South Korea Adopts International Age System, Dropping Traditional Method That Made Locals Years Older
- South Korea is now following the international standard of counting age from zero at birth rather than considering babies one year old at birth.
- The traditional Korean age system added a year to everyone's age on New Year's Day and resulted in South Koreans being one to two years older than their international age.
- The new law aims to reduce confusion and comply with global norms but does not require South Koreans to update official documents with their new international age.
- While the international age system will be used officially, the traditional system will still determine school enrollment,legal drinking age, and military conscription.
- In a recent survey, 86% of South Koreans supported switching to the international age system in everyday life despite the cultural significance of age in South Korean society.