The Korean Age System

You may have heard that South Korea considers the 9-months in the mother’s womb as 1 year when a baby is born, if not well now you know, but it is slightly more complicated than that.

But before we get into further details, let’s just review how we calculate our age:

1. We start counting from 0 when we are born
2. We age one complete year on the day of our birthday of that respective year, and this continues forever

Now, the Korean:

1. You are 1-year-old when you are born
2. You gain an age at the beginning of each respective year on January 1st after eating a traditional soup called ddeokgug with your family, while your birthday counts for nothing but for presents as a child (some young adults still celebrate but it is not as significant to the Koreans as it is for most other western cultures)

So it seems pretty easy and cut-clean right?  Not exactly!  When you are trying to calculate your Korean age, it is a bit difficult getting used to thinking their system.

• For example, if you are 19 years old today in the USA, how old are you in Korea on February 22?
• How about if you are 30 in Korean age today – how old are you in England on March 3?
• Now let’s say you are 24 years old in Australia and your birthday is on May 2nd, but today is July 1st, how old are you in the Korean age?

21 28 25 (unless your birthday is on Feb 22 or Mar 3), respectively

It is common to say, “International age,” or “Korean age.”

So what do you think about the Korean age system?  Do you think it is more appropriate than our western system?