Countries around the world have different laws, from election methods to tax systems. However, there are certain things that need to be universal like calendars, working days, age counting systems and so on. However, South Korea is an exception to the rule — or should we say ‘was’? They had a different way of calculating age. However, with the new system, citizens are becoming a year or two younger! Here’s everything you need to know about this new ‘age calculation’ system in South Korea.
South Korean Is Making Its Citizens Younger!
In South Korea, every child is considered to be one year old at the time of birth. That means the number of months inside the womb of the mother is also added to the age counting. Moreover, every January 1st, a year is added to the child’s age. This means if a child is born on December 31st, he/she will be of two years — one year of being inside the mother’s womb and another of January 1st.
For medical and legal documentation, the nation also follows the worldwide standard of starting at zero at birth and adding a year for each birthday. Despite everything, this has created a lot of confusion for the citizens.
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The New Age Calculation System
Due to the implementation of a new age-related rule, more than 50 million South Koreans woke up on Wednesday feeling one or two years younger.
The country’s conventional system of age calculation was abolished by a law that the South Korean parliament passed in December. According to the law, the ‘Korean Age’ system will no longer be accepted for use on paper; only the standardised approach will be accepted.
President Yoon Suk-yeol introduced and voted for this change when he contested for elections. According to him, traditional age counting creates unnecessary social and economic inconvenience.
When a corporation formally informs its employees of a plan involving increased compensation, they should take their international age into account, the Supreme Court had stated in response to a wage disagreement case.
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There have also been instances of parents attempting to game the birth registration system out of concern that their December-born children will subsequently face academic disadvantages as a result.
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