Anyone asking a South Korean about their age might get several answers at once. On the one hand, there is the Korean age, in which a baby is already given the first year of life at birth. On January 1st – and not on the birthday – one year is added to the age.
In addition, there are two other calculation methods in South Korea: to determine the minimum legal age – for example, for alcohol consumption – babies are counted as zero years old at birth, and on January 1st, they become one year older. Since the 1960s, some authorities have also used the international standard, based on date of birth.
This means, for example, that a person born on December 31, 1992 in South Korea would be 29 years old on December 9, 2022 according to the international standard, 30 according to the drinking system and already 31 according to Korean age.
Enough of “confusion”
This “mess” must now end by June 2023 at the latest, as announced by Parliament. So only the international system should be applied. President Yoon Suk Yeol campaigned for the change and, among other things, referred to high administrative costs.
“The review aims to reduce unnecessary socio-economic costs due to legal and social disputes and confusion caused by different methods of calculating old age,” said Yoo Sang Bum of the ruling Gungminui-him (people power) party in parliament.
“Finally my true age”
In South Korea itself, the ad was widely approved. “I’m getting two years younger – I’m so happy,” wrote one Twitter user. “I was two years old right after my birth because I was born in December. I am finally regaining my true age!”
Jeong Da Eun, a 29-year-old office worker, told Portal she always had to think twice when asked about her age abroad. “I remember foreigners looking at me in surprise because it took me so long to answer how old I am,” said the woman.
origins in the dark
The origins of the system are unclear. One theory is that the one-year-old at birth takes into account the time spent in the womb – with nine months rounded down to the nearest twelve. Others attribute it to an ancient Asian number system that lacked the concept of zero.
religion
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Explanations for the extra year added on January 1st are more complicated. Some experts believe that ancient Koreans placed their year of birth on the 60-year cycle of the Chinese calendar. At a time when there was no solar calendar, they ignored the day of your birth and simply added a year to the first day of the lunar calendar.
The extra year on January 1 has become commonplace as more and more South Koreans have started to follow the western calendar. Age counting according to calendar year was also possible in other East Asian countries such as Japan.