Seoul: South Koreans became a year or two younger as new laws took effect in the country.
However strange it may sound, it’s a fact.
The government has decided to use the international method of counting age, replacing the country’s traditional method, reported Reuters.
Under the age system which was commonly used in South Korea, a newborn human is deemed to be one year old at birth and a year is added every January 1.
Since the 1960s, the Asian country used the international norm of calculating from zero at birth and adding a year on every birthday for medical and legal documents. However, many South Koreans continued to use the country’s traditional method for all other purposes.
Last December, South Korea passed a law scrapping the traditional method and to fully adopt the international standard.
“We expect that legal disputes, complaints and social confusion which were caused over how to calculate ages will be greatly reduced,” Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu told newspersons.
A government survey was conducted in September 2022 in which 86% of South Koreans said they would use the international age in their everyday life when the new laws took effect.
“I was about to turn 30 next year (under the traditional Korean age system) but now I have some more time earned and I love it… It’s just great to feel getting younger,” said Seoul’s Choi Hyun-ji, whose age will now be revised to 27.
