The answer to “How old are you?'” might seem very straightforward. However, it is anything but that in South Korea. Here’s how the South Korean age works.
The Korean age confusion
In South Korea, a newborn baby is considered a year old. And, when the new year comes, they gain another year. In other terms, a baby born in December is considered a two-year-old in a matter of weeks. However, the Korean age concept and method may soon change. Yoon Suk-yeol, the president-elect is pushing toward abolishing the nation’s centuries-old method of counting age. This will bring South Korea in line with other nations.
The chief of the president-elect’s transition committee, Lee Yong-ho said that the incoming administration is planning to standardize the way of counting age. According to him, calculating age always results in “persistent confusion, unnecessary social and economic costs”. The new system is being widely embraced by some. However, experts express concerns about its implementation.
Age in South Korea: Not just a number
There are three ways for counting a person’s age in South Korea. Officially, the nation uses the international counting system where a person’s birth date is used. This is standard in most administrative and legal processes since 1962. The second way involves babies being born at the age of zero. And, every year, they gain a year on January 1. Under this, a baby born in December 2020 will be two years old in January 2022 even if they don’t turn two officially until December 2022. This method is popularly used for defining legal ages for laws affecting the population. Especially for joining military service or for juvenile protection against abuse.
The third method of calculating one’s age is the ‘Korean age’. This method is very typical in South Korean society. According to this method, everyone is automatically a year old at birth, and becomes a year older on New Year’s Day regardless of their birth date.
While age may be just a number for some, it is not so for South Koreans. “To South Koreans, figuring out if someone is older than them or not is more important than finding out somebody’s name in a social context. It is essential in choosing how to address that person. And the honorific or title which is important,” explained Shin Ji-young. Shin Ji-young is a professor of Korean Language and Literature at Korea University.
