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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Justin McCurry

THE TRUTH ABOUT: South korea mulls ending arcane age system to match rest of world | History Defined

A South Korean child and his pregnant mother in Seoul.
When asked their age by a foreigner, many South Koreans give both their ‘Korean’ and ‘international’ ages. Photograph: Choi Won-Suk/AFP/Getty Images

A South Korean MP is attempting to overturn a centuries-old tradition in which every newborn baby turns one on the day they are born and two on the next New Year’s Day.

The unusual custom means a baby born on New Year’s Eve becomes two years old as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

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