3. Why do Koreans always ask people's age?
Oh, it's very important for Koreans! Depending on how old others are, we change the verb form, sometimes use different words as well, and call them differently by their titles.
Because of this Korean culture, a few of my friends don't know even their grandmother's name. They always call their grandmother 'Halmeoni(means grandmother) and never heard someone say their grandmother's name. Everybody around her just calls her by her titles like grandmother, mother, sister, wife, or teacher!
Anyway, what I'm saying is that Koreans need to know people's age in order to speak in different ways. That's our culture and that's how we express our respect.
There are so many things to explain about this that I had better stop it now. It's fairly complicated, but you're always welcome to ask me about this if you want to know more.
# To see other posts that related to this topic:
0. Introduction
1. Lular birthday and solar birthday?
2. All Koreans get 1 year old on January 1st.
3. Why do Koreans always ask people's age?
4. International age vs Korean age
Monday, March 14, 2011
3. Why do Koreans always ask people's age? > The mystery of the Korean Age System
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Interesting. I didn't know this about the Korean culture. Thanks
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that :) Thank you for visiting my blog!
ReplyDelete"The Korean aging system works like this basically: If you are born in Jan or Feb, you are considered a year older than the ones born in March-Dec. It has something to do with the school system."
ReplyDeleteIs this true? I saw this comment somewhere and I was looking for more elaborate explanation. Can you please explain more about this? Thanks!
And here's the situation I'm confused about.
If person A is born between Jan-Feb '94, is he considered the same age as person B who is born in March-Dec '93?