The Korean zodiac and Lunar New Year
Last updated: 2026-11-08
Ask a Korean person their age and you might hear “I’m a Dragon” instead. The twelve-animal zodiac (띠, tti) is a lively part of everyday conversation in Korea — and it’s the animal on your talisman’s seal.
The twelve animals
The animals follow a fixed twelve-year cycle, in this order:
- Rat (쥐) — Quick, clever, resourceful.
- Ox (소) — Steady, patient, strong.
- Tiger (호랑이) — Brave, bold, protective.
- Rabbit (토끼) — Gentle, lucky, kind.
- Dragon (용) — Bold, lucky, a natural leader.
- Snake (뱀) — Wise, calm, intuitive.
- Horse (말) — Free, energetic, warm.
- Goat (양) — Creative, gentle, caring.
- Monkey (원숭이) — Curious, playful, smart.
- Rooster (닭) — Honest, hardworking, proud.
- Dog (개) — Loyal, true, protective.
- Pig (돼지) — Generous, joyful, blessed.
They come from the twelve “earthly branches” (십이지), an ancient East Asian way of counting years, months, days and even hours of the day. In Korea the twelve animals also became guardian figures: carved animal-headed guardians, dressed in armor, encircle some royal tombs of the Silla kingdom, facing outward to protect the dead.
Korea’s list matches the Chinese zodiac. The one animal that often causes confusion in English is the eighth: the Korean word 양 covers both sheep and goats, so you’ll see it translated either way.
When does the year change?
Your animal is set by the year you were born — but the zodiac year doesn’t begin on January 1. In everyday Korean use it changes at Seollal, the Lunar New Year, which falls between January 21 and February 20. If you were born in January or early February, check the table below: you may belong to the previous year’s animal.
(Traditional fortune-tellers who read the “four pillars” of a birth often count the year from ipchun, the first day of spring around February 4, instead. On this site we use Lunar New Year.)
The zodiac in daily life
- Telling ages. Saying your animal is a polite way to share your age without saying the number — the listener can work it out.
- 띠동갑 (tti-dong-gap). Two people born twelve years apart share an animal and are called “zodiac twins.”
- Lucky years. Some years are thought especially lucky. The 2007 “golden pig” year was so popular that Korea saw a noticeable bump in births.
- New Year greetings. Every Seollal, cards, stamps and shop windows feature the animal of the coming year.
Find your animal
Each row shows the years of one animal and the date its year began (Lunar New Year). If your birthday falls before that date, you belong to the animal of the year before.
| Animal | Years (start date) |
|---|---|
| Rat 쥐 |
1948 (Feb 10), 1960 (Jan 28), 1972 (Feb 15), 1984 (Feb 2), 1996 (Feb 19), 2008 (Feb 7), 2020 (Jan 25) |
| Ox 소 |
1949 (Jan 29), 1961 (Feb 15), 1973 (Feb 3), 1985 (Feb 20), 1997 (Feb 8), 2009 (Jan 26), 2021 (Feb 12) |
| Tiger 호랑이 |
1950 (Feb 17), 1962 (Feb 5), 1974 (Jan 23), 1986 (Feb 9), 1998 (Jan 28), 2010 (Feb 14), 2022 (Feb 1) |
| Rabbit 토끼 |
1951 (Feb 6), 1963 (Jan 25), 1975 (Feb 11), 1987 (Jan 29), 1999 (Feb 16), 2011 (Feb 3), 2023 (Jan 22) |
| Dragon 용 |
1952 (Jan 27), 1964 (Feb 13), 1976 (Jan 31), 1988 (Feb 18), 2000 (Feb 5), 2012 (Jan 23), 2024 (Feb 10) |
| Snake 뱀 |
1953 (Feb 14), 1965 (Feb 2), 1977 (Feb 18), 1989 (Feb 6), 2001 (Jan 24), 2013 (Feb 10), 2025 (Jan 29) |
| Horse 말 |
1954 (Feb 4), 1966 (Jan 22), 1978 (Feb 7), 1990 (Jan 27), 2002 (Feb 12), 2014 (Jan 31), 2026 (Feb 17) |
| Goat 양 |
1955 (Jan 24), 1967 (Feb 9), 1979 (Jan 28), 1991 (Feb 15), 2003 (Feb 1), 2015 (Feb 19), 2027 (Feb 7) |
| Monkey 원숭이 |
1956 (Feb 12), 1968 (Jan 30), 1980 (Feb 16), 1992 (Feb 4), 2004 (Jan 22), 2016 (Feb 8), 2028 (Jan 27) |
| Rooster 닭 |
1957 (Jan 31), 1969 (Feb 17), 1981 (Feb 5), 1993 (Jan 23), 2005 (Feb 9), 2017 (Jan 28), 2029 (Feb 13) |
| Dog 개 |
1958 (Feb 19), 1970 (Feb 6), 1982 (Jan 25), 1994 (Feb 10), 2006 (Jan 29), 2018 (Feb 16), 2030 (Feb 3) |
| Pig 돼지 |
1959 (Feb 8), 1971 (Jan 27), 1983 (Feb 13), 1995 (Jan 31), 2007 (Feb 18), 2019 (Feb 5) |
When you make a talisman, we work this out for you from your birthday — and we don’t keep the birthday.
Learn more
- Where Korean talismans come fromFolk belief, Buddhism and Taoism, and how bujeok became part of everyday Korean life.
- Yellow paper, red ink: colors and symbolsWhy talismans are yellow and red, and what the sun, moon, clouds, knots and coins stand for.
- Seasonal wishes in KoreaSeollal, Ipchun, Daeboreum, Dano and Chuseok — the days Koreans traditionally make wishes.
- How people keep, give and retire a bujeokWhere to keep a talisman, giving one as a gift, and what to do with it when its time is up.