Global Courant
The news
South Koreans became a year or two younger on Wednesday after a law that standardizes the government’s way of counting age came into effect.
There are three common ways of counting age in South Korea, but the government has amended its civil code to recognize one: starting at zero on a person’s date of birth and adding a year to each birthday.
This is the age-counting method most commonly used around the world, but it differs from the country’s most popular method, often referred to as “Korean age.” Under that system, a person is considered 1 year old at birth and a year is added to their age every January 1. This meant that a baby born on December 31 was considered 2 years old the following day.
Why it matters: The jumble of systems caused confusion and errors.
The three age-counting systems have confused and harassed South Koreans in a variety of situations, including health recommendations, labor disputes and social hierarchy.
For example, some health officials used inconsistent age standards for coronavirus vaccinations. Thus, a person may be required to show proof of vaccination based on their age under one system but wouldn’t really be old enough to get a vaccine under another system.
Proponents of the change say the new standard will reduce these conflicts.
But it does not yet apply to all circumstances.
Children go on to start primary school using the country’s third counting system, known as “year age”: age counting starts as zero at birth and then adds a year every January 1. Under this system, a baby is born on December 31. becomes 1 the next day.
For now, “year age” will also continue to be used to determine whether a person is allowed to drink, smoke, or serve in the military. So a person born in any month of 2004 is considered 19 years old and therefore eligible for all those things.
Background: The other counting methods are an entrenched habit.
The new official age counting method has been used for most legal and official purposes in South Korea since the 1960s.
South Korean lawmakers passed a bill in December to scrap the other age-counting methods and “minimize unnecessary age conflicts and establish social practices that meet international standards.”
There was widespread support for the change from politicians and the public. More than 80 percent of citizens the government surveyed in September said they supported the bill.
Suh Chan S., a professor in the department of sociology at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, told The New York Times last year that while other countries, including China and Taiwan, used similar age-counting methods, South Korea the only country that was still officially recognised.
It remains to be seen whether the other age-counting methods will all be let go together.
