“South Korea is getting younger!” said Han Dong-hoon, South Korea’s justice minister. On Thursday, the deputies of this Asian country of 52 million inhabitants approved a law that comes to revolutionize the way in which the age of South Koreans is calculated.
The reform, which will enter into force in June 2023, will lead to significant changes in the age of the country’s citizens, which will be reduced by at least one year for everyone.
As the text of the law indicates, this reform aims to “minimize unnecessary conflicts related to age and establish social practices that comply with international standards.”
three different systems
Currently, there are three ways to calculate age in South Korea. The “normal” age, ie the age given during informal conversations, is calculated according to a country-specific method. South Korean children are one year old when they are born and gain an additional year every January 1.
Regarding the age that is taken into account for the right to drink alcohol, smoke or perform military service, a second method is taken into account. South Koreans should take their traditional age and subtract one year.
Finally, for all other administrative and medical procedures, the international standard since the 1960s is taken into account: people are born at 0 years old and gain a year on their birthday.
The origins of the South Korean counting method remain a mystery. Some argue the old Asian numbering system, where the concept of 0 did not exist.
“Join” behind the new system
In June 2023, the first two methods will be phased out, at least in all official uses, to align with the international standard. This does not mean that in everyday life, South Koreans will abandon the traditional count of age, which according to local customs influences the way people address their elders.
However, the government called on the population to “unite” behind the new counting method. The South Koreans also seem to want to turn the page on this complicated system. According to a survey conducted in September in the country, released by the New York Times80% of respondents said they supported the proposed law and 85% said they would adopt the international standard if it became official.
It must be said that the archaic birthday system sometimes generated legal and medical conflicts. During auto accidents, disputes over compensation for victims could arise, with insurance contracts tied to the age of the driver, without specifying a precise type of count.
Similar conflicts broke out at vaccination centers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Impossible for some people to know if they were actually eligible for vaccination.
The puzzled look of the stranger
Finally, several South Koreans have already been outraged to see certain children’s medicines aimed at a specific age group, without specifying whether the South Korean or international counting method has been taken into account.
With Reuters, broadcast by The Guardian, a 29-year-old South Korean Jeong Da-eun welcomed the move. “I will always remember the puzzled look on some strangers’ face, when I would take the time to answer such a basic question as ‘how old are you?'” “Besides, who doesn’t want to be a year or two younger?” he continued.
After being approved by lawmakers, the law now needs to be signed by South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl to take effect. A simple detail, since reforming the South Korean age system was one of his campaign promises.
Source: BFM TV
