What is "Yoon Suk Yeol age"? 

South Korea has officially scrapped its traditional age-counting system to be one year at the time of their birth, and their ages increase by one on New Year’s Day, regardless of their actual birth date. 

It started when on December 8, 2022,  the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea passed bills to amend the General Act on Public Administration (GAPA) and the Civil Act. The amendments aim to unify three age-counting systems in South Korea. The amendment acts (Act No. 19098 for the Civil Act and No. 19148 for GAPA) were published in the official gazette on December 27, 2022. The amended acts allow a half-year grace period before they officially go into force after their promulgation. (Amendment Act Supp. Provisions.)

In asking how old one is, there are two simple answers: Korean age or international age. Korean age follows the traditional age-counting system, as mentioned earlier, increasing the age by one on New Year’s Day. International age sets one’s age to zero on one’s date of birth and then adding one year at the time of your date of birth. In other words, instead of everyone aging by one year on January 1, each person ages by one year on their respective birthdays. 

Now, the international age is referred to as the “Yoon Suk Yeol age” after President Yoon decided to make it the norm. Despite its challenging attempt at the traditional Korean system, a lot of Koreans, nearly ⅔, tend to avoid using Yoon Suk Yeol age. Their preference to adhere to tradition is seemingly an irony as they voluntarily throw away the tickets to be “young” in terms of ages while Korean heavily idealizes youth. 

The primary purpose of the “Yoon Suk Yeol age” was to minimize confusion arising from different counting methods and to counter deeply ingrained social hierarchies based on seniority—something President Yoon, with his background in the Korean prosecution system, was keenly aware of. Contrary to expectations, however, the new system has not gained broad acceptance.

What does this reveal about Korean culture? So, what’s Waldo here?

Ultimately, the minimal impact of the “Yoon Suk Yeol age” highlights how strongly Koreans adhere to tradition, a stance rooted in Confucian values and a general reluctance to embrace social changes in a relatively homogeneous society. Koreans exhibit a duality: they might adopt the “Yoon Suk Yeol age” when it provides an advantage in social settings but otherwise revert to the traditional system. While many Koreans agree that the old method should be abandoned, this behavior illustrates a deeper contradiction. Korean customs—such as traditional age counting—aren’t easily replaced, as shown by the limited effect of President Yoon’s initiative. Even though youth is prized in Korean culture, people still default to familiar practices for convenience and out of a deeper cultural inclination to preserve tradition.

‍