60Gapja / Saju vs BaZi
Saju vs BaZi: what is the difference?
Same eight characters, two names, three practical differences.
Saju (사주) and BaZi (八字) are the Korean and Chinese names for the same Four Pillars system. Given the same birth moment in true solar time, a Saju chart and a BaZi chart contain the same eight characters. The differences are in practice: Korean readers routinely correct Korean birth times by about 30 minutes for longitude, Korean and Chinese schools use different terminology and emphasise different techniques, and English-language BaZi content mostly comes from the feng shui industry in Malaysia and Singapore while English-language Saju content is newer and tied to Korean culture.
Where the two are identical
- Ten heavenly stems, twelve earthly branches, five elements, sixty-pair cycle.
- Year pillar starting at the start of spring (입춘 / 立春), month pillars on the twelve solar terms, day pillars in the continuous sixty-day count, hour pillars in two-hour blocks.
- The day stem as the self, the ten gods (십신 / 十神) as relationships to the day stem, ten-year luck pillars derived from the month pillar.
Difference one: birth-time correction
Korea keeps its clocks on the 135°E meridian, which runs through Japan, while Seoul sits near 127°E. Korean readers therefore subtract about 30 minutes from any Korean birth time before building the hour pillar, and the standard Korean almanac apps do this by default. Chinese BaZi practice varies by region, and many English BaZi calculators apply no longitude correction at all. For births near an hour boundary, this alone produces different charts from the two traditions.
Difference two: terminology and technique
| Concept | Korean Saju | English BaZi |
|---|---|---|
| The self | Ilgan (일간), day stem | Day Master |
| Balancing element | Yongsin (용신), central to most readings | Useful God, used less in profile-based schools |
| Twelve life stages | 12운성, widely used, with two competing tables | 12 Life Stages, used by some schools |
| Special stars | Sinsal (신살), dozens in common use | Symbolic Stars, a shorter list |
| Midnight rule | Late-Rat hour (야자시) offered as an option | Usually day changes at 23:00 |
Difference three: who writes about it in English
English BaZi material has existed for more than twenty years and comes largely from feng shui consultants, so it skews toward business owners and readers over forty. English Saju material took off in 2025 with Korean film and television, and the people searching for "Korean saju" are mostly under thirty-five and arrive through K-pop, K-drama and Korean travel. The search term "bazi" is also crowded with unrelated meanings in other languages, which is one reason 60Gapja names its apps around Saju.
Which one should you learn?
Learn whichever tradition has teachers and material in a language you read. The chart is the same, so a Korean reader and a Chinese reader will recognise each other's work. If you were born in Korea or want a reading in the Korean tradition, use a Saju calculator that applies the Korean longitude correction. If you are comparing your chart with a BaZi reading you already have, switch the correction off in Jeolgi and the pillars will match.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Saju just Korean BaZi?
- Saju is the Korean name and practice of the Four Pillars system, which China calls BaZi. The calendar calculation is shared. Korean practice developed its own emphasis and conventions over several centuries.
- Will a BaZi calculator give the same result as a Saju calculator?
- For the same true solar time, yes. Differences arise when one calculator applies a longitude or summer-time correction and the other does not, or when they use different midnight rules.
- Which is more accurate, Saju or BaZi?
- Neither is a tested science, and the chart is identical. The meaningful question is whether the birth time was corrected properly and whether the reader applies one school consistently.
- What is Four Pillars of Destiny?
- Four Pillars of Destiny is the usual English translation of BaZi and Saju. The four pillars are the year, month, day and hour of birth, each written as a stem and a branch.