South Koreans are about to get a year or two younger, thanks to a new law passed on Thursday that aims to standardize how age is calculated in the country.
At present, it's common for South Koreans to have not just one age, but three – an "international age," a "Korean age" and a "calendar age. " But to end confusion, the country's parliament has decreed（颁布法令）that from June 2023 all official documents must use the standard "international age. "
In South Korea, a person's "international age" refers to the number of years since they were born, and starts at zero – the same system used in most other countries. But when asked their age in informal settings, most South Koreans will answer with their "Korean age," which could be one or even two years older than their "international age. " Under this system, babies are considered one year old on the day they're born, with a year added every January 1. In some circumstances, South Koreans also use their "calendar age" – a kind of mashup (混搭) between international and Korean age – which considers babies as zero years old the day they're born and adds a year to their age every January 1.
Take "Gangnam Style" singer Psy, for example. Born on December 31, 1977, he is considered 44 by international age, 45 by calendar age, and 46 by Korean age.
If this sounds confusing, it is, with daily life in the country often switching between the hodgepodge (大杂烩) of different systems. Most people use Korean age, which has its roots in China, in everyday life and social interaction, while international age is more often used for legal and official matters – for instance, when dealing with civil laws. However, some laws – including those surrounding the legal ages for drinking, smoking, and military conscription (征兵) – use calendar age.
"The revision is aimed at reducing unnecessary socio-economic costs because legal and social disputes as well as confusion persist（持续存在）due to the different ways of calculating age," Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party told parliament.
