美国国家公共电台 NPR--South Koreans are getting younger, as a new law goes into effect

South Koreans are getting younger, as a new law goes into effect

SEOUL, South Korea — You're not getting any younger — unless you live in South Korea.

South Koreans all got one or two years younger on Wednesday, as a new law went into effect and the country dropped a traditional method of determining their ages.

Under the traditional system, sometimes known as "Korean age," a person is one year old at birth, and gains a year every New Year's Day. A baby born on Dec. 31 would be considered 2 years old the next day.

Government agencies have been using the international system for decades for most official business.

But seniority is very important in Korean society and workplaces, and the Korean age is still used in certain industries, such as matchmaking.

For things like the legal age for smoking, drinking, going to school or serving in the military, the government will consider citizens' year of birth, but not the date.

Most South Koreans support this change

More than 80% of South Koreans supported unifying² the age-counting system, according to a poll³ by the Ministry⁴ of Government Legislation⁵ last September.

And 86% said they would go by their birth date age in their daily lives, according to the poll.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had promised to unify¹ the country's age-counting systems on the campaign trail earlier last year, saying that they created "unnecessary social and economic costs."

South Korea has been tallying⁶ age by birth dates since the 1960s.

But while most East Asian countries have scrapped⁷ the traditional age-counting system, some have yet to follow suit.

For example, in China, which uses the nominal⁸ age-counting system, a person is considered 1 year old on the day they are born, and they gain a year on the Lunar New Year.

1 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

2 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

3 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

6 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

7 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

8 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。