<h5>How did South Koreans become younger?</h5><p>After the South Korean government changed the country's traditional age-counting system, many citizens became a year or two younger. A law passed in December 2022 came into effect last month. This law got rid of the previous way of calculating someone's age.</p><p>Under the traditional method, babies become one year old on the day they are born. Then, on every 1st of January, a year is added to South Korean people's ages, regardless of their birthdate. This means everyone (including newborn babies) turns a year older on the 1st of January instead of on their birthdays. Under the old system, a baby born on 31st December turns two the next day (funny rule, isn’t it?).</p><p>There’s another method. It's a mix of the international and Korean age systems. Under this method, a baby is born at zero years, and one year is added every 1st January. So, a person born in August 2003 would turn 20 this year according to the international system, 21 according to the mixed method, and 22 according to the traditional system.</p><h5>Which method will be followed now in South Korea?</h5><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/south-koreans-have-become-younger-due-to-a-new-law%2FTraditional_autumn_of_South_Korea.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=ff01f5e9-530d-45fe-87f3-f2741bbf76f1"><figcaption>Women wearing traditional South Korean clothing. Photo by Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.</figcaption></figure><p>Now, the international method will be used to calculate the age of the country’s citizens. A person’s age will increase on their birthday, not 1st January. This change has made everyone a year or two younger.</p><p>The international method to calculate age is already used in many cases, such as the ages shown on passports, the age at which one can get retirement benefits, etc., instead of the traditional system.</p><p>Other things, such as school year eligibility, mandatory military duty, etc., are based on the mixed counting technique. Government officials have said this will remain in place for the time being.</p><h5>So, what’s the reason behind this change?</h5><p>Having three systems to calculate age is confusing. It has confused South Koreans in various cases, such as health recommendations, pensions, social hierarchy, etc. In September 2022, a survey was conducted regarding making the change. Over 80% of people who participated in the survey supported the change in the age laws.</p><p>So, the government has introduced this new age-counting law that conforms to the international system.</p>

The new age-counting law was passed in December 2022, and it came into effect last month.

South Koreans Have Become Younger Due to a New Law

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South Koreans Have Become Younger Due to a New Law

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