South Koreans have instantly become a year or two younger.
South Koreans have instantly become a year or two younger
They experienced the instantaneous age reduction due to the implementation of new laws based on internationally recognized age counting.
Starting on Wednesday (28.06.23), one of the country's traditional counting methods, which deemed individuals one year old at birth, was replaced.
The method accounted for the time spent in the womb.
But the previous system, known as "Korean age," also involved ageing up by a year on January 1st annually, regardless of one's actual birth date.
It meant someone born on New Year's Eve would turn two years old on New Year's Day.
The other traditional method, known as "counting age," considered a person zero at birth and added a year on every January 1st.
Under this system, someone born on New Year's Eve would turn one on New Year's Day.
Even though the "counting age" method will still be used for many legal purposes, such as determining the legal drinking age of 19, the new law may result in South Koreans having their ages reduced on official documents.
Since the 1960s, South Korea has followed the international norm of calculating age, starting from zero at birth and adding a year on each birthday for medical and legal purposes.
But many South Koreans continued to use the traditional method for everyday life. The government hopes that the change in law will significantly reduce legal disputes, complaints, and social confusion surrounding age calculations.
A government survey conducted in September revealed 86 per cent of South Koreans stated they would adopt the international age system in their daily lives once the new laws took effect.
Many citizens were enthusiastic about the change, as it meant they would have additional time before reaching certain age milestones.
For example, Choi Hyun-ji, a 27-year-old office worker in Seoul, mentioned that she was about to turn 30 next year under the traditional Korean age system but now felt grateful for the “extra time”.
Calculating one's age using the international method is relatively straightforward.
By adding one year to the current year and subtracting the year of birth, individuals can determine their age.
For instance, if the current year is 2023 and the year of birth is 1997, the calculation would be: 2023 plus 1, minus 1997, equalling 27 years of age, according to website 90 Day Korean, which focuses on Korean language and culture.