With the sucess of Korean pop music, more and more people are interessed in issues related to South Korea and not just about music. With that interest, many fans have already noticed that the age in Korea is a diferente system than ours, but it's still a confusing subject at times. Let's end this doubt now.
Knowing the age of a Korean is much more than just curiosity, is extremely importante because it defines if you should speak in a formal way, and just the person is only 1 year older than you to have to use a formal language. But let's find out how it Works.
For Koreans, when a baby is born he is already 1 hear old, because they add up before 9 months. But not only that. In addition to being born at 1 year, another factor differentiates the Korean age system from ours. From the moment the year starts, everyone is 1 year older, regardless of the anniversary date. Examplo: a Korean is 20 years old in 2017, starting January 1, 2018, he will be 21, even if he celebrates his birthday in another month. But don't think they don't celebrate their birthdays, the year starts, but they celebrate the birthdays, the only difference is that they get older when the year starts, but they celebrate the birthday on the day of birth. Age and birthday are not related.
When you meet a Korean, it's good to know each other's ages to know what kind of language to use. So you want to learn how to calculate you Korean age?
In Korea you will Always be 1 year older.
In the year you are, if you have not had a birthday yet, add another 1 year. That is, you will be 2 years older, but only if you have not yeat made birthday.
So, if you have already had a birthday here, in Korea you will be 1 year older, and if you have not had a birthday here, in Korean you will be 2 years older. Understood?
It's importante to remember that Koreans know that in other countries the age system is diferente, some make jokes saying that "they will get younger" when they travel.
What do you think? Difficult? What is your Korean age? I hope that you enjoyed.
