Friends Divided into Older and Younger? ... 'Unified Age Calculation Law' Calculated with BTS V's International Age

Enforcement of Unified Age Calculation Law from June 28
Age Calculated Based on This Year's Birthday
Foreign Media Explains Korean Age System Using BTS and Psy

Starting on the 28th, the 'Unified International Age Act' will be enforced, making citizens appear up to two years younger. This law was introduced to reduce confusion caused by the coexistence of the 'Korean age' system, which counts the birth year as one year old, and the 'year age' system (current year minus birth year) used in laws such as the Military Service Act and the Youth Protection Act.

As the method of calculating age changes, some citizens may experience confusion. In response, the Ministry of Government Legislation released a 'Unified International Age Act Implementation Q&A Poster' on the 31st of last month to explain the age calculation method.

The standard is based on the birthday this year. From the 28th onward, if the birthday has passed, the age is calculated by subtracting the birth year from the current year. If the birthday has not yet passed, one additional year is subtracted from the difference between the current year and the birth year.

For example, as of this month, someone born in May 1991 would be 32 years old by subtracting 1991 from 2023, while someone born in September 1991 would be 31 years old by subtracting 1991 from 2023 and then subtracting one more year.

BTS's V. [Image provided by Yonhap News, Big Hit Music]

The 'Unified International Age Act' was one of the campaign promises made by President Yoon Suk-yeol during his presidential candidacy.

At that time, foreign media also paid attention to the push for the Unified International Age Act and provided detailed explanations of the age calculation methods. East Asian countries such as China and Japan also use the international age system, so the Korean age system is unfamiliar overseas.

The British BBC cited BTS member V as an example. In an article dated April 20 last year, BBC explained, "V, born on December 30, 1995, is 28 years old in Korean age, 26 years old in international age, and 27 years old in another Korean age system (year age)."

Recalculating based on this year, V currently has three ages: 29 (Korean age), 28 (year age), and 27 (international age). When the Unified International Age Act is enforced on the 28th, he will be 27 years old as of that date, and will turn 28 after his birthday.

CNN also cited singer Psy as an example in an article on December 9 last year, stating, "Psy, born on December 31, 1977, is considered 44 years old in international age, 45 years old in year age, and 46 years old in Korean age."

What if friends have different international ages? The Ministry of Government Legislation said, "It may feel awkward at first, but there is no need for friends to use different forms of address," adding, "As the use of international age becomes more familiar, it is expected that Korea's hierarchical culture, which strictly observes age differences of one or two years, will gradually disappear."