Most will stay the same. So, is this pressing?
It is often said that age is just a number.
Not in Korea. In this country with a solid Confucian tradition of prioritizing seniority, age is more than a number.
The adage, of course, is a way to prevent alienation or discrimination for reasons of age. However, Koreans' unique adherence to age may explain why not many people here jumped with joy when the government made them "younger" by up to two years on Wednesday.
Or they knew that not much would change if the nation unified the three ways of counting ages into one system. Even news-thirsty media outlets paid only superficial attention to it.
Koreans have long had three ages ― Korean age, American or international age, and calendar age. According to the Korean way, Koreans are one year old when they are born and two on Jan. 1. So, people born on New Year's Eve became two years old in as many days. If foreigners ― who become only one year older on their first birthday ― found that their Korean friends, of the same age looked younger, they were not wrong.
Ancient Koreans' emphasis on the period in the womb might reflect their respect for fetuses even more than Christians do. Or, another possibility might be because of frequent miscarriages back then. Or that old age was synonymous with maturity or experience in the old agrarian society. The inflated age counting, once common in Northeast Asia, remained longest in Korea.
There is also the calendar age. This method decides age by deducting the birth year from the present one, regarding people born on Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of a year as the same age. It has been helpful in deciding qualifications for school admissions, military conscription, state exams and allowing unhealthy items such as alcohol and tobacco for teenagers. That's why the government will use it for the four categories for the time being.
The unification of the age-counting system to the international way was one of President Yoon Suk Yeol's campaign pledges. It complies with the global standard and various surveys also showed that three out of four Koreans supported the American way. Reflecting public opinion, the National Assembly passed a related bill with little resistance last December. "The unified age counting system will greatly reduce social costs caused by using multiple age counting systems so far," Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu told reporters, Monday.
This notwithstanding, its aftertaste is not entirely pleasant.
Above all, the move will prove more symbolic than substantive. Even before it, most legal and administrative matters had been done according to the international or calendar age. People retired only when they reached 60, according to the American way, received a pension between 60 and 63 ― depending on when they were born ― and enjoyed seniority benefits at 65. All children entered elementary school in March after they became six. Youth could buy wine and cigarettes or watch certain movies once they turned 19 by the calendar age system. All of these will stay the same for the foreseeable future.
Korean age is mostly a tradition and part of the psychology of the nation, even now. However, it may continue to persist despite or because of this.
In Korea, where hierarchy, based on age, has taken deep root, people in the same grade and class will continue presenting their respective IDs to know a person's "real" age and decide the seniority or use honorifics. Optimists, including some media outlets, expect it to change Koreans' strict adherence to the principle of seniority. However, old habits die hard.
Age hierarchy may conflict with a modern democratic system. But the old tradition, as shown by Korea's old nickname as the Eastern Land of Courtesy, has its merits, too, like spontaneous order based on modesty.
Some praise the president for giving youth back to Koreans. But people die not by age but by worries.
We hope this will not be the most praiseworthy policy of his five years in office.
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