All South Koreans one day became younger. This is not a fairy tale, but Seoul’s refusal to traditionally calculate age.
Local authorities decided to switch to international methods in this matter.
And that’s why it turned out that South Koreans have become one or two years younger.
TASS reported this, noting that amendments to the relevant state laws came into force on Wednesday, June 28.
As it was before
According to the Korean method of calculating age, a person turns 1 year old at birth because the gestation period is taken into account.
Another feature: a new member of society in this country does not become older on his birthday, but at the beginning of the next calendar year.
Such a system leads to some incidents. For example, it is believed that a baby born on December 31st will turn 2 years old the next day, January 1st.
And in South Korea there is a third age calculation system, a kind of hybrid of traditional and international.
Under a “hybrid” system, a person’s age increases at the beginning of the calendar year, but no additional year is added.
Fighting Confusion
In order to eliminate confusion due to the simultaneous use of different methods of calculating age, the authorities decided to adjust the relevant laws, that is, switch to the international system.
The uniformity provided by the application of the international system will reduce the number of unnecessary public disputes that arise due to the use of different methods, says Minister of State Law Lee Wan-gyu.
We would like to add that due to the simultaneous use of different age calculation systems in South Korea, disputes often arose when preparing documents and concluding contracts.
From now on, the international age calculation system will be assumed by default (with some exceptions).
But Seoul still maintains a traditional approach to school entry age, military conscription, and restrictions on the purchase of alcohol and cigarettes.
In all of the above cases, the use of a mixed system is allowed.
