Let me preface this post by saying that I currently live and work in Daegu, South Korea.
I was born in September of 1978, and my current age is 30. Obviously, if you do the math you’ll find a bit of a discrepancy; you’ll find that I’m actually 28½. Or at least that’s what you’ll find if you’re not here in Korea.
Here in Korea, the moment you pop out of your mom’s belly, you’re considered to be one year old. Then every Seollal (lunar new year) your age is increased by one. So according to Korean age reckoning, I was one year old as of September 25, 1978, and by Lunar New Year 1979 I was two.
Seollal was last Sunday, so as of last Sunday I turned 30. If I were a Korean, no doubt my friends and family would be quite worried about the fact that I am now thirty years old and yet I am still single. (As it is, every Korean I meet asks me three things: Where are you from? How old are you? and Are you single? Here in Korea, asking someone if he or she is single is just as common and innocuous as asking someone back in the States So where do you work?) Getting married is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT here, to the point that family members will look down upon older, unmarried relatives, especially women. If a Korean woman is still single at 30, this is generally considered a Big Problem. This makes it rather unfortunate that Korean women only have 28 years before hitting the big three-oh.
Now, as I am the oldest blogger here at the Supergroup, I’ve taken the liberty of posting twice. So scroll down and read my second post!
I was born in September of 1978, and my current age is 30. Obviously, if you do the math you’ll find a bit of a discrepancy; you’ll find that I’m actually 28½. Or at least that’s what you’ll find if you’re not here in Korea.
Here in Korea, the moment you pop out of your mom’s belly, you’re considered to be one year old. Then every Seollal (lunar new year) your age is increased by one. So according to Korean age reckoning, I was one year old as of September 25, 1978, and by Lunar New Year 1979 I was two.
Seollal was last Sunday, so as of last Sunday I turned 30. If I were a Korean, no doubt my friends and family would be quite worried about the fact that I am now thirty years old and yet I am still single. (As it is, every Korean I meet asks me three things: Where are you from? How old are you? and Are you single? Here in Korea, asking someone if he or she is single is just as common and innocuous as asking someone back in the States So where do you work?) Getting married is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT here, to the point that family members will look down upon older, unmarried relatives, especially women. If a Korean woman is still single at 30, this is generally considered a Big Problem. This makes it rather unfortunate that Korean women only have 28 years before hitting the big three-oh.
Now, as I am the oldest blogger here at the Supergroup, I’ve taken the liberty of posting twice. So scroll down and read my second post!
9 comments:
So you've become a Korean old maid? I can certainly think of worse fates in life. But don't worry, Jane, I'm sure you'll find a man to support and legitimize you soon! Hang in there!
I am not sure any of you know much about getting old! It is inevitable and if you are healthy and active, it is good. I read a blog called Time Goes By - http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/
which is an excellent blog for thoughts on aging.
Hmmm... I don't know what to think about that last comment.
I'm sure that she just means we're all still very young, and that's why we don't know much about getting old. Oh, and btw I have no problem with aging. Why am I overthinking this? She probably just searched for blogs on aging so she could paste that link.
Yeah, I think that last comment should be stricken from the record.
So in Korea, everyone's "age number" changes at the same time? Is this the same as a birthday, as far as celebrations go? The whole country has a communal birthday?
Maybe I'm misunderstanding? I think I'm misunderstanding.
Hey! I'm assuming that comment was left by my Aunt Mary, who is one of the most active and awesome people I know, and who probably thinks we're all a bit foolish for discussing aging while we're in our 20s. (I think she's 64) No comment striking, punks. Or it could be another Mary entirely.
Sean - Yes, the whole country has a communal birthday. Individual birthdays are still celebrated, but everyone's age changes on Seollal, not on the day a person was born.
Ah, well if it was your aunt, then sorry.
But you know we do have people who find our blog through a topic search, just so they can promote their own site.
Yes, you should all be nice to Aunt Mary. I don't actually know her, but from everything I've heard she's cool. I want to be like Aunt Mary!
Melissa
Aw man, now I feel all bad. i guess that's one more for the ever-growing list of times I've put my foot in my mouth.
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