Stature Trend of Korean Male Adults in the Colonial Period －Focusing on Police Records in the South Sakhalin Area－

Abstract

Statistics show that the economy of colonial Korea has grown. However, there is debate as to when economic growth began. Controversy over the distribution of ethnic groups also continues. In order to solve these problems, this study examined the stature and trend of Korean male adults during the colonial period. The data is based on the documents of the Sakhalin-area Police Department in the Russian National Archives. During the colonial period, adult Korean men were taller on average than Japanese. However, the height of Korean male is decreasing while the height of Japanese remains almost the same. Such a decrease does not appear to be due to bias in coal miner-centered samples. Regression showed that people born in the 1910s were shorter than those born in the 1900s. This suggests that living standards may have fallen in the 1920s compared to the 1910s. However, it is difficult to determine whether the results are related to the industrialization puzzle or due to sampling bias. It is hoped that more cases will be collected and discussions will begin in the future.