Happy Coming of Age Day To Suzy Bae and Jung Eun Ji

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Bae Suzy
Jung Eun Ji

The third Monday in May is the day that many Korean teens celebrate becoming adults.

This year, those celebrating adulthood will include two singers turned kdrama stars. The two celebrities are miss A's Suzy, who is currently starring as Dam Yeo Wool in "Gu Family Book," and A Pink's Jung Eun Ji, who was most recently seen as Moon Hee Sun in "That Winter The Wind Blows."

All Korean young adults who come of age in the calendar year get to celebrate their adulthood on that day even if they have not yet had their birthdays. The age of adulthood used to be 20. However, the law was recently changed, lowering the age to 19. Beginning this year, anyone born before July 1, 1994 is also officially legal.

The holiday was traditionally celebrated by women wearing the kind of clothes you may have seen in historical dramas. Women wore traditional dresses known as hanboks, arranged their hair into a chignon and topped their hair with bridal crowns called jokduri. Men traditionally wore full-dress attire, which includes a gat, the Korean hat made from bamboo and horsehair.

But these days, dressing up in traditional clothes is rare. Most young Koreans celebrate the day by going on a date and exchanging gifts such as perfume or roses. A lucky boyfriend might get a kiss.

Coming of age in Korea is a big deal because it means that the young person can choose whom they will marry. If they want to, they are legally allowed to drink and smoke. They can also vote and drive.

Suzy Bae, who officially comes of age today, already has a career that many adult actresses would be proud of.

She is currently appearing in Gu Family Book but already has several dramas to her credit. She starred as Go Hye-mi in "Dream High" and Jang Ma Ri in "Big." She also played Young Yang Seo Yeon in the film "Architecture 101."

Jung Eun Ji made her acting debut as Sung Shi Won in "Reply 1997." She made her stage debut in the Hollywood film-turned-musical, "Legally Blonde."

Also turning legal today is SHINee's Taemin, who is currently appearing on the variety show "We Got Married," where he is paired up with his pretend wife A Pink's Na Eun.

Congratulations to Suzy Bae, Jung Eun Ji and Taemin and best wishes for continued success.

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