the parliament of South Korea approved a law that will standardize the way of calculating the age of people in the country. Because of this, South Koreans can stay a year or two younger.
Nowadays, it is common for South Koreans to have not just one age, but three: an “international”, a “Korean” and a “calendar”.
In South Korea, a person’s “international age” refers to the number of years since they were born and starts at zero – the same system used in most other countries.
The “Korean age” is a model from South Korea itself, in which a person is born at one year old and still gains one more year every January 1st. This age can be one or even two years older than your “international age”.
In some circumstances, South Koreans also use their “calendar age”, a kind of cross between the international and Korean age, which considers babies as zero years old on the day they are born and adds a year to their age each year. January 1st.
But to end the confusion, the country’s parliament has decreed that, from June 2023, all official documents must use the “international age” standard.
This move, which follows a long debate on the matter, will bring the country in line with most of the rest of the world and reduce the legal discrepancies that arise with using three different systems.
Take “Gangnam Style” singer Psy, for example. Born on December 31, 1977, he is considered 44 years old by international age; 45 years per calendar year; and 46 for Korean age.
Most people use the Korean age, which has its roots in China, in everyday life and social settings, while the international age is more often used for legal and official matters – for example, when dealing with civil laws.
However, some laws, including those surrounding legal ages for drinking, smoking, and military conscription, use the age of the calendar year.
The law passed on Thursday will standardize the use of the international age in all “judicial and administrative areas”, according to the parliament’s website and documents related to the bill.
“State and local governments should encourage citizens to use their ‘international age’ and carry out the necessary promotion to do so,” the website reads.
“The review aims to reduce unnecessary socio-economic costs because legal and social disputes as well as confusion persist due to different ways of calculating age,” Yoo Sang-bum of the People Power Party told parliament, according to Reuters.
Another bill introduced by lawmaker Hwang Ju-hong in 2019 argued that, in addition to sowing confusion, the three methods also caused conflict by “promoting a culture of age-based hierarchy and avoiding certain months for childbirth.”
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
%20(1).jpg "Giorgio then: “In splinters I speak of the explosions that cannot be checked: the death of my father and the end of a long relationship”")
