“South Korea officially made everyone 1-2 years younger in 2023”
TRUE! On June 28, 2023, South Korea abolished "Korean age" for official purposes. Over 51 million Koreans became 1-2 years younger overnight.
The Traditional Korean Age System
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.
Three Age Systems Ran Simultaneously
South Korea actually used three different age systems simultaneously: Korean age (1 at birth, plus 1 every January 1), calendar age (0 at birth, plus 1 every January 1), and international age (0 at birth, plus 1 on the actual birthday). Singer Psy, born December 31, 1977, was simultaneously 45 (international), 46 (calendar), and 47 (Korean) years old.
Confusion Fueled Support For Change
This caused real problems: COVID vaccination age brackets confused people, and 86.2% of South Koreans surveyed supported standardization.
Exceptions That Still Remain
Exceptions remain: school enrollment, military service eligibility, and legal drinking and smoking age still use the calendar-year method.
Where the story gets it wrong
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.
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.
- Current status
- Actively Enforced
- Enacted
- June 28, 2023
- Penalty
- Not applicable (age calculation method, not a prohibition)