South Koreans become a year or two younger as traditional way of counting age scrapped

Women ride on an escalator past a couple wearing masks to avoid contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a shopping mall in Seoul, South Korea, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Koreans became a year or two younger on Wednesday as new laws that require using only the international method of counting age took effect, replacing the country's traditional method.

Under the age system most commonly used in South Koreans' everyday life, people are deemed to be a year old at birth and a year is added every Jan. 1.