VOA新闻杂志2023 韩国启用周岁计龄法（在线收听）

Many South Koreans are now one or two years younger after the nation changed the way it counted ages on Wednesday.

在韩国于周三改变了年龄计算方法后，许多韩国人现在年轻了一两岁。

A new law will bring South Korea in line with how most countries around the world count a person's age.

一项新法律将使韩国与世界上大多数国家的年龄计算方式保持一致。

In the past, South Korea used a traditional age-counting method that considered a baby one year of age at birth.

过去，韩国使用传统的年龄计算方法，即在婴儿出生时就算作一岁。

People then turned a year older every January 1.

每年1月1日，人们都会新增一岁。

That means that a child born in December would turn 2 shortly after birth.

这意味着12月出生的孩子在出生后不久就会满2岁。

One young girl told a local television station: "I turned 6 and then I became 5 again."

一个小女孩告诉当地电视台：“我刚满6岁，然后又变成了5岁。”

Some South Koreans became two years younger.

一些韩国人年轻了两岁。

Oh Seung-youl went from 63 to 61.

吴承佑从63岁变成了61岁。

"It's always good to be younger," he said with a laugh.

他笑着说：“年轻一点总是好的”。

One person, however, reminded people that the new age-counting plan does not change a person's true age.

然而，有人提醒人们，新的计龄计划并不会改变人的真实年龄。

Choi Eun-young is now 49.

崔恩英现年49岁。

She used to be 50.

她曾经50岁。

"The law doesn't make you biologically younger and there are no real benefits other than feeling good about being called a year younger than before," she said.

她说：“这项法律并没有让你在生理上变得更年轻，除了被称比以前年轻一岁之外，没有什么真正的好处。”

President Yoon Suk Yeol said updating all South Korean's ages to the international norm was an important goal for his government.

韩国总统尹锡悦表示，让所有韩国人的年龄更新为国际标准是他的政府的一个重要目标。

He said he wanted to reduce "social and administrative confusion."

他说，他希望减少“社会和行政混乱”。

But government officials said the new law does not change how South Koreans receive public services and benefits.

但政府官员表示，新法律不会改变韩国人获得公共服务和福利的方式。

They were always based on the international standard.

它们一直都是以国际标准为基础。

So were rules about when a child starts school, when a young person is permitted to drive a car, and when an adult can get a pension.

关于孩子什么时候开始上学，年轻人什么时候可以开车，成年人什么时候可以领取养老金的规定也是如此。

Kim Si-eun said she already misses the old method of age-counting.

金世恩说，她已经开始怀念旧的计龄法了。

She is 21 years old. She said the old way seemed easier.

她今年21岁。她说，旧的计龄法似乎更容易。

"With everybody now going with international age, the changed ages feel awkward," Kim said.

金世恩说：“现在每个人都和国际年龄保持一致，改变了的年龄让人感到尴尬”。

Some observers say the change will be helpful in situations such as giving medicine to children.

有些观察人士表示，这一变化在诸如给儿童用药等方面会有所帮助。

Instructions on a box of medicine could say the amount for a 12-year-old is different from an 11-year-old.

药盒上的说明可能会写，12岁儿童和11岁儿童的剂量不同。

However, if the package was made outside of South Korea, it could be hard for South Korean parents to know how much medicine to give their child.

然而，如果包装是在韩国以外的国家生产的，韩国父母可能很难知道给孩子的用药剂量。

One office worker noted that South Koreans respect older people.

一名公司职员指出，韩国人尊重老年人。

So if someone is now a bit younger, they may no longer be considered as important in an office or an organization.

因此，如果某人现在年轻了一点，他们在办公室或组织中可能不再被认为是重要的。

"You are losing as much as two years!" said 56-year-old office worker Choi Duck-sang.

56岁的公司职员崔德相说：“你失去了多达两年的时间！”

"Still, I think this is a change that should have been made much earlier. It's a good thing -– the entire nation got younger together," he said.

他说：“尽管如此，我认为这是一个应该更早做出的改变。这是一件好事——整个国家都变得更加年轻了。”