South African Grandmother Born During the Korean Empire Era Celebrates 118th Birthday as World's Oldest Person

Born on September 27, 1906
If ID is certified, the current oldest person

Margaret Maritz of South Africa, known as the unofficial world's oldest person, celebrated her 118th birthday on the 27th (local time), AFP reported. Maritz held a birthday party at a nursing home in the village of Tusriver, located 180 km northeast of Cape Town, and spent her 118th birthday surrounded by family and medical staff.

Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Gregory Eloy Adams, the senior nurse at the nursing home, said, "Maritz still talks about living life as a young woman. She also says that parents should be respected." He cited her lifelong avoidance of alcohol and cigarettes as the secret to her longevity.

A copy of Maritz's ID card shown to reporters by the charity organization that prepared the party indicates that she was born on September 27, 1906. This corresponds to the era of the Korean Empire in our history. AFP added that if this ID is officially recognized, the world's oldest person title will finally be passed from 116-year-old Japanese woman Itooka Tomiko, born on May 23, 1908.

116-year-old Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, who received the world's oldest person title last month, is celebrating her 116th birthday party.
[Photo by Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan]

The current world's oldest person, Itooka Tomiko, was born as the eldest daughter in Osaka City in 1908 and celebrated her 116th birthday this past May. She currently lives in a special nursing home in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

Her hobby was walking, and she walked to a temple 3 km away even after turning 100. She now lives in a wheelchair. She has four children and five grandchildren, and her favorite things are the probiotic drink Calpis and bananas.

Itooka inherited the world's oldest person title after the previous record holder, Maria Branyas Morera (Spain), passed away on August 20 at the age of 117. Morera, born in the same year as the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Xuantong, remained actively engaged on social networking services (SNS) despite her advanced age.

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest-lived person worldwide to date is Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who was born on February 21, 1875, and lived past 122 years.