South Korea Has Abolished The Traditional Age System : What It Means For The K-Pop World

On Jun. 28, 2023, South Koreans got a year or two younger when the laws abolishing the traditional method of counting age came into effect.

Sandy, Staff Writer
4 min to read · Published : Jun 30, 2023

South Korea Has Abolished The Traditional Age System : What It Means For The K-Pop World

N.Flying Official / EXO Official

On Jun. 28, 2023, South Koreans got a year or two younger when the laws abolishing the traditional method of counting age came into effect. The laws were passed in December 2022 with the aim of reducing the economic and social costs derived from confusion and dispute that using the system incurred. It also aimed to further align with the international community.

The traditional age system has existed for centuries and is unique to Korea. It works by deeming a baby to be one year old when it is born instead of zero.

There is also another system that adds a year onto a person’s age on Jan. 1 every year. Because of this system, many 19 year olds (Korean age) will often wait for the new year to roll in so that they can drink on Jan. 1 when they officially become adults at 20 years old (Korean age).

This means a person born in 2000 would be 24 years old in Korean age this year. However under the international system, they would only be 22 years old if they haven’t had their birthday yet or 23 years old if they have had their birthday.

This also means that a baby born on Dec. 31 will be one year old at birth and two years old the next day on Jan. 1.

The international method of counting age was adopted in South Korea in the early 1960s but it was used only for medical and legal documents. In other areas of life in South Korea, age was counted using the traditional method.

Because Korea is the only country to use this traditional system, it has caused confusion in formal and informal settings. Formally, it has caused legal disputes and social confusion. Informally, Koreans often have a hard time explaining their age when in a foreign country. Additionally, those who are new to K-Pop and Korean culture in general can, at first, have difficulty figuring out the ages of idols and other entertainers in the Korean entertainment industry.

Adapting to the international system of counting age will remove such confusion.

However, there are a few areas in which the laws will not take effect.

Ministry of Government Legislation / The Korea Herald

In the K-Pop world, the traditional Korean age system has been something that is often talked about by both idols and fans.

In the days leading up to the new laws coming into effect, netizens had been posting on social media platforms about the changes to how age will be counted in South Korea. They have been listing idols’ revised ages according to international standards.

since the korean age system has officially changed, these are BTS members ages as of June 2023.

Namjoon - 28
Seokjin - 30
Yoongi - 30
Hobi - 29
Jimin - 27
Taehyung -27
Jungkook- 25 pic.twitter.com/JglKhWgnpG

— ren⁷ ᵇʸ ʲᵏ (@koobviously) June 28, 2023

STAYC Members ages after the removal of Korean age system.

SUMIN -22
SIEUN -21
ISA-21
SEEUN-20
YOON-19
J -18#STAYC pic.twitter.com/av4viyDGyX

— Chelsea 🎀 PAGE.SOOBIN (@okaysumin) June 27, 2023

Posting the revised ages of idols greatly helps in clarifying their ages when understanding how old their favourite idols are hasn’t always been straightforward for many fans. For fans who are unfamiliar with Korean culture, learning how to calculate someone’s Korean age can be confusing and difficult to grasp initially.

Even foreign idols, including idols who are Korean but grew up outside of Korea like ENHYPEN’s Jake, sometimes get confused about their Korean age.

jake is now back to 20 yo after hving a conflict wether he supposed to be 22/23 in korean age last year but now it really doesn’t matter anym 😂

*tbh he’s still a baby to me idc pic.twitter.com/qHa1LWAN8g

— 이크이크 (@JA3YUNC0RE) June 27, 2023

Additionally, idols who are from Korea have jokingly refused to believe that they are their Korean age for fear of ageing and leaving their youth behind. EXO’s Kai has been one of these idols, saying that once he turns 30 he’ll ignore his Korean age so that he can stay in his 20s for longer.

"KAIst"

Other idols like N.Flying’s JaeHyun have expressed their joy of getting younger. In Korean age, he was 30 years old this year but under the new laws, he, and other idols born in 1994 like Kai, have more time to be a 20-something year old again.

Kim JaeHyun's Official Instagram

Similarly, SF9’s InSeong posted on the group’s fancafe, greeting fans as a group who are all in their 20s. The members are born between the years 1993 to 2000, making their current age range 23 to 29 years old.

230628 #INSEONG Fancafe Update

🌰: This is SF9, a group were we're all in our 20s.

Greetings from the cutie^^ pic.twitter.com/LoUjzb3K1C

— SF9 Army Days (@SF9ArmyDays) June 28, 2023

With the new laws taking effect, Korean society has aligned itself with the international method of counting age, removing disputes that previously existed and creating a smoother process of understanding how old a person is. In the K-Pop world, it will make it easier for global fans to figure out the age of an idol and idols can rejoice in getting even just a bit younger again.