The Growth Comparison of Male Students During the Japanese Colonial Period and Modern Korea

This study analyzed changes in physical development by comparing the growth patterns of Korean male students during the Japanese colonial period and modern Korea. Using the ‘Physical Examination Results of Korean School Students’ of the Government-General of Korea in 1916 and the 2017 Child and Adolescent Growth Chart, we compared age-related changes in height, weight, and BMI and growth rates. Modern male students were taller and heavier than Joseon male students, and their height and weight growth rates and BMI growth rates were also faster. Most of the BMIs of Joseon male students were underweight by modern standards. This study confirmed the impact of changes in the times on physical development through a comparison of growth patterns and derived modern implications.