South Koreans have immediately turn out to be a 12 months or two youthful.

It follows new legal guidelines requiring the usage of the internationally recognised means of counting age taking impact on Wednesday.

It replaces one of many nation’s two conventional strategies, the place individuals are deemed to be a 12 months previous at start – making an allowance for time spent within the womb.

The “Korean age” system additionally sees folks ageing up by a 12 months on 1 January yearly, as an alternative of on their precise start date.

It means somebody born on New Yr’s Eve would flip two years previous on New Yr’s Day.

The opposite conventional methodology – or “counting age” – considers an individual zero at start however their age goes up a 12 months each 1 January.

This methodology means somebody born on New Yr’s Eve would flip one on New Yr’s Day.

The “counting age” methodology will nonetheless stay in place with many legal guidelines nonetheless utilizing it – as an example, folks in South Korea can purchase alcohol from the 12 months – and never the day – they flip 19.

Nonetheless, the legislation change may imply that South Koreans have years knocked off their ages on official paperwork.

‘It is simply nice to really feel like getting youthful’

For the reason that early Sixties, the nation has used the worldwide norm of calculating from zero at start and including a 12 months on each birthday for medical and authorized paperwork.

However many South Koreans continued to make use of the standard methodology for all the things else.

In a briefing on Monday, minister of presidency laws Lee Wan-kyu mentioned: “We anticipate authorized disputes, complaints and social confusion which have been brought about over the way to calculate ages can be significantly diminished.”

A authorities survey which was performed in September final 12 months revealed that 86% of South Koreans mentioned they’d use the worldwide age system of their on a regular basis life when the brand new legal guidelines takes impact.

“I used to be about to show 30 subsequent 12 months [under the traditional Korean age system], however now I’ve some extra time earned, and I find it irresistible,” Choi Hyun-ji, a 27-year-old workplace employee in Seoul, advised the Reuters Information company.

“It is simply nice to really feel like getting youthful,” Mr Choi added.

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What’s my Korean age?

In response to 90 Day Korean – a web site on the Korean language and tradition – there’s a easy approach to get that reply.

One of many methods you are able to do that is by including one 12 months to the present 12 months after which subtracting that out of your 12 months of start.

For instance, 2023 +1 – 1997 = 27 years of age.