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.
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:Korean age = (2019 - 1993) + 1 = 27.
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 26 + 1 = 27 years old. If this year's birthday is still ahead of them, they would still be 27 years old in Korea, but the calculation would be 25 + 2 = 27 until their birthday.
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: 21 + 2 before September 1ˢᵗ and 22 + 1 after.
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:
- the baby is born as a 1-year-old, and
- on January 1ˢᵗ, everyone gains one year.
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.
