For expats, one of the first things they learn to adjust to in South Korea is to clarify their age in two ways: one as they would back home, and another in “Korean age.”



Korea is one of the few countries that counts a newborn as being age 1 from birth. The tradition originates from China and was widely used in Asia.



From birth, a Korean starts as a 1-year-old and grows older by a year each year as the calendar changes. A 20-year-old, therefore would be 21 years old in Korean age, even if they have had a birthday that year. It’s also the reason a newborn baby who came into the world just two short months ago could already be recognized as 2 years old.



A recent survey showed that the Korean public are split in calls for abolishment of the Korean age system, which has been blamed for causing confusion. All official and public documents, for instance, need to specify whether age should be calculated based on their birthdate or by the year.



Local pollster Realmeter surveyed 529 adults aged 19 and over asking whether Korean age should be maintained. Of the respondents, 46.8 percent said Korean age should be maintained, while slightly less than 44 percent said age calculation should be unified.



Yonhap