South Korean People Will Become 1 Year Younger

A new law in South Korea will change their traditional method of counting ages. The country will start to use the international standard. After the change, all citizens will become one or two years younger on official documents.

Traditionally, when a baby is born in Korea, it is one year old. The baby grows one year older on January 1 every year. Most Koreans use this age when people ask.

There is another system that is used for laws related to age like buying alcohol, smoking cigarettes and joining the military. In this system, a baby is “zero years old” when born and every January 1, a year is added to their age.

In the 1960s, South Koreans additionally started using the international standard for counting age. This means a baby is “zero years old'' when born and every year, on the baby’s birthday, one year is added to the age.

Starting in June 2023, only the international standard will be used for official documents and laws.

Some people in South Korea are happy about becoming one or two years younger.

The origins of the traditional age system are not clear. Some people say it’s because the baby lives inside the mother for nine months. Other people say it’s because ancient Korean counting systems did not have the number “0”. 

It’s also not clear why everyone becomes one year older on January 1.