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.