How to Read Tojeong Bigyeol — The 144-Hexagram Formula Behind Korea's New Year Fortune

Tojeong Bigyeol is a Korean New Year custom that converts your Korean age and lunar birthday into three digits — an upper gwae (1–8), a middle gwae (1–6), and a lower gwae (1–3) — to select one of 144 hexagrams (8 × 6 × 3) and read your luck for the year. Every year as the new year opens, the same question makes the rounds in Korea: "What does my Tojeong Bigyeol say this year?" Once you know that the one-line oracle actually comes out of a calculation — turning an age and a birthday into three numbers — the result becomes far more fun to read. Enter your birth date and Tojeong Bigyeol casts this year's hexagram for you automatically, along with an overall summary and the month-by-month flow. This guide is a beginner-friendly introduction to how those 144 hexagrams are actually put together.

At a glance

• Tojeong Bigyeol is a custom from the late Joseon dynasty of reading the year ahead in the first days of the lunar new year (Seollal) — and it uses its own 144-hexagram system, not the I Ching's 64.
• A hexagram is a three-digit figure — upper gwae (1–8) · middle gwae (1–6) · lower gwae (1–3) — so there are 8 × 6 × 3 = 144 hexagrams in all.
• Casting works from your Korean age and lunar birthday, adding the Taese, Wolgeon, and Iljin numbers found in a set reference table, then dividing.
• Each hexagram carries an eight-character verse in classical Chinese, followed by the year's overall reading and month-by-month luck.
• Want to try it yourself? Enter your birth date into Tojeong Bigyeol.

What is Tojeong Bigyeol?

Tojeong Bigyeol (土亭祕訣) is a seasonal custom, practiced since the late Joseon dynasty, of divining the year's fortunes at the very start of the new year, around Seollal — the Lunar New Year. It's often confused with the I Ching, but Tojeong Bigyeol doesn't borrow the I Ching's 64 hexagrams: it has its own separate system of 144 hexagrams. A fixed formula converts your birth date into a three-digit figure — the hexagram — and you then look up the classical verse and interpretation already written for it.

144 hexagrams = 8 × 6 × 3

A Tojeong hexagram isn't a single number but a combination of three digits. Each position has a set range of values, and multiplying those ranges gives the total number of hexagrams.

Multiply the three positions and you get 8 × 6 × 3 = 144 — which is why Tojeong Bigyeol consists of exactly 144 hexagrams. If your upper gwae is 1, your middle gwae 1, and your lower gwae 1, the three digits are strung together as "1·1·1" and read as your hexagram for the year.

The casting formula

Casting the hexagram — jakgwae (作卦) — is exactly what it sounds like. The traditional Korean method works from your Korean age (the traditional count where you're one at birth and everyone gains a year at New Year) and the lunar calendar, and each digit is the remainder left after adding a set number and dividing.

1. Upper gwae = the remainder of (Korean age + Taese Number) ÷ 8
2. Middle gwae = the remainder of (days in your lunar birth month + Wolgeon Number) ÷ 6
3. Lower gwae = the remainder of (lunar birth day + Iljin Number) ÷ 3

The Taese, Wolgeon, and Iljin numbers here aren't values you work out in your head — they're fixed figures looked up in a set quick-reference table.

• Taese Number: the number assigned to the year in question (its taese)
• Wolgeon Number: the number assigned to your birth month (its wolgeon)
• Iljin Number: the number assigned to your birth day (its iljin)

If a division comes out even and the remainder is 0, you read it as that position's maximum instead — 8 for the upper gwae, 6 for the middle, 3 for the lower. And because even a small slip in the lunar date, Korean age, or solar-term boundary changes all three digits at once, it's safer to check with a tool than to work the sums by hand.

The eight-character verse

Each of the 144 hexagrams cast this way carries a verse of eight classical Chinese characters. Take "東風解凍 枯木逢春": "the east wind melts the ice; the withered tree meets spring" — a poetic image of a season when stuck things finally come loose. After those eight characters come the year's overall reading and your month-by-month luck from January through December.

The classical Chinese text of the 144 hexagrams is in the public domain, but the modern plain-language commentary is original work we created ourselves. That's why the free page shows this year's hexagram, an overall summary, and a one-line note for each month of the first half (January–June) — while Bokja's full reading, which walks through each month's likely scene and how to handle it, July–December included, and the keepsake report are available to continue with coins.

How it differs from the I Ching's 64 hexagrams

This is where people trip up most often. Both names involve hexagrams, but they are completely different systems.

In short: the I Ching stacks two sets of eight trigrams to make 64 combinations, while Tojeong Bigyeol multiplies three positions — 1–8, 1–6, and 1–3 — to make 144. The count, the casting method, and the purpose all differ, so it's best not to lump the two together.

Frequently asked questions

Are Tojeong Bigyeol and the I Ching the same thing?

No. The I Ching has 8 × 8 = 64 hexagrams, while Tojeong Bigyeol has 8 × 6 × 3 = 144 — the number of hexagrams and the way they're built are entirely different. Tojeong Bigyeol isn't borrowed from the I Ching; it runs on its own 144-hexagram system.

Why is it calculated with Korean age rather than international age?

Because Tojeong Bigyeol has traditionally been cast from Korean age and the lunar calendar. Enter your international age or a solar-calendar birthday and the upper, middle, and lower gwae can slip out of place, giving you a different hexagram.

Where do the Taese, Wolgeon, and Iljin numbers come from?

They're not values you make up — they're fixed figures found in a set quick-reference table. The taese corresponds to the year, the wolgeon to your birth month, and the iljin to your birth day. Use a tool and these values are looked up and factored in for you automatically.

My calculation left a remainder of 0. Is there a hexagram zero?

No. When the remainder is 0, you convert it to that position's maximum: read the upper gwae as 8, the middle gwae as 6, and the lower gwae as 3.

How much can I see for free?

The free page shows this year's hexagram (upper, middle, lower), an overall summary, and a one-line note for each month of the first half (January–June). The month-by-month scenes and responses including July–December, the in-depth overall reading, and advice for the year continue in Bokja's full reading and keepsake report, available with coins.

Related guides worth a read

• Tojeong Bigyeol, the deep dive — hexagram meanings and monthly luck — how to read the hexagram you've cast
• How today's fortune is determined — how Annual Luck and the daily stem-branch differ from a New Year reading
• What is Samjae? The years it visits each zodiac animal — the misfortune cycle people check alongside the new year

Wrapping up

Tojeong Bigyeol, in the end, is the custom of translating your Korean age and lunar birthday into three digits — upper, middle, lower — and finding the one hexagram among 144 that they point to. Once you know the casting formula, you can see for yourself why your hexagram carries the number it does. Start by checking this year's hexagram and overall summary with Tojeong Bigyeol, and if you're curious about the detailed month-by-month flow and advice for the year ahead, continue with Bokja's full reading and report. Remember that Tojeong Bigyeol doesn't seal your fate or predict the future with certainty — it's best enjoyed as a light way to open the new year, a reference for entertainment and self-understanding.