Korean age

English

Etymology

The age system was officially used in South Korea until 2023.

Noun

Korean age (countable and uncountable, plural Korean ages)

  1. (uncountable) An age system where a person is considered one year old at birth, and adds one to their age every January 1st. It was formerly used in several East Asian countries.
    • 2023 June 27, Jessie Yeung and Yoonjung Seo, “South Koreans become younger overnight after country scraps ‘Korean age’”, in CNN‎[1]:
      Take “Gangnam Style” singer Psy, for example. Born on December 31, 1977, he is considered 45 by international age; 46 by calendar year age; and 47 by Korean age.
    • 2023 June 28, “Why are South Koreans suddenly younger? New age system explained”, in Al Jazeera‎[2]:
      There is a second counting method – a mix of the international and Korean age systems – in which a baby is born at zero years, and one year is added every January 1.
  2. (countable) One's age under this system.
    • 2023 June 28, “Why are South Koreans suddenly younger? New age system explained”, in Al Jazeera‎[3]:
      Yoon Jae-ha, left, shows his international age of eight and Korean age of nine next to his father, Yoon Dong-gun, whose international age is 43 and Korean age is 44

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