This paper uses human stature as a biological indicator of living standards in colonial Korea (1910-1945). We show that the average height of adult Koreans increased from the beginning to the end of Japanese rule from about 164 to 166cm. Height increased slightly before 1910 and dramatically after 1945, but during occupation declined slightly for a few years, only to rise rapidly through the late 1920s, and then stagnated until liberation. This finding is corroborated by a similar study of the Taiwanese under Japanese rule. The deterioration in the growth rates of both peoples from about 1930 to 1945 may be due to the deterioration of living conditions in the two colonies, victims of Japan's economic depression of 1927 and then of austerity measures as Japan mobilized for war.

Background: Previous studies have reported a consistent link between birth season and height in northern and southern hemisphere humans, creating a pattern in which spring birth cohorts are the tallest, and autumn birth cohorts are the shortest. Aim: A previous study on heights of children born during the North Korean famine of the 1990s revealed a pattern inconsistent with other studies, suggesting that adverse living conditions during the famine may have caused the atypical result. This paper investigates this issue by comparing the anomalous finding to other Korean data. Subjects and methods: The present study investigated birth season-height patterns in South Koreans and North Koreans born during the famine as well as in pre- and post-famine periods, and Colonial Koreans raised prior to the political separation of the Korean peninsula by making use of height error bars classified by birth season. The study was limited to the Korean peninsula, thus genetic factors are unlikely to have had an impact on the results. Results: With the exception of North Koreans born during the famine, all groups followed the same birth season-height pattern, a pattern consistent with other globally reported patterns. This suggests that adverse conditions during the famine are likely factors resulting in the anomalous birth season-height pattern in North Koreans born during the famine. Conclusion: Birth season-height patterns of Koreans follow the typical global pattern, but extreme environmental circumstances during the North Korean food crisis appear to have significantly disrupted that pattern.

North Korea has survived the breakdown of the communist bloc and has been immune to the democratization process of the 1990s. In spite of national famines and economic collapse, the totalitarian regime in Pyongyang maintains a firm grip on its power. Reliable information on the population's biosocial welfare is scarce. Using height and weight data of 5991 North Korean pre-school children measured in 2002, we investigate determinants of height-for-age z-score (HAZ), weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) and weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) as an indicator for child health. We find a statistically significant impact of the age of the child and of the mother, as well as the sex of the child on HAZ and WAZ. In contrast, social status and wealth proxies at the individual and household level are not statistically significant possibly because of errors in these variables. We do not find a consistent effect for geographic regions or for rural-urban residents either. Yet, urban provinces seem to be better-off. Most importantly, we find that children living in families who benefit from food aid of the United Nations are healthier in terms of HAZ, WAZ and WHZ than those depending on the government. Hence, further delivery of United Nations food aid is likely to mitigate the effects of the ongoing food crisis in North Korea.