Korean Counting Age

Korean counting age (se-neun nai) treats birth itself as the start of a person's first year, so infants are considered 1 year old the moment they are born. Everyone then ages up collectively at the start of the next calendar year, regardless of actual birthday. This is the age traditionally used in Saju (Four Pillars) timing: Daeun (Great Luck) 10-year cycles are indexed against counting age, so cycle transitions align with the cultural life-stage rhythm the system was built around. South Korea officially adopted international age for legal purposes in 2023, but counting age remains the standard framework for Saju and other traditional contexts.

Your Daeun cycle ages are expressed in the same age system Korean tradition has always used. If you have ever been told your Saju reading 'starts a new luck cycle at 34,' that's counting age—about one year older than your international age, or two years older if you have not yet had your birthday in the current year.