They may just be the most enviableWorthy of jealousy or envy. people in human history. Since the beginning of time, humans have been trying to get younger. Now, the people of South Korea have achieved it.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of our oldest recorded pieces of literature, details the journey of Gilgamesh, king of UrukOne of the most important cities in ancient Mesopotamia., as he seeks the secret to eternal life. In the 5th Century BC, HerodotusAn Ancient Greek historian and geographer. wrote of a much-desired Fountain of Youth. And the famed conqueror Alexander the GreatA king of ancient Macedon who is renowned as one of the greatest military leaders in history. He conquered a vast empire stretching from Greece to modern-day Pakistan. is said to have sought a river that would "heal" age.

But who knew it could be as simple as just changing the calendar? On Wednesday, South Koreans woke up to find themselves a year or two younger after a new law took effect to align South Korea's traditional age-counting system with international standards.

The law, pushed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, was due to the "unnecessary social and economic costs" created by the traditional system of calculating age.

In the traditional system, when babies are born they become one year old. Then, they gain a year on 1 January - meaning that a baby born on 31 December would become two years old the next day.

To plagiariseTo take the work or idea or something else and pass it off as your own. It comes from a Latin word meaning kidnapper. Shakespeare, what's in an age? We all like to think that it is nothing more than a number and the occasional excuse to celebrate a birthday.

But many of us are paralysed by the fear of ageing. Shakespeare (to quote him this time) called it a "hideous winter". Maya AngelouAn iconic 20th century American writer and civil rights activist. described being old as being "like a sack left on the shelf".¹

To a certain degree, age has to count for something. A toddler cannot use a forklift. Few 90-year-olds could climb Mount Kilimanjaro. And we have laws in place that dictate what age adolescents should be allowed to drink or vote.

But in other ways, the meaning and importance of age has never been fixed. Now, we think of adolescence as a period defined by identity discovery and youthful fancy. But the concept of teenagerhood did not even exist until the 1940s.

And up until recently there was also little writing about old age due to its stigmaA mark of shame or disgrace that sets a person apart from others. In the 16th Century, it referred to a literal mark branded into the skin.. One writer described it as "the great suppressed and censored topic of contemporary society, the one we do not care to face."

Now, we have more structured notions of what it means to be what age. But some people think they mean nothing at all, and are a mere construct of our time.

Yes: Just as there is a huge difference between a five-year-old and a 10-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 20-year-old, there are differences too between people at different stages of their adult lives. Age helps us to understand others' maturity and life experiences.

No: There are genius prodigies just 10 years old, and there are immature adults. The important things are personality, maturity and life experience, none of which can be accurately measured by how many years you have lived.

Or... Age matters to the extent that we need to protect people at vulnerable stages in their lives, such as children and the elderly. But we need to respect everyone, no matter their age.