Post New Year

Here's an interesting fact about South Korea: on January 1st, 2011, every person became one year older. That's right; birthdays are celebrated here, but a person's age does not change on his/her birthday. Age changes on January 1st, the solar new year.

In a recent class, a student who was doing a presentation said, "Hello! I'm ____, and I'm 13 years old . . . no, I'm 14 years old, and I'm . . ."

That's a common mistake this time of year.

Imagine this: in Korea, when you are born you are 1 year old. So, if you are born on December 31st, you are 1 year old. But then, the next day, January 1st, you are two years old--amazing!