South Koreans to become a year or two younger
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The reading
A new law in South Korea means South Koreans will be a year or two younger. The law was passed last Thursday. Before it was passed, there were three different ways that people could tell their age. South Koreans could have three ages. One was an "international age". This is the same as how most people in the world calculate their age. A baby is zero at birth and becomes one year old a year after it is born. The second was a "Korean age". Under this system, babies are considered a year old on the day they are born, and then a year is added every January the 1st. The third method was a "calendar age". This makes babies zero years old at birth, and a year is added to their age every January the 1st.
The new law simplifies age in South Korea. Lawmakers hope it will end confusion about how old people are. From June 2023, all official documents must use the standard international age. It will be used for the legal ages for drinking, getting married, smoking, and military service. It should help to end legal and social problems caused by the old system. However, many people will continue to use the Korean age in informal situations. A Korean Twitter user was relieved there is a new law to make things simpler. She tweeted: "I'll become two years younger. I'm so happy. I turned two years old two weeks after I was born, as I was born in December. Finally, I'm about to get my real age back."
Sources:
- https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/12/113_341243.html
- https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/09/asia/south-korea-international-age-law-intl-hnk/index.html
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/09/all-south-koreans-to-become-younger-as-traditional-age-system-scrapped
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