Age Matters
Why Koreans Value Age
July 25th, 2009
Honestly, I’m not sure why it’s such a big deal with Koreans and age. The older you get, it seems the more younger people look up to you for wisdom and advice even though you might feel you have little to offer. Truthfully, I probably look about 10 years younger than my age. I think of it as an obstacle, being that it’s too difficult to gain some real respect in the business realm. Socially, it’s fine, but there’s times when I really wished I looked my age. They say “age” is just a number in today’s “age”. But why do Koreans like to play “who’s older”? In Korea, when someone asks your age, they don’t ask you how old or young you are. Instead, they ask you what year you were born. When you come out of your mommy’s tummy, you are essentially one year old, because Koreans count the nine months when you were developing in the womb! Another age-thing that really gets me is that I always thought I was just a year older than my natural age in Korean age until a friend once told me that I’m actually two years older because I turn another year after the lunar new year! Oh, that’s just great. So, does that mean if lunar new year is in February, and my birthday is in March, then I’ll be two years older in two months time?? I’ll never get it. Help me.
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You know I always knew that I need to add an extra year to my age when a Korean asks for my age, but those who know I am American remembers that we don’t add the year, and corrects me instead! However, I never heard of the Lunar New Year thing until two weeks ago myself! How strange! How come nobody ever told me that years before?! Now that makes me wonder if I have to say I am age+2 instead of age+1! AUGH!