Korean Age: How to Calculate and Talk About It
“How old are you” is one of the very first questions you get from meeting Koreans for the first time. Many find this a bit shocking because it can be quite personal. Also, they may suddenly find themselves one or two years older in the Korean age system. (read on to find out the exact calculations) Why is it so?
The Korean age system is an important yet very basic part of the Korean culture. This article will give you a complete introduction to the Korean age system and help you understand how to apply Korean age in real-life scenarios. You will also learn about all the age-related Korean culture and authentic language use.
Why Are Korean Age and Biological Age Different?
The biggest difference between one’s Korean age and one’s standard biological age lies in the calculation method, and there are two reasons for this.
First, Korean people consider the 9 months of your mom’s pregnancy as the first year of your life. Therefore, the Korean age for a baby is 1 at birth. Biological age, in contrast, starts with 0 at birth.
Second, your Korean age is calculated based on calendar years, not by the actual number of years passed since your date of birth. As soon as a new year starts, Koreans add 1 year to their age, no matter if their birthdays have already passed in the current year or not. Biological age is counted based on the actual date of birth and one year is only added after that date.
What’s My Age in the Korean Age System?
“What’s my age in the Korean?” You might think that is a simple translation problem, but it’s actually way more complicated than that.
Here are two formulas for you to calculate your Korean age easily:
Formula 1: current year +1 – birth year
Formula 2:
biological age + 1 if you have already celebrated your birthday this year
biological age + 2 if you haven’t celebrated your birthday this year
Here are two visuals to help you calculate:
Why is the Korean Age System So Important?
So, why do Koreans exchange their age information at the very first meeting? Because age affects many aspects of the Korean language and social norms. Age determines how you would talk to and treat the other party in Korea. You could accidentally offend people if you are not careful!
Although, Koreans also use the international or biological age system for official paperwork and legal purposes. In daily conversations and social interactions, such as giving a self-introduction, people always use the Korean age system.
So, as a foreigner, you have to know how Korean age works.
What Does It Mean to Be Older or Younger in Korea?
To fully understand this part, we need to dive deeper into Korea’s history and culture.
Being the older person in your group could mean these for you:
You’re allowed to ask younger people (동생) to run errands for you.
Younger Koreans greet you with a bow.
Younger Koreans address you with a respectful term, such as 오빠/누나, 선배님.
Younger Koreans speaking to you in polite speech.
You are expected to pay the bill that’s shared with younger people.
You are expected to be the leader of the group.
The implications of being younger works the other way around.
As you can see, being older brings both benefits and obligations.
Korean Age System: The Historical and Cultural Background
Due to the influence of Confucianism, age plays a huge role in shaping interpersonal relationships. For example, it’s a big deal for Koreans to show proper respect to older people. It is called “Jang Yu Yu Seo”, meaning that there is a social order between the older and the younger.
How Does Korean Age Affect the Way Koreans Speak?
For Koreans, age is significant enough to be a determining factor for the way they use the Korean language.
To explain, age determines the level of formality and politeness in language, known as the speech level.
In general, people should use polite speech and honorifics when talking with older people, and casual speech with close friends or younger people.
Age also determines how people should address each other. Oftentimes, Korean learners from non-Asia regions are confused by the way Korean people address each other — they literally just call each other “brother” or “sister” when they are not at all related.
For example, if you’re male,
you call an older male 형 (hyung), which means “older brother”,
and call an older female 누나 (nuna), which means “older sister”.
As a female,
you address an older male as 오빠 (oppa), which means “older brother”,
and an older female as 언니 (eonni), which means “older sister”.
When addressing a young person:
regardless of sex, you can address him or her as 동생 (dongsaeng).
add 남 (nam) or 여 (yeo) before 동생 (dongsaeng) If you want to specify their that they are male or female, respectively.
When at school or work (not used to address other people directly):
후배 (hubae) refers to people who are younger,
선배 (seonbae) for people who are older than you.
A special note to add is that sometimes the division of 후배 and 선배 doesn’t necessarily depend on the age, but on people’s relative seniority in a specific situation. For example, a younger man can be referred to as 선배 (more senior) by an older man if the younger man served in the military earlier than the older man.
When addressing someone at a more senior position:
you might use 선배님 (seonbaenim, 님 nim is a commonly used honorific in Korean)