HOW OLD WOULD YOU HAVE TURNED?
South Koreans have just became a year younger as a new law has been imposed which aligns the nation’s age-counting tradition with international standards.
This new law works to remove the traditional systems used to age people in South Korea. One system saw all South Koreans be deemed one year old exactly at birth, counting the time in the womb.
Another saw everyone ageing by a year every first day of January instead of their birthdays. However, both these systems have been scrapped to align with international standards.
President Yoon Suk Yeol had strongly campaigned in favour of the change when running for office, saying that the two old methods created unnecessary social and economic costs.
One of the drawbacks saw people born on the 31st of December turn 1 at birth and then 2 years old on January 1st – the very next day!
There will still be remnants from the laws however. South Koreans can, for example, buy cigarettes and alcohol from the year, not the day, they turn 19.
#MaltaDaily