Did you see the first Presidential debate where John McCain throws out a random statistic, while talking about the North Korean’s regime, he mentions how they are also 3 inches shorter than the average South Korean? A brief Youtube clip here (warning: clip also comes with editorial flourishes).
New York Times‘ Tara Parker-Pope also delves into the random statistic in her recent health blog entry, where the 2004 study published in Economics and Human Biology showed that North Koreans were 2 inches shorter than their South Korean counterparts. (Fact check alert, Senator McCain!)
I’m surprised to see that there was actually a study done comparing the heights of the two populations, with an interesting and thought-provoking study result. And whenever my mom returns to Korea she is thrilled that people have grown taller, thereby making her less of a “tall freak” as a woman of 172 cm. I once rode the subway with the Yonsei basketball team, and needless to say, they were very tall. My sister used to say that Stanford (her school) guys were somewhat shorter than the average, which she claimed very unscientifically to “stress-related dwarfism”. Of course there will always be anomalies; when I read the article, it made me think why I was not as tall as both my parents, who were both born in South Korea. Being born in the U.S. and growing up on In-N-Out hamburgers and lots of great nutrition and exercise, I’m wondering why I’m not 5′8″ like my mother.
I think McCain’s statistic is thought-provoking, but definitely “needs more research”, and probably not scientifically supported enough to throw out in a Presidential debate (my humble opinion, of course). On a non-Asian note, if you want to read more about how Americans are shorter than Western Europeans, the New Yorker has a fascinating article about that as well. I guess a richer country = not always a taller population? Interesting theories, definitely!
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Tien wrote:
Height is simply all about having proper nutrition, which explains why Americans aren’t nearly as tall (though i wonder if these stats include Mexicans/Asians which Europe doesn’t have many of..and are usually shorter).
Though when we’re comparing North and South Koreans, the case is all about just having enough nutrition. Without enough food you simply won’t grow..
This is another good article about my people’s attempts to get taller http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3700725.stm
I read another article that says that since the Vietnam war, when people really had nothing, that Vietnamese are now about 2 inches taller now than they were then.
Posted on 29-Sep-08 at 10:31 pm | Permalink
Jen wrote:
Tien, if you read the Americans vs. Europeans article (in more detail than I showed), the study sample excluded Asians/Hispanics in the Americans sample to maintain homoegeneity.
That article about Vietnam and their initiative to make people taller is fascinating, thanks for sharing! Someone should tell Vietnam though that with taller people, people usually become wider too :D.
Posted on 30-Sep-08 at 6:10 am | Permalink
jun wrote:
when I visited korea this summer, the difference in height between the older generation and the younger generation is ridiculous, especially in the subway.
Im about 173 cm (5′8″) but im considered on the shorter side for a 20 year old young man in Korea.
and i was def gonna blog on this but I decided not to after that whole Obama calling Asians short blog entry….lol
but seriously being considered short in the U.S. AND in my home country…
NOT COOL…
Posted on 30-Sep-08 at 8:59 am | Permalink
phil wrote:
Jun, I feel your pain..when I visited Korea back in 2002, I was proud, because I was taller than most of the guys my age there. I come back last summer, and think to myself: Damn, when did these m********s get so tall?” I guess I should be happy that the men in the motherland are no longer on the short end, but damn, now I have to try that much harder to impress a girl…
Posted on 01-Oct-08 at 8:27 pm | Permalink
Andrew wrote:
Actually, this statisitic is supported by numerous studies. I’m an adopted korean living in seoul right now. Coincidentally, my roommate is Dr. Daniel Schwekendieck, and he’s a german adopted korean. He’s a researcher at Seoul National University now. He also authored a scientific study whose main claim is that Koreans are 12cm shorter. He’s a leading economic researcher on North korea here…
Posted on 01-Oct-08 at 11:34 pm | Permalink
Jen wrote:
andrew, you may be right, but i still question how you can get the “average” North Korean height. Are scientists going into the country and getting a representative sample for their studies? I hardly think that the average North Korean height is a public statistic and readily available.
The study referenced in the NY Times article measured North Korean escapees that made it to South Korea. Hardly a representative sample of the whole country, methinks.
Posted on 02-Oct-08 at 5:57 am | Permalink