South Korea officially made everyone 1-2 years younger in 2023

The Short Answer

TRUE! On June 28, 2023, South Korea abolished "Korean age" for official purposes. Over 51 million Koreans became 1-2 years younger overnight.

The Full Story

Under the traditional "Korean age" system, babies are 1 year old at birth (counting time in the womb), and everyone gains a year on January 1, regardless of birthday. A baby born December 31 would turn 2 years old the very next day.

South Korea actually used THREE different age systems simultaneously:

Korean age: 1 at birth + 1 every January 1
Calendar age: 0 at birth + 1 every January 1
International age: 0 at birth + 1 on actual birthday

Example: Singer Psy (born December 31, 1977) was simultaneously 45 (international), 46 (calendar), and 47 (Korean) years old.

This caused real problems. COVID vaccination age brackets confused people. 86.2% of South Koreans surveyed supported standardization.

Exceptions that remain: School enrollment, military service eligibility, and legal drinking/smoking age still use the calendar-year method.

Common Misconceptions

People often assume the law changed everyone's age in every context, but many legal and administrative functions—including passports, juvenile prosecution age, and retirement benefits—already used international age counting before this law. School year eligibility and military service age continue to use the calendar-year method. The change primarily affected everyday social and administrative usage.

Actual Legal Text

Amendment to the General Act on Public Administration (Act No. 19148) and the Civil Act (Act No. 19098), passed by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea on December 8, 2022, and effective June 28, 2023. The amendments mandate the use of the international age-counting system for all administrative and legal purposes, replacing the traditional Korean age system where babies are considered one year old at birth and gain a year every January 1.