Recently, on Wednesday, South Koreans became younger than their actual age. Wondering how? This is due to a law in South Korea that standardizes the way the government keeps track of age.
While everyone counts age in almost the same way, South Korea has its own ways of counting age. In South Korea, there are three popular ways of counting age. However, the South Korean government recently amended its civil code to recognize a uniform way of counting age.
The three counting methods are:
It is the most famous method in the country. According to the Korean age method, a person is considered to be 1 year old at the time of birth. Every January 1st, one year is added to his age. This is also true for a person born on December 31, as that person will be considered 2 years old the next day. In this sense, it is the year of birth, and not the date of birth, that determines the age of an individual. In South Korea, the Korean age method is recognized in social situations.
- The age calculation method used around the world
The method is such that to calculate age, you start from zero on the individual’s date of birth and then add a year on each birthday. This is the method for calculating age throughout the world.
While this is the popular method elsewhere, for Koreans it is a departure from the “Korean era” method. Since 1962, this method has been used for official and legal purposes.
- The “age of the year” method
This method is perhaps the combination of the previous two methods. The age calculation procedure begins at zero at birth. However, it adds one year of age every January 1st. This method applies to laws such as the Military Service Law.
Do all these methods create confusion?
Yes. South Koreans have faced the problem of confusion and errors in all kinds of situations, such as labor disputes, health recommendations, social hierarchy, and more.
For example, health officials have used inconsistent age standards during coronavirus vaccinations.
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The new law
South Korea’s new law recognizes the international age calculation system, which considers a person’s actual date of birth to calculate age. In this way, all South Koreans who used to calculate age by the old “Korean age” method become one or two years younger.
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Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: ptivs2.edu.vn