Asia

The government is preparing to cut the average citizen’s age by one year.

“Can you tell me your age?” It’s a straightforward question with a straightforward response. However, for individuals in South Korea, addressing this issue is far from simple.

When a newborn is born in South Korea, he or she is considered a year old. They gain another year on New Year’s Day. This means that a baby born in December will be two years old in a matter of weeks.

However, since the country’s president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol pushes for the abolition of this centuries-old technique of counting, this “Korean age” approach may soon alter.

The president-transition elect’s committee chief, Lee Yong-ho, said the next administration was aiming to standardize the way age is counted in order to improve efficiency.

He claimed that the various age estimations had caused “constant confusion” as well as “unnecessary social and economic consequences.”

Some people appear to be enthusiastic about the new concept, but experts are skeptical that it will truly be enacted.

Three responses to a single question
In Korea, there are three methods for determining one’s age.

Since 1962, most legal definitions and administrative operations have adopted the international counting method, which uses a person’s birth date.

Another official method of calculating age in the country is for kids to be born at the age of 0 and gain a year every January 1. Even if they were born in December 2020, a baby born in January 2022 would be two years old by January 2022.

Mega K-pop band BTS's Kim Tae-hyung aka V, born on 30 December 1995, is 28 yrs old (Korean age) or 26 yrs old (the international age) or 27 yrs old (another Korean official age)

This method is mostly used to determine legal age in areas of law that affect a large portion of the population, such as military conscription or determining the age at which children must be safeguarded from abuse.

Then there’s the “Korean age” approach, which is more often adopted by everyone in society, in which everyone is born a year older and gains a year on New Year’s Day regardless of their birth date.

Kim Tae-hyung aka V of the mega K-pop band BTS, who was born on December 30, 1995, is 28 years old (Korean age), 26 years old (international age), or 27 years old (according to various methods) (another Korean official age).

To others, age may just be a number, but in South Korea, it is regarded very seriously.

“For South Koreans, determining whether or not someone is older than them is more significant than learning someone’s name in a social setting. It is critical in determining how to address that person and the appropriate honorific or title. Professor at Korea University’s Department of Korean Language and Literature, Shin Ji-young.

The Korean age-measuring tradition can be traced back to China and other Asian countries. However, South Korea is said to be the only country that still does so.

“Koreans have become more aware of the international age as a result of globalisation. According to Kim Eun-ju, professor of Law and Policy at Hansung University, “this has an influence on young people because they feel Koreans are being criticized for [these counting systems].”

But, despite the mockery, the measures have had significant consequences on South Koreans.

For example, some parents have attempted to circumvent the birth registration system because they are concerned that their December kids will be at a disadvantage in school and, as a result, later in life.

During the pandemic, there were also calls for age to be standardised, when health officials used the international and Korean ages interchangeably to determine vaccine eligibility, causing a lot of confusion.

Yoon Seok-yeol, president elect from the conservative candidate of People Power Party, has pleaded to scrap the Korean age since his election campaign days

Mr Lee had previously mentioned “unnecessary social and economic consequences” caused by the Korean age, alluding to a court dispute that went all the way to the Supreme Court due to a misunderstanding regarding the definition of age for extra earnings and retirement.

Is it possible to abandon tradition?
This isn’t the first time that South Korean officials have attempted to develop an universal age-counting system.

Two lawmakers introduced proposals in this line in 2019 and 2021, but they were not passed into law by the Korean Assembly.

Despite agreeing with the proposal from an administrative standpoint, experts are divided on what the new policy means for Korean culture.

According to Jang Yoo-seung, a senior scholar at Dankook University’s Oriental Studies Research Centre, the Korean age is a reflection of tradition.

“Our society does not appear to be particularly preoccupied with tradition. Are we on the verge of losing our individuality and culture and becoming more homogeneous?”

But they can all agree on one thing: even if the international age is adopted, it’s unlikely that Koreans will quit using their “Korean age” very soon, whether officially or unofficially.

 

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