"Psy Turns 45 from 47: Foreign Media Highlights 'Age Standardization Law'"

WSJ Reports News Including the Appearance of an 'Age Calculator'

On the 28th, when the Age Unified Act using the international age system was first implemented, major foreign media reported that "Koreans' ages became one or two years younger overnight."

On the 27th (local time), the American news magazine Time introduced, "Koreans are considered to be one or two years older than people from other countries because they reflect the time spent in the womb in their age," adding, "Among major countries, Korea is the only one with this custom."

The media further added, "This traditional age calculation method has been widely used in social environments that emphasize hierarchical order based on age and in workplaces."

On the 28th, when the unified international age law was enforced, an employee at Songpa District Office in Seoul is posting a notice related to the law enforcement. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

British BBC also reported that Korea has had a total of three age calculation methods: the traditional 'Korean age,' the international age (man-nai), and the year age (yeon-nai).

They explained the concept of Korean age using singer Psy as an example. Born on December 31, 1977, Psy is 45 years old by international age, 46 years old by year age, and 47 years old by Korean age.

The American Wall Street Journal (WSJ) explained the characteristic of Korean society, where hierarchical order based on age is strong. WSJ introduced an anecdote where 14-year-old classmates told 13-year-old classmates in the same class to call them "older brother," and reported that some people are experiencing confusion due to the implementation of the Age Unified Act.

WSJ also reported, "Some Koreans have never learned how to calculate their international age, so companies and government agencies are conducting campaigns to teach the international age calculation method," along with news about the emergence of 'age calculators.'

On the 28th, when the unified international age law was enforced, a notice related to the law enforcement was posted at Songpa District Office in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Meanwhile, the 'Age Unified Act' (partial amendments to the Framework Act on Administrative Procedures and the Civil Act), introduced as a national agenda of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, was officially implemented from the 28th.

Unless otherwise specified by law, administrative and civil ages should be understood as international age. When calculating international age, subtract the birth year from the current year; if the birthday has passed at the time of calculation, use this number as is, and if the birthday has not yet passed, subtract one year.

You can also use age calculator services provided by portal sites.

The government expects that unifying the age system to international age will significantly reduce social costs that have unnecessarily occurred due to the mixed use of age standards.

Furthermore, since all countries except Korea use international age, using age according to international standards is expected to be beneficial for overseas business and other activities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.