Ever since I joined the BTS fandom I kept hearing one thing that didn’t really make much sense to me. Most of the articles and videos I saw which spoke about how the BTS group debuted kept saying the youngest member (referred to as the Maknae in Korean) Jeon Jungkook joined BigHit at the Korean age of 15, and I wonder just what this Korean age is and how different it is from the international age.
Today I’m going to break down every single aspect of the Korean age. If you meet Koreans for the first time, they’ll ask your name and your age first. Being able to talk about your age in Korean is very important in Korean culture.
In most countries, it is often viewed as disrespectful or impolite to ask someone (especially women) for their age, but that is not so for Koreans, one of the first things a native Korean will ask you when you meet is your age. This is not due to a lack of politeness or respect rather it is quite the opposite. There are varying levels of politeness when conversing in Korean and this is exactly why people will ask for your age, they want to know so that they can address you accordingly.
How Old Is My Dog In Human Years? What's My Dog's Human Age?
However, when you give them your answer, you may see them nodding their head and stating a number that is higher than your actual age, or they may inform you that you are actually older in Korean age. Why is the Korean age different? This is due to the different Korean age system, which is different from the international age. So if you see any K-Pop star saying their age in Korean, you should know their international age is different.
While other countries consider newborn babies to be ‘zero’ years old upon birth, native Koreans actually calculate the time babies spend in their mother’s womb as a ‘year’ (although technically, it is 9 months, they round it up to one year), when babies are born in Korea, they are considered to be 한 살(
)= one-year-old”. This automatically adds one year to the age that you may be used to. So when someone in Korea tells you, for example, that they are 스무 살(
If I Want To Say My Age In Korea, Should I Use Native Or Sino Korean Numerals?
A native Korean would normally add two years to their ‘Western age. This is because Koreans automatically gain a year on January 1st, regardless of whether their birthday has passed or not. International Agemeasures how long you have lived. Korean Agemeasures how many years you have experienced.
, let’s say a child was born on December 31st, 2019. This child is already a year old, according to the Korean age, but only a day later, on January 1st, 2020 the child adds another year. Although the child is only two days old, he/she will already be two years old in Korean age, because everyone gains a year when the new year begins. So their actual age in international standards, or 만 나이(
), would technically be ‘zero’ years old, but when the parents are asked about the age of their child, they will probably answer, “한국 나이로 두 살이에요.”(
Kim Yoo Jung
Note: Korean age system, is only a cultural thing. In order to avoid confusion and keep up with international standards, on official documents such as a passport or a birth certificate, everyone in Korea will use their 만 나이(
), or international age. This means that when you see the age of Korean sport stars at theOlympics, it will be their international age, not their Korean age. An additional piece of information that doesn’t get talked about as much is that, depending on the Korean, they might actually calculate their age based on the Lunar calendar instead of the Western New Year. In this case, while your age is still calculated by the year you were born in, people born in, say January of 2020, are still considered the same age as those born in 2019 simply because Lunar New Year hasn’t passed yet by the time they were born.. Use it to learn how to calculate Korean age and read up on this interesting feature of Korean culture. With the help of this tool, the question How old am I in Korea? will no longer be a bother to answer. If you plan to travel to Korea, there might still be some time-zone related confusion, but thanks to this calculator there won't be any confusion connected to your age!
But how does this even work? While it may seem complicated at first, don't worry - it's much simpler than what we've discussed in the birthday paradox calculator.
What Is The Difference Between Korean Age And International Age
If you'd rather calculate your Korean age based on your current Western age, the formula changes depending on whether your birthday has already passed or not. The formulas are:
These may be counterintuitive for Westerners, especially the calculations based on age. Actually, the idea behind this system is not that complicated. There are two main differences between the Korean age system and the Western age system:
Let's go through a quick example of both kinds of calculations so that the question What is my Korean age? never sounds complicated again.
Here's How To Tell When To Toss That Take Out Rice
Let's say someone was born in the year 1993, and the current year is 2019. In that case, the basic way of calculating their Korean age would look like this:
In the Western system, someone born in 1993 will be 26 years old in 2019. If their birthday has passed by the time they are calculating their Korean age, that means they are
Let's look at a real-world example. If you're a fan of Korean culture, you might be curious to find out how old is Jungkook. He was born on 1ˢᵗ September, 1997. In the western system, he celebrates his 22ⁿᵈ birthday in 2019. Jungkook, however, would tell you that he is 23 years old:
Kimchi Fried Rice
Here's one more striking example of the differences between Western age and Korean age. If a child is born on December 31ˢᵗ, the next day Westerners would say the child is a day old. In Korean age, however, you would say that this 1-day-old baby is two years old. That is because:
Speaking of your age in various calendars, make sure to check out our Lunar age calculator to determine your age according to the Chinese and Hijri calendar.
. That is because in the Korean language, the way you address your interlocutor depends on their age. This applies even in totally informal situations and close relationships. For example, if your friend is older than you, you would call them your 누나 -
How To: Introduce Yourself In Korean (name, Age, Nationality)
To avoid confusion, when talking with people from other countries, many Koreans ask for their international age and make the calculations themselves.
Interestingly, while Korean age is the one Koreans usually refer to in conversations, the legal age limits for such things as drinking, smoking, driving, etc. are expressed in the international age system.
Yes, your Korean age is higher than your American age. In Korea, you are 1 year old when you're born - pregnancy is counted as the first year of life. Additionally, you get older every New Year. So, instead of adding a year on the day of your birthday, you add it on the 1
Bibimbap! (korean Rice Bowl)
Yes! Koreans celebrate their birthdays! On your birthday in Korea, you would do something more traditional - eat seaweed soup, and something more western - party with friends and eat a birthday cake.
0 komentar
Posting Komentar