South Korea currently uses three age-counting systems, but most citizens abide by the "Korean age," where a person is 1 year old as soon as they are born, and gain one year on every New Year's Day. And a baby born on Dec. 31 would be considered 2 years old the next day.
From June 2023, the so-called "Korean Age" system will no longer be permitted on official documents. Only the standardised, internationally recognised method will remain.
Important note on the Korean age system
By June 2023, the Korean age system will no longer be permitted to be used on official documents in South Korea. This is to reduce confusion by adopting the same system used in the rest of the world, which means only the international age system will remain.
Finally, the system of "international age," which South Korea is now adopting, starts at zero and adds a year annually on the individual's birthday. So, for example, if someone is born on Dec. 10, 2000, they would be 22 by international age, 23 by the counting age and 24 by the Korean age.
How old is 18 in Korean age? 19 or 20 years old. It depends on if you already had your birthday this year. If you already celebrated your birthday this year, then your Korean age is your age plus one, so 19.
You can also calculate your Korean age using your year of birth. If you were born in 1997 and want to calculate how much your Korean age will be 2050, add 2050 + 1 – 1997 = 54.
Let's say you were born in 2000. It means your international age is 19 years old, while your Korean age is 20 years old.
At present it's common for South Koreans to have not just one age, but three – an “international age,” a “Korean age” and a “calendar age.” But to end confusion, the country's parliament has decreed that from June 2023 all official documents must use the standard “international age.”
The method originated from China and it's quite different from the method that's used in the West. In this method, people are born at the age of one, and on the day of the Chinese New Year, one year is added to their age.
Pooh (Poonam) was born on 17th August 1995 (Year Not Confirmed) in India, Rajasthan, Jaipur.
Unlike in most of the world, people in South Korea turn 1 as soon as they are born and gain another year every New Year's Day. In everyday life, South Koreans typically cite their “Korean age,” which is also reflected on many government documents.
Smoking is also not permitted inside restaurants, bars, and cafés with an area larger than 150 square meters. Designated smoking areas can also be found around the city and at major transportation hubs. Cigarettes can be purchased at just about every convenience store. The legal smoking age in Korea is 19 years of age.
South Korea has been tallying age by birth dates since the 1960s. But while most East Asian countries have scrapped the traditional age-counting system, some have yet to follow suit.
Social relations based on age in modern-day Korea are a legacy of Confucian teachings that emphasize respect for one's elders. Younger people are expected to show respect to those who are older, according to Robert Fouser, a former professor at Seoul National University.
The rise in the age of consent by South Korea was done as a result of the need to “strengthen the protection of minors, following accusations the existing law on sex crimes was too weak”, hence the country deliberated and decided to increase the age of consent to 20.
“The revision is aimed at reducing unnecessary socioeconomic costs because legal and social disputes as well as confusion persist due to the different ways of calculating age,” Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power party told parliament.
The traditional age-counting method was once used across East Asia but other countries like China and Japan turned to the international system decades ago.
Etymology. Borrowed from Korean 오빠 (oppa, “elder brother or close elder male friend (of a female)”).
The traditional Japanese age system is one method of calculating age. A child is counted as one year old at birth, and every January 1st after that counts as a year older. This method of counting the age of a person is called Kazoedoshi, or simply, Kazoe.
Under this system, everyone in South Korea is considered to be one year old at the time of their birth, and their age increases by one on New Year's Day, regardless of their actual birth date.
East Asian age reckoning is a concept and practice that originated in China and is used in East Asian cultures. Chinese culture, Japanese culture, Korean culture, Vietnamese culture, and others share this traditional way of counting a person's age.
Age counting in lunar age system: one year old at birth and add one year at every Spring Festival. Lunar Age = current year in Chinese lunar calendar – your birth year in Chinese lunar calendar + 1. Different with round age which takes the birth date as the dividing point, virtual age is divided by Spring Festival.
Various groups who populated the Korean peninsula in ancient times merged into a homogeneous people with a single language during the unifications of the sixth to the fourteenth century. By the fifteenth century, Korean had emerged as the language we now know.