Korean age calculator
An old Korean man I saw in Jinju.
In Korea, everyone is 1 from the time they are born. And everyone gets a year older on New Year’s day. So your Korean age is always either one or two years older than your Western age. And yes, a baby born on New Year’s Eve can be two years old the next day, although in practice people wait awhile before they start talking about somebody’s Korean age.
Working out your Korean age can be tricky. Even more so because Koreans frequently go by the Lunar (Chinese) New Year. And that is when your head starts to hurt. It hurts even more when you try to figure out how to algebraically parse things to make a javascript Korean Age Calculator, but that is what I’ve done. So here it is – put in the relevant information and it will convert your age to Korean years, according to both the Solar and Lunar (Seollal) calendars. Have fun.
Korean age calculator
How to calculate your Korean age (and how this works)
Having spent a good hour and a half thinking about how to calculate your Korean age to make this thing, I can now tell you the easy way to work out your Korean age, which is also how the calculator works.
As you are 1 year old when you are born, and as a new year will inevitably come around before your first birthday, it is impossible to ever catch up to your Korean age. However once a year, on your birthday, you get temporarily closer by one year. So, to put it simply – in a given year, before your birthday, your Korean age is your Western age plus two; after your birthday, it is your Western age plus one.
To calculate your age by the lunar calendar is only slightly more complex; we just need to change “the start of the year” to “the start of the lunar year”. So, go back to the last Lunar New Year and repeat the process. Add two before your birthday, and one afterwards.
Simple.
As to whether to use the lunar or solar new year, from everything I’ve read and everyone I’ve asked, it’s a matter of personal preference. For most people, it only makes a difference for one month of the year or so – the period between January 1 and the start of the lunar new year. However if you have a January or early February birthday, it makes a difference for the rest of the year. Want to appear mature to the handsome oppa? Go for the higher number. Mourning your lost youth and despairing over the swiftness of time’s passing? You know what to do. Although truthfully in that situation your best bet is to play dumb about the whole Korean age thing. It invariably makes you feel old.
Related Posts
Obama speaking Korean – a history
5 weirdest things about Korean culture
Should I write about this on my Korea blog?comments
188 comments on “Korean age calculator”
Leave a Reply
Please note: if your comment is a question relating to your personal situation or a request for advice about living and teaching in Korea, please contact me directly, rather than leaving a comment here. Such questions won't be answered in comments.
Subscribe to Waegukin
If you enjoyed this, subscribe to Waegukin to get new posts, links, and commentary:
In China, basically if you are turning 12 this year but you are 11, they’d say you are 12 as well. Even if your birthday was Dec 31.
April 8th, 2018 at 1:18 pmThis might seem a bit dumb, but when I became a fan of BTS, I thought I was older than all of the members. But the oldest of the group (born about a week after me) was often stated to be one or two years older than me. I thought I was reading things wrong or the translations in interviews were wrong. But I find it fascinating to know it is a cultural thing.
April 12th, 2018 at 6:53 amThis does not explain everything about Korean age. It does not say why you start 1 year old when you are born so that people think the Korean age is a bit dumb. The reason why you are 1 year old when you are born is that Korean think you are a living thing when you are even in the womb.
April 12th, 2018 at 8:01 amI’m 19 in korean but here in america i’m 17
April 16th, 2018 at 2:29 amAt first I didn’t understand why your 1 year older but now I kinda understand it. The reason why they go an extra year is because when you count the 9 months your in your mother stomach they count that as a year instead of how other places do it. They say you’ve been alive for 9 months already. At first I didn’t get it but now I kinda do. I don’t know if I like it or not cause in New Zealand I’m 15 but in Korea I’m considered 16 or 17 (depends on the solar and lunar calender). I don’t know if I like being a year or 2 over….It makes me feel kinda old….
April 24th, 2018 at 9:04 pmIn England horses [well, racehorses at least] are counted as 1-year-olds when born, and their ages all go up by one at the start of the solar year.
April 27th, 2018 at 1:22 pmI am 18 by Korean calender but actually in India I am 16 years old right now…
May 4th, 2018 at 11:04 amWhy can’t determining someone’s age and shoe sizing just be freakin universal? Why the hell do we complicate everything??!!!!
May 15th, 2018 at 4:09 amWow so basically I’m 16 in Korean age but I will soon be 15 and then I’ll be 17. Pretty cool acc
May 16th, 2018 at 2:28 pmWow that means i’m 20 according to korean age
May 23rd, 2018 at 2:15 amSWEEEET!!! I´ll be 18 in Korea XD
May 28th, 2018 at 1:20 amOk, it might be a cultural thing, and I respect then, but the correct age is the biological age. You are not one year old when you are born, you are just a new born, and will turn one year old after 12 months. Considering koreans think you are a fully human being while still in the womb, abortion must be a serious issue there. As far as I know it is forbideen in most cases.
May 31st, 2018 at 4:29 amhere i am 10 but in Korea i am 12
June 4th, 2018 at 1:03 amSo I’m 15 in Korean age but 13 in western YASS, that’s pretty cool
June 4th, 2018 at 11:19 amWooow ir i Washington in south korea i be 13❤️
June 4th, 2018 at 12:40 pmThat’s why when they asked for people’s age, they usually go “what year were you born? Instead of “how old are you?”
But one thing confuse me though;
On produce 101 when the contestants asked their ages, they were both born on the same year but one said she was born on “b/pareun” then the other started calling her “unnie”. I took it that being on “b/pareun” age made her older.
But on a skit on SBS heroes Park Jiyeon said she was 7 years old, but Lee Hwi Jae said she is supposed to be 8, and Jiyeon said it was because she was on her “pareun” age. So pareun age made her younger.
Of course this is all based on my understanding of the subtitle. Is pareun the age base on the Lunar age, discussed here?
June 7th, 2018 at 11:26 amWhat the hell is this all I
June 7th, 2018 at 12:51 pmWant to see if you are 12
How old will you be is Korean what the hell he’ll
And is he dead it is a stupid thing but I think he
Is Dead I don’t know so so I will think ok but all so i won this conversation
My birthday is on 24 february 2003, so I’m 16 or 17?
June 8th, 2018 at 4:24 pmIm 15 in Korean age ….cool ! I’m 13…
June 12th, 2018 at 8:16 amIm 15 in Korean age ….cool ! I’m 13…thanks BTS… I now know my Korean age
June 12th, 2018 at 8:17 amThis is wrong it is not like that in Korea stop lying
June 14th, 2018 at 4:50 pmOk….so does the korean age system only count for the peaople who were born there or can someone come there and automatically be 1 or 2 yrs older than what they already are?
June 15th, 2018 at 1:47 amCool I’m 10 here in the USA but in Korea I’m 11!
June 20th, 2018 at 4:58 amSoo I’m fifteen in Korea cool
June 22nd, 2018 at 2:49 amI Am 23 Here On America But I Am 25 On Koria What!
June 22nd, 2018 at 2:10 pmCOOL!!! So I’m 12-13 in Korea. I find it kinda confusing that u could have two different ages though, like which one is ur actual age, ur lunar or solar age?
June 23rd, 2018 at 4:52 amI love how I become older.
I’m 14 in America but if I were Korean I’d be 16 years old.
The culture is fascinating and I had no idea that this is how their ages worked.
June 24th, 2018 at 12:06 pmI’m 14 in Korea. In Bulgaria I’m 13.
June 25th, 2018 at 5:32 pmummmmmm…. i think I get it….. wait….*reads everything again* actually no….
DOES THAT MEAN IN THE WESTERN PARTS JUNGKOOK FROM BTS WOULD BE….. 18??
AND LIKE…. MARK FROM GOT7 WOULD BE 22??
AND SANA FROM TWICE WOULD BE…. 19??
June 26th, 2018 at 5:01 amWeirdd….. lol loads of kpop references soz I will stop now….
I’m 14 in korea but I’m 12 here in U.S
June 28th, 2018 at 4:18 pmI’m 14 in korea but I’m 12 here in U.S
June 28th, 2018 at 4:19 pmWait so what I got was when you are born you are already 1 (same in Vietnam I heard) then every New Years you turn a year older? What about your real birthday? Does it substitute?
June 30th, 2018 at 8:25 amSo basically I’m 13 since I was born in October 27 Year 2004
July 4th, 2018 at 7:22 amBut In Korea I’m age 15
Is everybody here a damn teen? Lol
July 24th, 2018 at 5:32 pmim confused why your age goes down between your birthday and the new year???
July 26th, 2018 at 9:42 pmI am 9, but in Korea i’m 80 wow
August 3rd, 2018 at 4:08 amI’m 16 years old here in the Philippines, but if I go to Korea, I’m considered as 18 years old. Woahhhh, I think I’m a little bit old.
August 6th, 2018 at 11:07 pm