4. International age vs Korean age > The mystery of the Korean Age System

4. International age vs Korean age

I'll show how to count the Korean age.

I was born on June 27th, 1987. Here's a question. How old was I when I was born? 0? That's the international age. I was 1 in Korea. Our age starts from 1, not 0.

There are some opinions about why Koreans use the different counting:

1) Koreans include the period which our mothers were pregnant for. We tend to think the pregranancy period is about 1 year. (I know it's not exactly 1 year but around 9 months.)

2) Koreans have the different concept of the age. '1' means it's first year. While the international age presents how long a person has lived, the Korean age means how many years a person has lived.

3) Koreans don't apply 0 to people. For ancient Koreans, 0 meant 'not exist', so perhaps people thought it was strange to use 0 for a live baby.

Then, Koreans get 1 year old every January 1st as I told you on the previous post, right? So how old I was on January 1st, 1988? I was officially 2, but my mom probably didn't say I was 2 at that time and say I was a 6-month-baby. I mean we don't really apply the Korean age to a baby.

Now, I'm 23 in the international age and 25 in the Korean age. After June 27th, 2011, I'll be 24. Crystal clear? ;D

# 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

3. Why do Koreans always ask people's age? > The mystery of the Korean Age System

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

2. All Koreans get 1 year old on January 1st. > The mystery of the Korean Age System

2. All Koreans get 1 year old on January 1st.

Can you believe that all Koreans get 1 year old on the exactly same day that's January 1st?! It's true and I may know what you want to ask me next.

'Do all Koreans have birthday parties on January 1st?'
This is the question all my friends asked me when I explained about the Korean age system.
We have a very big celebration party on January 1st, not because we get 1 year old, but because it's New Year's Day! Indeed, New Year's Day is one of the biggest holidays in Korea.

You also want to ask me again, don't you? ;) Like this:
'You don't get 1 year old on your birthday, but do you celebrate your birthday?'
Yes, we do, because it's our birthday, which we were born on the day in the past.

# 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

1. Lular birthday and solar birthday? > The mystery of the Korean Age System

1. Lunar birthday and solar birthday?

As you may know, there are two kinds of calendars. One is the lunar calendar, based on the the moon, and the other one is the solar calendar, also called Gregorian calendar and based on the sun.

Both of them are used in Korea, but that doesn't mean that Koreans have 2 birthday parties every year! It depends on which we want to regard as our birthday.

My birthday is June 27th on the solar calendar, which I normally think is my 'real' birthday, but I also know my lunar birthday, June 2nd. My mother uses her lunar birthday, June 27th, which is the same date as my solar birthday, but she doesn't know her solar birthday before checking the calendar. It's changed every year! If you have any idea about this system, you will easily understand what I mean.

For that reason, most Korean web sites ask whether your birthday is lunar or solar when you sign up a site.

# 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

0. Introduction > The mystery of the Korean Age System

Since I left Korea, I've found out a number of differnces between Korea and other countries. There are several things that may be totally new to non-Koreans. One of them is the Korean age system!
That's why I'm going to introduce things related to the Korean age system some foreigners don't understand.

This post can be too long to read at once, so I divided it into 4 parts. Click and check them out!

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

If you're not familiar with Korea, it could be very difficult to understand, different from what you're used to, and strange to accept, but that's Korea. We have our unique cultures and love these.

Have any questions? No worry. I'll be willing to answer you :)