According to the new age calculation method that is about to be applied in Korea, most Kpop idols will be set to get 1 to 2 years younger on paper.
The country’s president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol is currently pushing for a policy to change the age calculation system in Korea due to inconveniences related to social, welfare and other administrative services or signing or interpreting various contracts. According to representative Lee Yong Ho, they are pushing to standardize the way age is counted in South Korea.
In order to better explain the difference between the age calculation method in Korea before and abroad, the broadcaster MBC Newscaster took the case of V (BTS) as an example in recent news: “V was born on the 30th of December in 1995. This means that if he is based on international age, he is currently 26 years old. On January 1st, 2023, he would be 27 years old because his birthday had just passed a few days ago. However, considering the “Korean age” system, the male idol would already be 29 years old at that time.”
It is known that the above difference comes from the fact that South Koreans are labeled as one year old at birth and added another year upon the New Year. This means that when V was just born, he was 1 year old, until December 30th, 2022 this year he is still 28 years old. However, when the new year passes (January 1st, 2023), the male idol will automatically be labeled as 29 years old.
Furthermore, in terms of military service, Korea has another way to calculate age which is to subtract the current year from the year of birth then remove the negative sign. This is the military enlistment age. If calculated this way, in 2023, V will turn 28 instead of 29. Accordingly, it can be said that Koreans have 3 different ages at the same time, thereby causing many legal problems.
In order to make it simple, South Korea will use the international age calculation instead of the traditional one. Thus, Kpop idols will suddenly be “younger” from 1 to 2 years old than they are now. Besides, Korean men will likely be allowed to delay their military service time.
