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South Koreans become younger under new law

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South Koreans have become a year or two younger as a new law aligns the nation’s two traditional age-counting methods with international standards.

The law scraps one traditional system that deemed South Koreans one year old at birth, counting time in the womb.

Another counted everyone as ageing by a year every first day of January instead of on their birthdays.

The switch to age-counting based on birth date took effect on Wednesday.

President Yoon Suk-yeol pushed strongly for the change when he ran for office last year. The traditional age-counting methods created “unnecessary social and economic costs”, he said.

For instance, disputes have arisen over insurance pay-outs and determining eligibility for government assistance programmes.

Previously, the most widely used calculation method in Korea was the centuries-old “Korean age” system, in which a person turns one at birth and gains a year on 1 January. This means a baby born on 31 December will be two years old the next day.

A separate “counting age” system, that was also traditionally used in the country, considers a person zero at birth and adds a year on 1 January.

This means that, for example, as of 28 June 2023, a person born on 29 June 2003 is 19 under the international system, 20 under the “counting age” system and 21 under the “Korean age” system.

Lawmakers voted to scrap the traditional counting methods last December.

Despite the move, many existing statutes that count a person’s age based on the “counting age” calendar year system will remain. For example, South Koreans can buy cigarettes and alcohol from the year – not the day – they turn 19.

Three in four South Koreans were also in favour of the standardisation, according to a poll by local firm Hankook Research in January 2022.

Some, like Jeongsuk Woo, hope the change will help break down Korea’s hierarchical culture.

“There is a subconscious layer of ageism in people’s behaviour. This is evident even in the complex language system based on age… I hope the abolition of ‘Korean age’ system and the adaptation of the international standard get rid of old relics of the past,” said the 28-year-old content creator.

Another resident Hyun Jeong Byun said: “I love it, because now I’m two years younger. My birthday is in December, so I always felt like this Korean age system is making me socially older than what I actually am.

“Now that Korea is following the global standard, I no longer have to explain my ‘Korean age’ when I go abroad.”

The 31-year-old doctor said South Korea’s medical sector has already been adopting the international age system.

The traditional age-counting methods were also used by other East Asian countries, but most have dropped it.

Japan adopted the international standard in 1950 while North Korea followed suit in the 1980s.

(BBC News)

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South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron found dead at home

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South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron has been found dead at her home, a police official with knowledge of the case said on Sunday.

Kim, 24, was one of most promising actresses in South Korea, but her career took a hit after a drunk driving incident in 2022.

A friend who was going to meet Kim visited her home and discovered her and called the police, Yonhap News Agency said.

Police found no foul play, according to Yonhap.

The police official said police are investigating the cause of death but did not provide further details.

Source: Reuters

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18 killed in Delhi Railway Station crowd crush

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At least 18 people, including ten women and three children, were killed in a tragic crowd crush at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night. 

The incident occurred around 8 PM local time as thousands of Hindu pilgrims gathered to board trains heading to Prayagraj city for the annual Mahakumbh Mela religious festival, located 624 kilometers southeast of the capital.

The crush took place on two platforms as massive crowds surged to catch trains to the festival. 

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Pope Francis hospitalized at Gemelli for bronchitis

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Pope Francis has been admitted to Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Hospital due to worsening bronchitis and has begun pharmacological treatment.

The Vatican confirmed his condition is stable, with a slight fever.

Several upcoming Jubilee events have been adjusted, with Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça presiding over Sunday’s Mass.

The pope has been suffering from bronchitis for more than a week.

Francis will not take part in a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, the Vatican said later, adding that a planned public audience on Saturday and a visit on Monday to Rome’s famed Cinecitta film studios were cancelled.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed a case of pleurisy and had part of one of his lungs removed, and in recent times he has been prone to lung infections.

Earlier this month, Francis told pilgrims at a weekly audience that he was suffering from a “strong cold,” which the Vatican later described as bronchitis.

The pope held several meetings on Friday before going to hospital. One was with Mark Thompson, CEO of the CNN news channel. The pope was “mentally alert but struggling to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties,” CNN later reported.

The pope also held meetings with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, senior Vatican official Cardinal Luis Tagle and with a Catholic philanthropy group that is based in Puerto Rico.

Video of the pope’s meeting with Fico showed Francis sitting at a desk in his Vatican residence, smiling, and speaking in a soft tone.

Francis has been suffering with respiratory issues since mid-December. He begged off reading statements at several of his public events in January and February, attending the occasions but asking aides to read his prepared remarks.

The pope also had two falls recently at his Vatican residence, bruising his chin in December and injuring his arm in January.

Despite his periodic health issues and reduced mobility, Francis has kept up a busy schedule, including foreign travel. In September he completed a 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania, the longest of his papacy.

Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the largest in the city, has a special suite for treating popes. Francis spent nine days there in June 2023, when he had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia.

Source: Vatican News

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