Birthdays and Age, a crazy confusion 1

Age is very important in Korean culture, and people from other countries are often taken aback when immediately after shaking someone's hand, they are asked: "how old are you?" For some it's simply more surprising than offensive, but it's often both and it's definitely weird (until you get used to it).

But it's not just the question that can cause problems, it's also the answer. Most countries, going Westwards from China, are born 0 years old and one year after their birth, they turn 1 year old. In Korea and China, on the other hand, the moment people are born, they are 1. So on their next birthday they are 2 (notice here I didn't write "turn 2", keep on reading to see why), basically making everyone one year older than they are in the West.
For an American born in 1990 he would be 22 this year(2012), but for a Korean, she would be 23.

But! Things get even more complicated because Koreans don't actually get older on their birthdays. They get older on New Years! This took me a long while to get my head around, but basically you celebrate your birth on your birthday, but you add an extra year to your age on January the 1st every year. What that means is that from the day of your birthday to January the first of the next year you are one year older than in the West. But from January the 1st of the next year until your birthday, you are two years older than your western age. Remember your western age gets +1 on year birthday.
So for an American born on June the 1st 1990 he would be 22 this year(September 2012), but in Korea, before January the 1st 2013, he would be 23. And after January the 1st 2013 until his birthday in 2013 he would be two years older(24) than his western age!

This can be a little confusing, dont think about it too much and calculate your calculate your Korean age first!

• Take today's date, is it before or after your birthday this year?
• If it's after, you're one year older
• If it's before, you're two... until your birthday. Remember you age on your birthday in the west.
• Just remember on January the 31st everyone will be two years older until their next birthday...