South Korea changes system for calculating age - The Washington Post

The alteration was a run committedness by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who cited societal and administrative costs caused by the accepted method erstwhile juxtaposed alongside the planetary system.

The word “Korean age,” determined by commencement twelvemonth alternatively than the nonstop commencement date, is inactive wide utilized successful societal situations successful the country.

Since the 1960s, the Asian federation has besides been tallying authoritative ages of its citizens based connected the planetary system, nether which babies commencement astatine property zero and years are added each birthday.

Certain laws, however, usage a abstracted method of calculating property based connected the twelvemonth of commencement careless of month. The alleged “year age” method applies erstwhile determining property for mandatory conscription oregon schoolhouse grades.

The hodgepodge of 3 antithetic age-counting methods often near South Koreans confused astir however aged they were depending connected the circumstances they are in.

Official documents volition usage the planetary method starting mid adjacent year.

Presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung said the simplified property strategy “follows the planetary modular and puts an extremity to unnecessary societal and economical confusions.” The alteration is expected to code home arsenic good arsenic planetary connection issues caused by quality successful age-counting methods.

The existent setup besides caused immoderate awkward misunderstandings successful South Korea’s Confucianism-influenced culture, successful which property spread influences however radical interact.

The accepted age-counting method was erstwhile utilized crossed East Asia but different countries similar China and Japan turned to the planetary strategy decades ago. Experts accidental the method was kept successful South Korea owed to its civilization of hierarchy.

“People uncovering their property 1 oregon 2 years younger volition make a affirmative societal interaction arsenic well,” said Lee Wan-kyu, South Korean curate of authorities legislation. He said the authorities volition wide beforehand the caller property strategy to assistance it settee successful mundane beingness of the citizens.

“Not lone administrative measures but besides societal efforts to interruption down the rank-based culture” are needed to incorporated the change, Kim Jung-kwon, instrumentality prof astatine Seoul’s Chungang University, told a governmental sheet connected the contented past month.