What Is The ‘Korean Age’ System? Know Everything As South Korea Adopts New Law For Age Counting
In December, South Korea passed laws to scrap the traditional method and fully adopt the international standard.
The entire population of South Korea has become a year or two younger as a new law that require using only the international method of counting age took effect on Wednesday.
Under the traditional age system that South Korean ditched, the people of the country are deemed to be a year old when they are born, and a year is added every 1 January.
In December last year, South Korea passed laws to scrap the traditional method and fully adopt the international standard.
“We expect legal disputes, complaints and social confusion that have been caused over how to calculate ages will be greatly reduced,” Reuters quoted Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu as saying on Monday.
What Is The 'Korean Age' System?
The international standard of counting age calculates a person's age from zero at birth and a year is added on every individual's birthday.
However, the Korean age is always one or two years more than an individual's international age.
For example, a person born on July 1, 1998 is 24 years old and will turn 25 on July 1 this year under the international system. But under the Korean age system, the person is already 26.
To show the complications of the Korean system, The Korea Times cited an example of a baby born on December 31 who becomes two years old right after midnight.
According to a Reuters report, another age system exists in South Korea for conscription, school entrance and calculating the legal age to drink alcohol and smoke: a person’s age is calculated from zero at birth and a year is added on January 1.
According to a government survey conducted in September 2022, 86% of South Koreans said they would use the international age in their everyday life when the new laws took effect.
