Talk about legal ages in Korea.

# The English you can speak, 16 Dec 2009

In Korea, you are legally considered a minor until you reach the age of 19. When you reach that age, you are legally allowed to purchase cigarettes and consumealcohol. 19 is also the age when you can legally start entering the bars and night clubs or work at places where alcohol is sold. In the United States, you may buy cigarettes when you turn 18, but you can't have your first drink until your twenty-first birthday. Also, you can get your driver's license when you turn 18 in Korea. That's quite a difference from the United States, where you can get your learner's permit at age 15. You are given the right to vote in Korea when you become 19. However, you must be at least 25 to run for public office and 40 to run for president. You also have to be at least 19 to be able to buy lottery tickets in Korea.

# A minor is a person who is still legally a child. In Britain and most states in the United States, people are minors until they reach the age of eighteen.

# Cigarettes are small tubes of paper containing tobacco which people smoke.

# Drinks that can make people drunk, such as beer, wine, and whisky, can be referred to asalcohol.

# The president of a country that has no king or queen is the person who is the head of state of that country.

## Extra Topics for Study Group

1. What is the age restriction for alcohol in Korea?

2. What were you legally allowed to do when you turned 19?

3. How old do you have to be to vote or to run for office in Korea?

# You have to reach 19 to be able to get married without parents' consent.

# One of my dreams as a young child was to run for president.

# My opinions

Oh my God-! I'm already late in twenties. I'm absolutely allowed to do anything what I want now. At the freshman of university, my buddies and I had to find a bar to sell us a bottle of soju. The reason why it's against the law to consume alcohol until my or his nineteenth birthday. But some bars sold it without any verification. So, there was always crowded with a bunch of freshman and we also went there to drink soju. In order to drink a soju at a bar, I used to memorized another's identification registration number and his name of Chinese character. The bar owner sometimes requested my ID number and Chinese character to verify whether I was allowed or not. It's old days. Anyway, the time is flying never to return. I hardly understand how fast time is. Someone says the speed of life time is as well as his age. In other words, if I were 10 years old, the speed of life time is 10km/h. It's too slow and nothing to do. Unfortunately, the speed of life time would be 30km/h when I become 30. There are not enough time to do something. For me, it's a time to go on the next step and get a job for my life. My girlfriend is more worried about my future, my job and me than I worried myself. I'm one of the happiest persons in the world to meet her as a girlfriend and I honestly appreciate her even though she start not to concentrate on me, a person who really like to drink and sometimes not to receive her phone call at the bars. I'm sure I should keep in touch with her every day. Please pray for me and her.

== Thanks- Mike!

Oh my God-! I am already in my late twenties. I'm absolutely allowed to do anything I want, now. As a university freshman, my buddies and I had to find a bar to sell us a bottle of soju. The reason is in Korea, it is against the law to consume alcohol untilyour nineteenth birthday. But, some bars sell it without any ageverification. So, that bar was always crowded with a bunch of freshman and we also went there to drink soju. In order to drink soju at a bar, I use to memorize another person's identification registration number and his Chinese name. The bar owner sometimes requested my ID number and my Chinese name to verify whether I was allowed to drink. Those were the days! Anyway, time flies never to return. I hardly understand how fast time passes. Some people says that the speed of life timematches your age. In other words, if I were 10 years old, the speed of life time is 10km/h. It's too slow and I have little to do. Unfortunately, the speed of my life time would be 30km/h when I become 30. There is not enough time to do anything. For me, the next step in my life is to get a job. My girlfriend is more worried about my future, my job and me than I am. I'm one of the happiest people in the world, have her as a girlfriend and I honestly appreciate her even though she thinks I may be losing interest in her. She now sees me as a person who really likes to drink and sometimes ignore her phone calls when I'm at the bars. I think I should keep in touch with her every day. Please pray for me and her.