Lee Jung-hee set to turn 60 next year but South Korea dropped its traditional age counting system Wednesday (Jun 28). As the Seoul-based housewife just got a year younger
South Korea hasthe last East Asian country to officially still use a method of calculating age that determines babies aged one at birth, counting their months in the womb as their first year of life.
Under that system everyone gets a year older with the turn of the year rather than on their actual birthday. Thus meaning a baby born on Dec 31 would considered two years old on Jan 1 in Korean age.
From Wednesday South Korea will use the international system that calculates age according to a person’s actual date of birth. As meaning everyone will officially become a year or two younger.
Hong added, after a thoughtful pause, that he was 45 in international age and 47 under the Korean system.
The official change will have limited practical impact: Many legal and administrative functions. Thus, including the age listed on a passport, the age at which one can prosecuted as a juvenile, retirement benefits, or healthcare services, already uses date-of-birth rather than Korean age.
The government hopes the change will ease confusion and cites, for example, the issue of older Koreans who may believe they are eligible for pensions and free travel benefits several years before they legally are.