We had waited in line for over thirty minutes before they checked our IDs and told us we couldn't go in.
"96" he said. 1996?
Yes, only those born 1996 or later could get into the club. We were so confused. Mainly because we had been waiting in line this whole time. Why didn't someone walk by and tell us earlier? We had wasted our time, but the most embarrassing thing was...
We were too old.
At first we were thinking it was just some excuse they had made up because they didn't want us in there. Maybe because we were too drunk or white or something. Later I found out it was a common thing in Korea.
"Yeah, a lot of places have that," my friend said, who had been teaching English in Seoul for over a year.* "Think about it, when you're young and going out, you don't want some creepy old dudes around."
Never thought of it. What also bugged me was why it was 1996. I missed it by one year! 1995 is too old now? I'm too old? I'm only 28! Or am I...
In Korea it's different. First of all, I will be 29 this year (in two months). They don't look at what month it is. If it's a New Year, then you're one year older.
Okay, I guess I'm 29. That much closer to 30. Then I discovered something thanks to the help of two girls that were sitting across from us, eating cold noodles at 3am in Hongdae.
They were trying to guess our ages and then finally it was their turn. "How old are you?" Hesitation, confusion. They looked like they were trying to do math in their heads.
"In Korea, we count the time that you're in your mother's womb as part of your age." Woah! That's interesting. And I guess makes a little bit of sense. When you're born, you're not "zero" like we measure in the West. You've been alive and kicking for several months. But what they do in Korea is say you're one year old at birth.
I guess all that computation in her head was just subtracting a year from what she normally says her age is. Takes longer when you're drunk and eating late at night, and speaking a second language.
So that explains it! The man checked my ID and saw I was 1995. Since it's 2024 that's 29 (even though it's not September yet) and then he adds one year for the gestation period. Voilà! 30! I'm 30! The age cutoff for the club is 30!
So I learned that night after a huge hassle and confusion and some detective work with others that...
Number one:
30 is too old for the club.
And, number two:
I am 30 years old.
* You can hear the full interview here.
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