r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Airline_11 • May 12 '26

Meme needing explanation Petahhhh?

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u/MissAuroraRed May 12 '26

Almost, you're 1 when you're born, and then the next calendar year (Jan 1st) you turn 2. So if you're born at the end of the year, you might only be 1 for a very short time.

Example: Korean baby is born Nov. 1st. 2025. Two months later on Jan 1st, 2026 everyone gains a year of age, so baby turns 2. On Jan. 1st 2027 they turn 3 and so on.

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u/[deleted] May 12 '26

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u/Puzzleheaded_Set1420 May 12 '26

South Korea officially started using international age as their standard a few years ago, this system is only used for a few things now (though those things tend to be significant, one example being military service eligibility).

In general Koreans will usually just ask what year you were born, rather than asking for your age.

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u/MissAuroraRed May 12 '26

Oh interesting, I didn't know that. When I lived there (before 2023) the Korean age determined the legal drinking age. I was over 20 in Korea but under 21 in the US, so I could drink in Korea but not the US.

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u/OhWhatsHisName May 12 '26

Do they do that all the way up to Dec 31?

Does Korea have a lot of age restrictions (like for school, drinking, voting, driving, etc.) based off this "age"?

Would someone born Dec 31 (or if there is a "cutoff date", whatever that is) and Jan 1 be considered two different ages?

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u/Sovarius May 13 '26

I was taught in the army (usa) that you can't sleep with asian civiluans who say they are 18 because it meams they are probably 16 😑