'I thought, `Ah, right. She's now 2 years old, though it's been only two hours since she was born. What the heck!'' South Korea's unusual age-calculating system means babies born on Dec. 31 become 2-year-olds the next day.
In this April 9, 2019, photo, Lee Dong Kil's daughter Lee Yoon Seol sits to celebrate her the 100th day of the birth at Lee's house in Daejeon, South Korea. Just two hours after Lee’s daughter was born on New Year’s Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2-years-old. She wasn’t alone, though it happened for her quicker than most: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1.
For parents whose babies are born in December, it can be especially painful. One hour after his daughter’s birth in the central city of Daejeon at 10 p.m. on Dec. 31 of last year, Lee posted the news on social media. His friends immediately showered him with congratulatory messages. This may have then shifted to the solar New Year on Jan. 1 as the South began embracing the Western calendar. North Korea uses the Western age calculating system, but they have a twist: they follow their own calendar that’s based on the birth of national founder and president-for-life Kim Il Sung.
Some South Koreans still worry that the practice makes their nation look odd on the international stage. Some feel confusion when meeting with foreigners. Associated Press journalists in Seoul must ask Koreans what year and month they were born to calculate their Western age for news stories. Parents whose babies are born in December often worry about their kids falling behind other children born earlier in the same year, though worries gradually disappear as their children age.
In January, lawmaker Hwang Ju-hong tabled a bill aimed at requiring the government to put international ages in official documents and encouraging general citizens to go with their international ages in everyday life. It’s the first legislative attempt to abolish “Korean age.”
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