A Year Younger: How South Koreans Get to Turn Back the Clock
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Something surprising and unique has happened in South Korea, where the population of 52 million is all set to become a year younger.
Millions of the country's population will soon be able to 'turn back the clock', thanks to the government's decision to abandon its traditional system of calculating ages.
The current system, also known as 'the Korean age', adds one year to an individual's age every January 1st and recognises them as a year old at birth (rather than their actual birthday).
This week, Seoul's National Assembly passed bills requiring the use of the international system for calculating age, rather than the traditional system, for official documents.
By June next year, the international standard will be put into place, meaning that those born between January 1 and December 31 of a certain year can all celebrate their birthdays at the same time.
But that's not all. The country also has another system for determining the legal drinking and smoking age, which counts age from zero at birth instead of a year at birth.
This, combined with the current international method, has been used since the 1960s; it means that there are potential discrepancies within the population if people calculate their ages in different ways.
For instance, if a person were born on December 31, 1992, they would be considered to be 29 according to the international standard, 30 according to the system for legal drinking, and 31 according to the 'Korean age' system.
Credit: Asian Boss.
In order to combat social confusion and administrative issues, President Yoon Suk-yeol campaigned for the change, and it was approved by the National Assembly.
The news has delighted South Koreans who will soon have their age counted differently and, essentially, become a year younger: 'I'm getting two years younger – I'm so happy!' one said on Twitter. 'Finally, I'm about to get my real age back.'
Others, though, have said that this would barely 'change anything'.
'I was born in mid-December in Korea, so I was literally "two years old" when I was only two weeks old by the new year,' commented one user in a social media post.
They added: 'In all honesty, I highly doubt this abolishment will have any impact in social settings. Everyone I've met in Korea has asked me what YEAR I was born, not how old I am. Laws might change easily, but people don't.'
Age can be a sensitive subject in many societies, and we can understand why people feel a certain way when it comes to their numbers.
Though, we're pretty sure most of us here would agree: age is just a number; being young at heart and enjoying every bit of the present moment is what counts!
What do you think of this news, members? And while we're still on the subject, we have to ask: If you could magically turn back the hands of time and lose a few years from your current age, what would you most like to do or experience? Let us know in the comments!
Millions of the country's population will soon be able to 'turn back the clock', thanks to the government's decision to abandon its traditional system of calculating ages.
The current system, also known as 'the Korean age', adds one year to an individual's age every January 1st and recognises them as a year old at birth (rather than their actual birthday).
This week, Seoul's National Assembly passed bills requiring the use of the international system for calculating age, rather than the traditional system, for official documents.
Starting next year (on June 1), the country will officially use the international age-counting system for all official documents. Credit: Unsplash/Daniel Bernard.
By June next year, the international standard will be put into place, meaning that those born between January 1 and December 31 of a certain year can all celebrate their birthdays at the same time.
But that's not all. The country also has another system for determining the legal drinking and smoking age, which counts age from zero at birth instead of a year at birth.
This, combined with the current international method, has been used since the 1960s; it means that there are potential discrepancies within the population if people calculate their ages in different ways.
For instance, if a person were born on December 31, 1992, they would be considered to be 29 according to the international standard, 30 according to the system for legal drinking, and 31 according to the 'Korean age' system.
Credit: Asian Boss.
In order to combat social confusion and administrative issues, President Yoon Suk-yeol campaigned for the change, and it was approved by the National Assembly.
The news has delighted South Koreans who will soon have their age counted differently and, essentially, become a year younger: 'I'm getting two years younger – I'm so happy!' one said on Twitter. 'Finally, I'm about to get my real age back.'
Others, though, have said that this would barely 'change anything'.
'I was born in mid-December in Korea, so I was literally "two years old" when I was only two weeks old by the new year,' commented one user in a social media post.
They added: 'In all honesty, I highly doubt this abolishment will have any impact in social settings. Everyone I've met in Korea has asked me what YEAR I was born, not how old I am. Laws might change easily, but people don't.'
Though, we're pretty sure most of us here would agree: age is just a number; being young at heart and enjoying every bit of the present moment is what counts!
What do you think of this news, members? And while we're still on the subject, we have to ask: If you could magically turn back the hands of time and lose a few years from your current age, what would you most like to do or experience? Let us know in the comments!
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