Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
South Koreans are about to get a yr or two more youthful, because of a brand new regulation handed on Thursday that targets to standardize how age is calculated within the nation.
At provide it’s commonplace for South Koreans to have no longer only one age, however 3 – an “international age,” a “Korean age” and a “calendar age.”
But to finish confusion, the rustic’s parliament has decreed that from June 2023 all legit paperwork should use the usual “international age.”
That transfer, which follows a long-running debate over the problem, will deliver the rustic into line with lots of the remainder of the sector and minimize down on criminal discrepancies that rise up from the usage of 3 other programs.
In South Korea, an individual’s “international age” refers back to the choice of years since they have been born, and begins at 0 – the similar device utilized in maximum different international locations.
But when requested their age in casual settings, maximum South Koreans will solution with their “Korean age,” which might be one and even two years older than their “international age.”
Under the program, small children are regarded as a yr outdated at the day they’re born, with a yr added each and every January 1.
In some cases, South Koreans additionally use their “calendar age” – one of those mash-up between global and Korean age – which believe small children as 0 years outdated the day they’re born and provides a yr to their age each and every January 1.
Take “Gangnam Style” singer Psy, for instance. Born on December 31, 1977, he is thought of as 44 by way of global age; 45 by way of calendar yr age; and 46 by way of Korean age.
If this sounds complicated, it’s, with day by day existence within the nation frequently switching between the hodgepodge of various programs.
Most folks use Korean age, which has its roots in China, in on a regular basis existence and social situations, whilst global age is extra frequently used for criminal and legit issues – as an example, when coping with civil rules.
However, some rules – together with the ones surrounding the criminal ages for consuming, smoking, and army conscription – use calendar yr age.
The regulation handed Thursday will standardize the usage of global age throughout all “judicial and administrative areas,” consistent with the parliament site and paperwork associated with the invoice.
“The state and local governments shall encourage citizens to use their ‘international age’ and conduct necessary promotion for that,” it says.
The choice is the results of years of campaigning by way of lawmakers uninterested with the a couple of programs.
“The revision is aimed at reducing unnecessary socio-economic 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 instructed parliament, consistent with Reuters.
Another invoice presented by way of lawmaker Hwang Ju-hong in 2019 argued that except for sowing confusion, the 3 strategies additionally led to battle by way of “fostering a culture of hierarchy based on age and avoiding certain months for childbirth.”
