According to this tradition, individuals were considered one year old at birth, and everyone’s age increased collectively on January 1st. For example, if someone was born on December 31st, they would turn one on that day and become two years old the following day. Yes, it’s strange and confusing, which was why China and Japan dropped this age-counting practice decades ago.
But, South Korea has held to this tradition as a culture that venerates age, similar to how the United States revered age during the time of our founding fathers (which is why they wore white wigs). Of course, this was all about to change when the president recently announced that in 2024 South Korea was going to pull a “Benjamin Button” and take everyone back to the international standard. This means that in a couple of years, a 50-year-old will suddenly become 48 and get to celebrate the big 5-0 all over again.
Unfortunately, some of the biggest Korean retailers are celebrating this news by promoting anti-aging products in a country that wasn’t as focused as the West on such products. Ouch! Even in a place like Korea that has long valued age, ageism rears its head.
Would you like to reduce your age by a couple of years? Or, if you had a magic wand, what age would you like to take yourself back to?