Koreans excited, confused as new age calculator kicks in

Posters pasted on a bulletin board at Songpa District Office in southern Seoul on Wednesday show guidelines related to the adoption of the international method of counting ages in Korea. [NEWS1]

Excitement and confusion remained among Koreans on Wednesday, the first day the country adopted the international method of counting age.

Some were excited to become a year or two younger as the country moved away from its traditional way of counting ages, which adds a year at birth.

“I feel quite grateful that I became younger, especially in my workplace, as the average age of my teammates at work is very young,” said Kwak Hye-jin, a 26-year-old office worker in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul.

According to the Ministry of Government Legislation, age will be counted based on the international system in most legal and social circumstances, such as in contracts and official documents, unless a specific way of counting age is specified.

Previously, Korea used three age calculations: the so-called "Korean age," in which people are considered one year old at birth; the international system; and a system in which an individual becomes a year older on January 1.

“I am very happy to turn a year younger although I have not thought about my age much since graduating from university,” said Kim Ga-hyun, a 26-year-old office worker in Guro District, western Seoul.

“I wonder whether the age of majority will be affected by the change as well.”

The change, however, will not be applied in several cases, including the age of adolescents.

According to the Youth Protection Act, those who are younger than the age of 19 internationally are considered adolescents, but considered adults as soon as the new year arrives.

This makes those born in 2004 eligible to drink and smoke this year regardless of their birth months.

Another exception includes the age of first-grade students entering elementary schools in Korea.

Regardless of their birthdays, children would have to start school in March of the following year when they turn six internationally, which allows those born in the same year to enter elementary school at the same time.

Those born in 2016 are eligible to attend elementary schools this year regardless of their birthdays.

Despite the confusion that this may cause among students, the government strongly recommended they treat their friends as they used to even though they could be of different ages.

The same age system, whereby individuals become a year older each year, will be used to calculate the legal age for Korean men to enlist in the military.

Men who are 19 under this particular age-counting method are qualified to undergo the physical examination for conscription.

The qualifying age to sit for the public servant examinations is another exception in the new age-counting system.

Other qualifying ages for retirement, voting rights, and tapping the national pension will not be affected as these ages are already set based on international methods.

“[The adoption of the international method of counting ages] will prevent some conflicts that arose from the confusion of different age-counting systems,” said Kim Jung-kwon, a professor at Chung-Ang University’s School of Law.

“The change may be complicated in the beginning, but this will improve.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, KIM JUNG-MIN [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]