How old was someone born in one year, in another?
Birth year and a year in question are enough — all three Korean ages, with the one in use back then marked.
The switch to international age came on 28 June 2023 — add the month and day to see which applied.
How to use
- Enter the birth year. Two digits work: 80 means 1980. Add the birthday if you know it.
- Enter the year in question. It starts at this year; adding a month and day pins the international age to one number.
- Read the three ages. The badge marks the one that was in everyday or legal use on that date.
Examples
Born 1980 — how old in 2015?
Counting age 36, year age 35, international age 34 before the birthday and 35 after. 2015 is before the 2023 unification, so the age people would have said was 36. With a birthday of 10 May, 9 May 2015 gives 34 and 10 May gives 35.
Born 1995 — which school year in 2008?
Year age 13, so the first year of middle school. Set the month to January or February and it is still the sixth year of elementary school. Entry before 2008 had the early-birthday rule, so someone born in January or February 1995 could have been a year ahead, in the second year.
Born 2000 — 27 June 2023 versus 28 June 2023
One day apart, the badge moves. On the 27th the counting age of 24 is the everyday age; from the 28th the international age is the legal one. The numbers themselves do not change: counting 24, year 23, international 22 or 23. What changed is which number is official.
Born 1970 — how old in 1988?
Counting age 19, year age 18, international 17 or 18. Year age 18 is the last year of high school. 1988 is in the early-birthday era, so someone born in January or February 1970 may already have graduated.
FAQ
What is the difference between counting age, year age and international age?
Counting age (세는 나이) starts at 1 at birth and goes up for everyone on 1 January: year − birth year + 1. Year age (연 나이) is simply year − birth year. International age (만 나이) is the number of full years since the birthday, so it depends on whether the birthday has passed. For someone born in 1980, in 2015 that is 36, 35 and 34 or 35.
What did the 2023 age unification change?
From 28 June 2023 Korean law and administration state ages as international age unless a statute says otherwise. Nobody’s birthday moved; the number you are asked for on forms and in offices did. Before that date, counting age was what people used day to day, which is why this tool marks it for earlier years.
Why show all three?
Because the question “how old was I then” has three honest answers, and which one you want depends on why you are asking. A school year, a conscription year and a legal age each key off a different one. Showing one would mean guessing which.
Which age applies to alcohol and tobacco?
Year age, in effect. The Youth Protection Act protects those under 19 international age but excludes anyone who has reached 1 January of the year they turn 19 — so the year you turn 19 by year age, from its first day. Conscription works the same way: the Military Service Act counts an age as reached on 1 January of that year.
What is the early-birthday (빠른 년생) rule?
Until the 2008 school entry, children born in January or February started school with the cohort born the previous year, so they were one school year ahead of others born in their own year. From the 2009 entry, everyone born in the same calendar year enters together. The school-year line here uses the current rule and notes the exception.
What if I do not know the birth month?
Counting age and year age need only the year, so they are exact regardless. International age is then shown as two numbers, before and after the birthday. Add the birth month and day, and the month and day of the year in question, and it collapses to one.