BIRTHDAY BONANZA

I’ve had some great birthdays in the past few years and this year’s birthday didn’t disappoint. I had the pleasure of sharing my joint birthday bash with my friend Kiren. We have celebrated the past four birthdays together at Miami so it was great to keep the tradition going, this time, Asian style. We strategically planned our birthday bash at a bar in the “hipster” area of Seoul, which serves $1 tequila shots. As you can imagine, this ensured a good night for all.

Although I was turning 23 in western terms, here in Korea I was celebrating my 24^th birthday. Why have I been jipped out of a year of my life you ask? Well, time for another Korean culture lesson.

In Korea, a child is age 1 when they are born. The first birthday celebration comes 100 days after the baby is born. On this day, 100 red bean cakes are passed out to friends and family. If all 100 red bean cakes are eaten, then the baby will live a long life. A child’s 2^nd birthday comes on the first New Year’s Day after the child is born. This is true even if a child is born on December 31^st.  This means that everyone born within the same year is the same age and everyone in the country turns a year older on New Years Day. This is the way the government recognizes age, which makes some things, like laws about driving age and drinking age, a lot more convenient.

I have mixed feelings about the way age is determined here in Korea. The positive? I get to celebrate another birthday in just a month and a half! The negative? I will be turning 25…yikes!