On June 28, the Ministry of Government Legislation of Korea enacted the Uniform Law of International Age*. Due to this, Koreans become younger by one or two years. What happened here in Korea?

 

How to Count Ages in Korea: Korean Age

To understand this situation, first, people should know how age was counted in Korea originally. Before the implementation of the new age counting method, Koreans had their own way to count ages. The Korean method recognizes that a person is one year old from birth. Also, according to this method, everyone becomes one year older at the beginning of the new year on January 1. So, in Korea, people who are born the same year are the same age.

This counting method is thought to have originated in China, and there are various hypotheses about its beginnings. For example, this method may have to do with the organization of an agricultural society that puts emphasis on changing seasons. Another possibility is that it comes from values based on the mind of respecting humans that even the fetus is recognized as a human. In the past, this method was used in various East Asian countries including Korea, but in modern times, most East Asian countries have changed their measurement to a modern international standard. Korea had been the only country to use this method, so this age counting method was also called ‘Korean Age (세는 나이).'

However, last year, on December 8, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea passed the Uniform Law of the International Age, an amendment of Civil Law and Basic Administrative Law. The Ministry of Government Legislation of Korea began enforcing the new amendment on June 28, 2023.

 

International Age

Then, what is International Age, the new measurement method? International Age's standard is an individual's birthday, not an absolute standard like a common date. Currently, most countries in the world apply this method to count age. This method means that a person is 0 years old when they are born, not 1.

 

Enacting the Uniform Law of International Age

Although Korea's method of counting age is the same as the world's method, to prevent confusion about a sudden change, there are cases where the existing laws that specify the age using the old Korean age method has been maintained (Korean Age or Calendar Age (연 나이)**), We will look at how International Age in Korea is implemented and where it is applied and not applied.

 

The Ministry of Government Legislation of Korea said it is a principle to use International Age when people count ages generally, except when certain laws specify the use of the old standard. To make it easier to understand, the Ministry of Government Legislation of Korea announced some examples of when International Age is applied and when it is not applied.

 

✓ When the International Age is applied

- When a stranger asks

- National pension service/public official retirement

- Medicine and medical supplies guidance information

- Public transportation senior discount

- Special cases involving driver's insurance

- In cases where there are no regulations

 

✓ When the Korean age methods are applied***

- Entrance age of elementary school (born 2016)

- Purchase of cigarettes and alcohol (born before 2004)

- Mandatory military service (trial examination for military service born before 2004)

- Public official exam for positions lower than level eight (for people born before 2005)

 

Younger Koreans, Confused Koreans

At the time the law was enacted, some said it was good to be younger, but some were confused. The reason for being confused is because of Korea's hierarchical culture and age-determined social ranking customs.

In Korea, most people ask each other their ages without any hesitation. Age will be in the top three of the first questions asked when applying for a company, entering school, or even making friends. Also, the difference of ages becomes a standard for determining senior/junior relationships and using honorifics in all social situations. Thus, it is good to be younger with the enforcement of International Age, but it is also confusing because the standards of age difference become ambiguous. Originally, everyone was the same age if they were born in the same year.

However, from June 28, people may be the same age for a few months, but one person could suddenly become a senior after their birthday. In fact, this problem had been anticipated before the law changed. Some say Korea uses International Age in their life officially, but in everyday life, Korean Age will be used for quite a while. Some experimentation will occur because it is not long after the implementation of the new age counting System. We hope that this International Age enforcement may become an opportunity to break down the strict age order customs in Korea.

 

*This is an amendment to an existing law, not the enactment of a new one. For convenience, we just wrote the amendment to Uniform Law of the International Age.

**Calendar Age: another standard of counting ages where a person's is the current year minus the year of birth. Some rules in Korea still call for the application of Calendar Age.

*** Above exception examples are based on 2023.

 

Information Source about Korean Age and Calendar Age: ≪Naver News Common Sense Dictionary≫ (Provided by Parkmungak)

Information Source about International Age in Korea: the Ministry of Government Legislation of Korea official blog Background images: Flaticon



 

Reporter,

Gayeon Han hgy1228@seoultech.ac.kr

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• e-mail : hgy1228@seoultech.ac.kr