2 years younger! How to calculate your Korean age

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Why people in South Korea are suddenly two years younger

A birthday is an important day for us, on which we not only like to be celebrated, but also to be a year older – however, this is not the same in all cultures.

Just add a few years to your age and be two years younger out of nowhere – that sounds tempting, but it has now become a reality for many South Koreans. Here we explain why this is the case and what effects this change has.

Traditional age calculation in South Korea

In contrast to Germany, there are South Korea has long been an unfamiliar one for us calculation of age, which is based on the so-called “Korean age”. Not only that will be here birth datebut also that Year of birth taken into account. According to South Korean calculations, this is how a newborn is at birth a year old. Every person in South Korea becomes one year older from January 1st. A child born on 12/31 is born is already two years old one day later.

Also the method, babies from birth at 0 years counting and making them one year older on every January 1st is used in South Korea and is considered another traditional view on the age.

Different methods cause confusion

The different age calculation methods in South Korea show that official documents of South Koreans contain different age information, depending on the method. Since, depending on the age calculation method, people who were born on the same day can be of different ages, on Wednesday 06/28/23 is a Law came into force, the international standard making age assessment the national norm. This means that many people, depending on previous age calculations, are now one to two years younger on paper.

Cultural highlights
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01/20/2023

The meaning of age

The Old has a whole in South Korean culture and language special importance. For example, how people address each other – even among friends – changes depending on whether you are the same age, a year older or younger.

Bridget