Korean zodiac signs

Which date starts the year?

The Korean zodiac (tti) follows the Chinese cycle. Traditionally the new animal year begins at Seollal, the Lunar New Year. Saju, Korean Four Pillars fortune-telling, starts the year at Ipchun (the start of spring, about February 4). In everyday conversation many people simply use the calendar year, so a January baby may be described differently by different people.

Tti in everyday life

Asking someone’s tti is a polite way to work out their age. Years are also described by element and color: 2026 is called the year of the red horse (붉은 말의 해), red standing for fire.

Korean zodiac years and Seollal dates

Gunghap and samjae

Two traditional practices use the tti. Gunghap (궁합), compatibility reading before marriage, compares the couple’s animals and, in full saju, their birth pillars; animals in the same trine are considered a good match and clashing animals a poor one. Samjae (삼재) is a traditional three-year period of bad luck that recurs every twelve years: for Rat, Dragon and Monkey people it falls in Tiger, Rabbit and Dragon years; for Ox, Snake and Rooster in Pig, Rat and Ox years; for Tiger, Horse and Dog in Monkey, Rooster and Dog years; and for Rabbit, Goat and Pig in Snake, Horse and Goat years.

Both are folk beliefs rather than facts, but they remain part of Korean popular culture.

Find your animal

Use the Chinese zodiac calculator with either the Lunar New Year or the Lichun (Ipchun) setting.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Chinese zodiac
• Korea Tourism Organization