Time never flows backwards but under this law that was newly implemented in South Korea, all of its citizens have aged backward 1 to 2 years!
In order to explain this phenomenon, we have to understand how the South Koreans counted age. Firstly, babies are born as 1-year-olds as they spend about a year in their mother’s womb, this is called the “Korean age”.
In addition to that, they have another “counting age system” whereby a person automatically ages up a year (regardless of their date of birth) once the calendar changes to 1 January.
So, if a baby was born on 31 December (1 year old), it will probably be considered 2 years old the next day.
As this is all quite confusing, South Korean lawmakers have voted for the traditional systems to be scrapped and replaced with international standards.Ā The alignment finally came into effect on 28 June.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has said that the traditional age-counting methods created “unnecessary social and economic costs”, reported BBC. For example, insurance pay-outs and eligibility for government assistance programmes.
This does not mean that it is the last time anyone in South Korea will see the “counting age system” as it still remains for certain statutes such as being able to buy cigarettes or alcohol at the year they turn 19.
Well, this is certainly interesting! How do you count your age? Do you use the birth date or do you use the “counting age system”? Let us know in the comments.
