South Korea | Every South Korean officially gets younger by at least a year

in South Korea every citizen’s age is officially decreasing by at least one year, for many even two years. It is due to abandoning the peculiar age system and moving to a model that is used by the majority of the rest of the world.

The news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg report on the matter, among others.

Until now, South Koreans have been called one-year-olds as soon as they are born, and a year has been added to the age every January 1. Consequently, those born on December 31 have already been called two-year-olds the following day.

This has been the most commonly used age definition in South Korea, although according to Reuters, for example, in conscripts for military service and for buying alcohol and cigarettes, an age has been used, counting from zero at birth. Even so, even in that system, a year is added to the age every January 1.

In health information and legal documents, South Korea has also used the international age model since the early 1960s.

The international model will become all-inclusive in South Korea in June 2023.

“The purpose of the change is to reduce unnecessary socio-economic costs, because different ways of calculating age cause legal and social disputes and also confusion”, representative of the ruling party Yoo Sang-bum told parliament, according to Reuters.

Office worker Jeong Da-eun29, told Reuters that he was aware of the change because when he was asked his age abroad, he always had to think very carefully about what to answer.

“Who wouldn’t like to be a year or two younger?” he asked.