South Koreans grow younger overnight as the country changes how it counts people’s ages

KIM TONG-HYUNG

As South Korea campaigns to retire an old and odd age-counting method that makes people a year or two older than they really are, children are among the few who seem most eager to stick with the past.

“I turned 6 and then became 5 again,” Kim Da-in said when a TV reporter asked her about a new law that went into effect Wednesday that formalizes the international age-counting method in administrative and civil laws and encourages people to tally their own ages accordingly.

South Korea’s traditional age-counting custom considers every person 1 year old at birth and adds another year when the calendar hits Jan. 1, meaning a child born on Dec. 31 turns 2 the next day.

While the new law is the country’s latest attempt to retire that method and standardize international ages based on the passing of birthdays, it’s not immediately clear what will