Meanings
plural international ages
- uncountableAn age system where a person is considered zero years old at birth, and adds one to their age on their birthday.
Take “Gangnam Style” singer Psy, for example. Born on December 31, 1977, he is considered 45 by international age; 46 by calendar year age; and 47 by Korean age.
2023 June 27, Jessie Yeung and Yoonjung Seo, “South Koreans become younger overnight after country scraps ‘Korean age’”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jul 20231 more example
There is a second counting method – a mix of the international and Korean age systems – in which a baby is born at zero years, and one year is added every January 1.
2023 June 28, “Why are South Koreans suddenly younger? New age system explained”, in Al Jazeera, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2023 - countableOne's age under this system.
Yoon Jae-ha, left, shows his international age of eight and Korean age of nine next to his father, Yoon Dong-gun, whose international age is 43 and Korean age is 44
2023 June 28, “Why are South Koreans suddenly younger? New age system explained”, in Al Jazeera, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2023
Cite this entry
international age. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/international%20age
“international age.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/international%20age. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “international age,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/international%20age.
Source: international age on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.