LIVING IN KOREA · CALCULATOR
Korean Age Calculator
Korea switched to international age for official use in June 2023, but you will still hear the old “Korean age.” Enter your date of birth to see all three ages side by side.
Calculate your ages
Ages by date of birth
| Date of birth | International age | Year age | Counting age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-12-31 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 2000-01-01 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| 1995-06-15 | 31 | 31 | 32 |
| 2010-03-01 | 16 | 16 | 17 |
Three ways to count age in Korea
International age (만 나이, man nai) starts at 0 and goes up on your birthday, as in most countries. Since June 28, 2023, the Framework Act on Administration and the Civil Act make it the default for laws, contracts and official documents.
Counting age (세는 나이, seneun nai), often called Korean age, starts at 1 at birth and goes up on January 1 for everyone. It has no legal effect, but it is still common in conversation.
Year age (연 나이, yeon nai) is the current year minus your birth year. The Youth Protection Act uses it, so the legal age to buy alcohol and tobacco starts on January 1 of the year you turn 19.
Why age matters in Korean conversation
Age decides who is older, which affects how you address someone and whether you use polite speech. That is why people often ask your birth year rather than your age: it avoids confusion between the systems.
Frequently asked questions
What is Korean age?
Traditionally, Koreans counted a baby as 1 year old at birth and added a year to everyone on New Year’s Day. This "counting age" is 1 or 2 years more than your international age. Since June 28, 2023, laws and official documents use international age unless a law says otherwise.
Do Koreans still use Korean age?
In everyday conversation many people still give their counting age or ask which year you were born, because it decides who is older and how to speak to each other. For anything official, such as contracts, hospitals and government forms, international age is used.
What is "year age"?
Year age is the current year minus your birth year, ignoring your birthday. Korea still uses it for some rules: you can legally buy alcohol and tobacco from January 1 of the year you turn 19, and military service duties are also set by year.
How old is someone born on December 31?
On 2026-10-10, someone born on December 31, 2000 is 25 in international age, 26 in year age and 27 in counting age. Because they turn a year older in counting age the very next day after birth, the gap between counting age and international age is largest for people born late in the year.
More tools
Sources and last updated
- International age as the default: 행정기본법 제7조의2 (Framework Act on Administration, Article 7-2) and 민법 제158조 (Civil Act, Article 158), in force since June 28, 2023 (Korean text)
- Year age for alcohol and tobacco: 청소년 보호법 제2조 (Youth Protection Act, Article 2, Korean text)
- News coverage of the change: Al Jazeera, June 28, 2023
- Ages are calculated with this device’s current date.
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