For international fans of K-pop, perhaps one of their biggest difficulties is counting the artists' ages. Years ago, ḳöŕệä had its own age-counting system, which was different from the international age rules.

Starting this Wednesday, however, every citizen of South ḳöŕệä will feel a little younger as the country finally gets rid of the traditional age-counting system. This is part of President Yoon Suk Yeol's renewal plan.

With this, there are a lot of changes for Kpop artists in particular and ḳöŕệän people in general:

Traditionally, in ḳöŕệä, there are three different ways of calculating age, and it's quite confusing for international fans to get used to. First, there is “ḳöŕệän age” where you are considered one year old immediately after being born. Then ḳöŕệäns also have an international age calculation where you don't age until your actual birthday. And finally, there's a system where people only get old on New Year's Day.

To make this easier to understand, here is an example. TXT Soobin was born in December 2000, he will be considered 24 years old according to the traditional ḳöŕệän age system. However, he is actually only 22 years old according to the international age system.

The ḳöŕệän age system differs from the international age system for decades, and this creates many disparities. But starting this Wednesday, Soobin will be officially recognized as 22 years old according to the new international age rules applied in ḳöŕệä.

This mαѕѕive change was one of President Yoon Suk Yeol‘s main promises during his election campaign. Government Legislation Minister Lee Wan Kyu says this simplification aims to cut down on the head-scratching and disagreements caused by having different ways to count age.

Though these ℓєgαℓ modifications were approved by the National Assembly last December they will only be officially implemented starting Wednesday. This means that going forward, ḳöŕệäns will adopt the international age counting system for most social and ℓєgαℓ contexts, like contracts and official documentation, unless a distinct m̾e̾t̾h ̾od of age calculation is specified.

As the harmonization of the age system aims to alleviate any unnecessary societal costs and confusion, there are also exceptions where the changes will not be implemented for that exact reason. For kids starting school, for example, the new rule won’t apply. They’ll still start school in March the year they turn six internationally, no matter when their birthday falls. That means all children born in 2016 are off to school this year, regardless of whether their birthday has already occurred or not.

And while it might feel a bit strange for students of different ages to be in the same grade, the ministry is confident everyone will get used to it. Just like how university students of different ages share clαѕѕes, it’ll become the new normal. The ministry is also planning to work with the Ministry of Education and other education offices to make sure the transition goes smoothly and doesn’t create too much confusion.

Other areas where the change won’t apply include the ℓєgαℓ drinking and smoking age, public servant examination eligibility, and the age ḳöŕệän men have to enlist in the m̴i̴l̴i̴t̴a̴r̴y̴. They will all still follow the New Year-based age system. So, any citizen born in 2004 can still drink, smoke, or take a conscription examination this year, no matter what month their birthday falls in.

Well, with this change, you can see some big differences in the age of K-pop artists. For example, New Jeans Hyein, currently considered 16 according to the traditional ḳöŕệän age, will turn 15 starting Wednesday. Meanwhile, V is 2 years younger when he is considered 27 years old according to the new age calculation system because he was born in December while previously he reached 29 years old according to the traditional age calculation.

This is truly a dramatic change in ḳöŕệän society and it also has international fans excited. Even though age is just a number, do you enjoy seeing your idol being younger?