Yes, a 21-year-old (international age) can legally date an 18-year-old in Korea, as both are well above the age of consent (16) and considered adults (legal majority is 19 internationally, but 18 is often seen as adult status), making the relationship fully legal and acceptable, especially given societal norms where older partners are common.
Age of consent laws vary by jurisdiction. In the US, it generally ranges from 16 to 18 years depending on the state, while South Korea's age of consent is 20 (Korean age) but recent reforms have adjusted this. No formal permission is required for adults to date or engage in consensual sexual relationships.
The Issue. I have once realized that though much of the world acknowledges 18 as the age of legal adulthood and age of majority, this is not so in South Korea where the legal adult age and age of majority is 19 that confuses the international age of 18 by Korean standards.
How old is 18 in Korean age? 19 or 20 years old. It depends on if you already had your birthday this year. If you already celebrated your birthday this year, then your Korean age is your age plus one, so 19.
The legal drinking age in South Korea is 20 years old in Korean age. This is also the age that you have to be to enter most night clubs in Korea. What does this mean for you? The legal drinking age in Korea for foreigners is 19 years of age for most people.
According to this article, if you are over 16 years but under 19 years old, then it is not a crime to have sex with a person who is over 13 but under 16 years old. However, if you are an adult over 19 years old, you shall not have a sexual relationship with a person under 16 years old.
In Korea, on the day of your birth, you are considered one year old; the time you spent in the womb counts as the first year of your life (despite it only being nine months). Because of this, your Korean age is always at least one year higher than your international age or Western age.
In South Korea, the legal age of marriage is 18 years with no exceptions. Under Article 807 of the Civil Code 2011 the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years.
Korean uses two number systems, Sino-Korean (il, i, sam...) for dates, money, minutes, and Native Korean (hana, dul, set...) for general counting, age, and hours; 1-10 in Sino-Korean are 일 (il), 이 (i), 삼 (sam), 사 (sa), 오 (o), 육 (yuk), 칠 (chil), 팔 (pal), 구 (gu), 십 (sip), while in Native Korean they are 하나 (hana), 둘 (dul), 셋 (set), 넷 (net), 다섯 (daseot), 여섯 (yeoseot), 일곱 (ilgop), 여덟 (yeodeol), 아홉 (ahop), 열 (yeol).
살 (sal) is the counter for an age of people or animals and it can only be used with native Korean numbers. For example, if you are 25 years old, you would say: 저는 스물 다섯 살입니다. I am 25 years old.
The "3 date rule" in Korean dating refers to the common practice of deciding whether to become an official couple after the third date, moving quickly from casual "talking" (sseom) to an exclusive relationship, a faster pace than many Western cultures where dating remains casual for longer. It's an unwritten guideline where the first dates assess compatibility, and by the third, couples often establish commitment, sometimes with "couple items" or frequent communication. While still influential, younger generations (Gen Z) are sometimes moving away from this rigid timeline.
Dating in Korea depends on individual people, but the average Korean starts dating around high school age. Due to the fact that many schools are separated by gender, some Korean youths might not kiss someone of the opposite sex until they reach college age or beyond.
South Korea's 52-hour work rule caps most employees' weekly working hours at 52, consisting of 40 standard hours plus 12 allowed overtime hours, aiming to reduce overwork, improve work-life balance, and boost productivity by ending excessively long workweeks previously common in the country. Implemented in phases for different company sizes, this law applies to a seven-day week, including weekends, and was a major revision to the Labor Standards Act, phasing in from 2018 to 2021 for most businesses.
In Thailand, a minor is a person under 20 years of age, and, in South Korea, a person under 19 years of age. In New Zealand, the age of majority is also 20 years of age, but most of the rights of adulthood are assumed at lower ages.
In this way, a Korean baby who is born on December 31 becomes 1 year old as soon as he or she is born then becomes 2 years old one day later on New Year's Day. South Korea seems to be the only country officially using this age-counting system in everyday life, as even North Korea adopted the international age system.
2006ers will be legal next year. January 1st of the year which you will turn 19 is when you are legal for things like drinking (which lines up with your trip if you are between 18 and 19 now). Korean age is gone now but you are 19 in Korean age now because it's whatever you turn that year (international age) plus 1.
Age of consent is equal in South Korea. for both homosexual and heterosexual relationships, set at 13 & 16 years old. At 13, individuals can have sexual relations with anyone older than 13 and younger than 19. At 16, individuals can have sexual relations with anyone older than 16.
Is study gap acceptable to study in South Korea? Yes. Year gap of 3 years in acceptable to study bachelors and up to 5 years of gap is considerable to study masters.
Club entry generally follows the same rule as drinking: you can enter starting January 1st of the year in which you will reach 19 years old in international age. Example: If you were born in 2006 (whether January or December), you could enter most clubs starting January 1, 2025.
KISS from XO, Kitty is fictional, but there are international schools in South Korea that are similar! Think of schools like Korea International School (KIS) or Dwight School Seoul . These offer English-language education and attract international students.