The official age of South Koreans born on December 31 will no longer be 1 year, because the time of gestation in the womb will no longer be taken into account for the calculation of age. And the next day, January 1, 2024, they will no longer be considered 2 years old even if they were born just the day before, because until this week the birthday of all Koreans without exception was celebrated on the first day of the year. This is what is known as the “Korean age”.
South Korea has been the latest Asian country to abandon this traditional Chinese computing system. Japan adopted the international standard in 1950 and North Korea did so in the 1980s. Its use was widespread in social interactions, in which the age of the interlocutor is highly relevant given the strict hierarchy that prevails in this society.
The government of Seoul approved last year to reduce to one the up to three systems to calculate the existing age, and stay with the one used in the rest of the world: start from zero and have birthdays on the date of birth. This week the reform went into effect and the result is that all South Koreans are at least a year or two younger.
The international system was already used, since 1962, in most official procedures, but there was a third, known as “counted age”, which considered that a person was zero years old at birth and added one every January 1. This was the one that was used to be able to consume alcohol or tobacco and establish the age of incorporation into the ranks, in a country where military service is still mandatory. In fact, when the reform was announced and in order not to have to modify many laws, the government already said that, for example, to be able to buy cigarettes, the year in which the 19th birthday is fulfilled would continue to be taken into account and not the day.
Until this change, a person born on July 2, 2003 would be 19 years old according to the international system today, July 1, 2023, 20 according to the “counted age” system, and 21 according to the “Korean age” system. . And this was, literally, a mess that caused quite a few social, legal, administrative and economic problems.
While the three systems have coexisted, it was difficult to provide some social benefits or medical services. For example, children’s medicines specify doses by age, but were silent on which of the three systems should be used to calculate the child’s age. There have also been disputes over age-based insurance payments in car accidents. Or the lack of clarity about the age of eligibility for the covid vaccine and tests put vaccination and screening centers in trouble during the pandemic
