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Birthdays and Ages

Being born on December 23, 1980, one would say I am 26 years old, right?  Well, not in Korea.  I found out last night that a Korean would consider me 28 years old!  That’s right, I’m 28!

Here’s how the math works… the time spent in the womb is counted, so they round up and call you 1 year old when you’re born.  From that point on, you do not advance in age on your birthday but at the lunar new year in February with everyone else.  There’s a big family celebration where everyone eats this special soup (I forget what it’s called), and the soup makes you advance a year in age.

So if I had been a Korean child, I would have been born on December 23, 1980, already 1-year-old.  Then two months later, at the lunar new year, I would have eaten some soup with my family and become a 2-year-old (though I had only seen the light of day for two months).  Interesting, huh?

-Jessica

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