯 살 | maheunyeoseot sal | 46 years old |
| 마흔일곱 살 | maheunilgop sal | 47 years old |
| 마흔여덟 살 | maheunyeodeol sal | 48 years old |
| 마흔아홉 살 | maheunahop sal | 49 years old |
| 쉰 살 | swin sal | 50 years old |
| 쉰한 살 | swinhan sal | 51 years old |
| 쉰두 살 | swindu sal | 52 years old |
| 쉰세 살 | swinse sal | 53 years old |
| 쉰네 살 | swinne sal | 54 years old |
| 쉰다섯 살 | swindaseot sal | 55 years old |
| 쉰여섯 살 | swinyeoseot sal | 56 years old |
| 쉰일곱 살 | swinilgop sal | 57 years old |
| 쉰여덟 살 | swinyeodeol sal | 58 years old |
| 쉰아홉 살 | swinahop sal | 59 years old |
| 예순 살 | yesun sal | 60 years old |
| 예순한 살 | yesunhan sal | 61 years old |
| 예순두 살 | yesundu sal | 62 years old |
| 예순세 살 | yesunse sal | 63 years old |
| 예순네 살 | yesunne sal | 64 years old |
| 예순다섯 살 | yesundaseot sal | 65 years old |
| 예순여섯 살 | yesunyeoseot sal | 66 years old |
| 예순일곱 살 | yesunilgop sal | 67 years old |
| 예순여덟 살 | yesunyeodeol sal | 68 years old |
| 예순아홉 살 | yesunahop sal | 69 years old |
| 일흔 살 | ilheun sal | 70 years old |
| 일흔한 살 | ilheunhan sal | 71 years old |
| 일흔두 살 | ilheundu sal | 72 years old |
| 일흔세 살 | ilheunse sal | 73 years old |
| 일흔네 살 | ilheunne sal | 74 years old |
| 일흔다섯 살 | ilheundaseot sal | 75 years old |
| 일흔여섯 살 | ilheunyeoseot sal | 76 years old |
| 일흔일곱 살 | ilheunilgop sal | 77 years old |
| 일흔여덟 살 | ilheunyeodeol sal | 78 years old |
| 일흔아홉 살 | ilheunahop sal | 79 years old |
| 여든 살 | yeodeun sal | 80 years old |
| 여든한 살 | yeodeunhan sal | 81 years old |
| 여든두 살 | yeodeundu sal | 82 years old |
| 여든세 살 | yeodeunse sal | 83 years old |
| 여든네 살 | yeodeunne sal | 84 years old |
| 여든다섯 살 | yeodeundaseot sal | 85 years old |
| 여든여섯 살 | yeodeunyeoseot sal | 86 years old |
| 여든일곱 살 | yeodeunilgop sal | 87 years old |
| 여든여덟 살 | yeodeunyeodeol sal | 88 years old |
| 여든아홉 살 | yeodeunahop sal | 89 years old |
| 아흔 살 | aheun sal | 90 years old |
| 아흔한 살 | aheunhan sal | 91 years old |
| 아흔두 살 | aheundu sal | 92 years old |
| 아흔세 살 | aheunse sal | 93 years old |
| 아흔네 살 | aheunne sal | 94 years old |
| 아흔다섯 살 | aheundaseot sal | 95 years old |
| 아흔여섯 살 | aheunyeoseot sal | 96 years old |
| 아흔일곱 살 | aheunilgop sal | 97 years old |
| 아흔여덟 살 | aheunyeodeol sal | 98 years old |
| 아흔아홉 살 | aheunahop sal | 99 years old |
| 백 살 | baek sal | 100 years old |
| 백한 살 | baekan sal | 101 years old |
| 백두 살 | baekdu sal | 102 years old |
| 백세 살 | baekse sal | 103 years old |
| 백네 살 | baengne sal | 104 years old |
| 백다섯 살 | baekdaseot sal | 105 years old |
| 백여섯 살 | baengnyeoseot sal | 106 years old |
| 백일곱 살 | baegilgop sal | 107 years old |
| 백여덟 살 | baengnyeodeol sal | 108 years old |
| 백아홉 살 | baegahop sal | 109 years old |
| 백열 살 | baengnyeol sal | 110 years old |
| 백열한 살 | baengnyeolhan sal | 111 years old |
Can't read Korean yet? Click here to learn for free in about 60 minutes!
When is the international age used in Korea?
Generally, the Korean age is used for social interactions with people, whereas the international age is used for more official things. For example, the legal age in Korea that is written on alcohol, cigarettes, movie posters, and so on is based on the international age.
Legal Age in Korea
For most things, the minimum age or legal age in South Korea is 19. This means an international age of 18.
Legal Drinking Age in Korea
The legal drinking age in South Korea is 20 years old (Korean age). This means you must have an international age of at least 19 years to legally drink alcoholic beverages in South Korea.
Underage drinking is controlled in South Korea by establishments doing ID checks. This prevents the selling of alcoholic beverages to people below the legal drinking age. The underage drinking law in South Korea remains not as strictly enforced as they are in some other countries.
Military conscription age in Korea
One of the duties of male South Koreans is to render service in the military for about 2 years. According to Korean law, all men aged 19 to 28 must perform compulsory military service.
Get “Korean Age” Free PDF Guide
When Do Koreans Celebrate Their Birthdays?
Everybody in South Korea shares the same birthday: January 1st or New Year’s Day. However, that’s not when they celebrate their actual birthday.
Everybody has their own birthday, complete with cake and candles. South Koreans celebrate their birthday on the day they were born, just like how the international age system works. But on your birthday in Korea, you are not considered one year older than the day before.
Instead, South Koreans all age on the same day, January 1st. No matter when your birthday is if you were 40 on December 31st, then on January 1st, you will be 41. Korean age works as if everybody was born on January 1st.
Video: Korean birthday celebrations
Here’s a video explanation of when South Koreans celebrate their birthdays.
When do Koreans celebrate their birthdays?
If you learned something from this video, you could also subscribe to our YouTube Channelfor other helpful videos!
Wow, we are the same age!
As age determines a complete host of social interactions in Korea, being of the same age can make everybody feel more comfortable.
If somebody that you have just met finds out that you are the same age as them, they will often be excited. This is because if you and your friend are the same age, neither person will have any of the social obligations that come from being a different age from the other.
Being the same age as another person has a special word in Korean: 동갑 (donggap). You will often hear the expression 우리는 동갑이다 (urineun donggabida), which means “we are the same age.”
As the age system in Korea is based on the year of birth rather than your birthday, you will always be the same age as this new friend, even if your birthday is the very next day!
Wrap up
Now you know the difference between the Korean and the international age and how to use the age calculator! This is an important aspect of Korean culture, so don’t be upset that you have suddenly become two years older. After all, age is just a number!
Other interesting questions that you might be asked when meeting new people are about your zodiac sign or blood type. Make sure to visit our articles about them, too, so you’d be prepared to answer them all!
If you liked this article and want to learn Korean, head over here for more great resources:
- The how-to guide for learning the language: https://www.90daykorean.com/learn-korean/
- Korean Phrase List: https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-phrases/
- Korean Grammar Guide: https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-grammar/
- Korean Sentence Structure: https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-sentence-structure/
- Why Learn Korean?: https://www.90daykorean.com/why-learn-korean/
Get “Korean Age” Free PDF Guide
Was this post helpful?
YesNo
