Not too long ago, the world was shocked to discover that Koreans may soon be one year younger. Sure, they have fantastic beauty products and one of the world's healthiest cuisines, but could such things decrease their age by a whole year?
We're so used to our way of counting our years of life that any other way seems like madness. Or, at least, overly complicated. But once you know about Korean age, you'll see how simple and elegant it is:
- at birth, everyone is one year old
- on January 1, everyone gains a year
- on people's actual birthday, celebration is the norm but one's age doesn't change
Admittedly, Korean age is confusing even for South Korea's older people, as you'll soon see. To make matters worse, the Korean age system is unevenly applied. Let us tell you how Korean age can confound and complicate every aspect of a Korean person's life.
What is Korean Age?
The South Korean age system posits that everyone already has one year of life under their belt the second they're born. That's despite knowing that a typical gestation period is only around 40 weeks - 12 weeks shy of a full year. It doesn't matter when a Korean person is born. Come January 1, they will automatically add a year to their age.
Imagine a child born on December 30. They get to be one year old for two days before gaining a year. Three days after their birth, they will be two years old. Such a system has huge implications for when a person can enroll in school, get married and, for males, complete their mandatory military service.
Shortly after the Korean War, the South Korean government adopted the international age system - the one we're familiar with. Since then, in all government dealings, babies have been 0 years old at birth. For government purposes only, each birthday sees a Korean person gaining one year, but the government doesn't decide everything.
For instance, their alternate year-age system means babies are 0 years old at birth but gain a year every January 1. This system is still widely used in schools, it also decides when males must honor their compulsory military commitment. You might remember the furore over BTS and their military service obligation. The Korean way of counting years tripped up even these Korean music superstars.
Why is Korean Age Different?
Regrettably, nobody knows how or when the Korean age system was implemented or why, for that matter. We do know that other Asian countries used this system but they abandoned it long ago.
Many older people in Asia still celebrate their Lunar age, often in addition to their 'international' birthday. But lunar age has no impact on official dealings of any kind. Also Lunar age and the Korean age system have nothing to do with one another.
Age plays a much greater role in South Korean culture than it does in ours. For instance, the English language doesn't have a formal 'you' to we could use to show respect to our grandparents. In South Korea, how you address anyone, older or younger, depends on their age relative to yours. For instance, a younger male should address a slightly older female as 'nuna' regardless of their relationship but in a work setting, she would be called 'sunbae'.
Honorifics are an integral part of the Korean language. Entire grammatical structures revolve around the age of the person you're talking to. To show proper deference and use the appropriate honorifics, South Korean people often ask "How old are you?" Ironically, to phrase the question in suitably respectful terms, one must guess the age of the person they're asking.
Changing the Korean age system would mean totally revamping the Korean language and culture. It would also mean changing school admissions procedures, job hiring standards and health guidelines. That last point came sharply into focus during the Coronavirus pandemic.
As we watched in awe how South Korean people navigated the pandemic, they were pulling their hair out. Health officials used alternative ageing systems to decide their vaccine rollout plan. Some people who didn't yet qualify for vaccination were nevertheless required to produce a vaccination certificate.
Legal Age Korea
You might think that with three different ways to calculate one's age, some clever cookie would age themselves to buy cigarettes and beer. We can't swear it never happens in real life but in Korean films, small deceptions like that happen all the time. The legal age to drink in Korea is officially 19.
Also, the 7-11 clerk may ask how old are you in Korean years before letting you buy that pack of cigarettes. That's convenience store purchases sorted.
What about clubbing? South Korea is renowned for its School Uniform club nights. When you go, be sure to bring an identification document that shows your date of birth. You will certainly be blocked from entering if you cannot prove you are of legal age - 19 years old.
Now, for the more important aspects of legal age and the age of consent. For government purposes, 19 is the age of majority. Remember that many government services consider a newborn child 0 years old with an added year every January 1. Korean people's actual birthdays generally do not figure in this calculation.
To apply for a marriage license, men and women must be 20 Korean years old; 19 by international standards. However, if their parents consent, they may apply for their marriage license as young as 18 (males) and 16 (females). Note that South Korea takes a very traditional view of marriage, including parental approval - even for divorce.
What about driving in Korea? A 16-year-old may get a license to ride a motorbike under 125cc. To ride anything bigger or drive a car, the licensee must be older than 18 (international) years. A commercial driver's license requires the driver to be 19 international years old.
How Old Are You in Korean?
Based on everything you've read so far, have you already tried calculating your Korean age? Were you stymied by how intricate the Korean age system is? It's not as simple as adding one year to your current age. Let's have a short tutorial to see if you got your Korean age right.
This year is 2024; let's add a year to that to account for the added year Koreans are given at birth. From 2025, subtract your birth year. Congratulations, you've just calculated your Korean age. Remember that it doesn't matter when your actual birthday is, this system considers your day of birth January 1.
To be as accurate as possible, a different Korean age counter considers your birthdate. To use it, first add one year to your current age. And then, if you've yet to celebrate this year's birthday, add an extra year. I've you've already celebrated, don't bother.
Why Change the Korean Age System?
Korean age isn't just a nod to the traditional ways. It touches every social and civil aspect of Korean life, including language. Undoing all of that would take a herculean effort, and it would have to be exquisitely well planned. So why even consider changing it?
Do you remember reading that school enrollment ages rely on a system that ages everyone on the same day? Imagine being born in December. You'll automatically be assigned to a group of students all born in the same year as you, some of whom are a full 11 months older and you must try to keep up with them intellectually, academically and developmentally.
Some of the most famous people in Korea have decried this system that paves the way for bullying and academic inequality. The South Korean education system is highly competitive. Putting students at an academic disadvantage simply because of a traditional system is grossly unfair.
Also, remember the honorifics system. If you're one of the youngest students in class, everyone is your 'big brother' (hyung) or big sister (nuna/eonni). That sounds adorable until you remember the competitive nature of student groups. South Korean students report bullying not just from more wealthy classmates but from their elders, as well.
That's why US schools did away with hazing, after all. It's just not right for younger pupils to have to 'serve' their older classmates. Or be made to tolerate abuse simply because that's what the system calls for.
To get a good idea of the bullying young soldiers suffer during their mandatory military service, why not see it for yourself? The KDrama D.P. has been hailed across South Korea as the true representation of how young men are treated. Beware, though, it's as gruesome as it is gritty.
South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. It sits among the top-15 global economies and boasts the third-highest life expectancy worldwide. It is one of the most influential countries - not just because of its unique entertainment exports, either. So why not change a system that disadvantages people?
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