Understanding South Korea's Poor Nation Brand Image: A Content Analysis Of Two Leading German Print News Media, 1948–2013

Despite the spectacular rise of South Korea's economy, the West continues to perceive it as an underdeveloped nation. To ferret out the macrohistorical causes of this perception, we perform a content analysis of Korea-related articles since 1948 in two leading German news weeklies. We find that South Korea's image has somewhat improved, transformed from that of the backward "Land of the Morning Calm" to that of a nation ranking among the most technologically advanced. However, certain images, such as "unstable," "unsafe" and "corrupt" persist, despite the fact that economic and political conditions have dramatically improved. Our research tentatively suggests that a systematic, long-term bias against South Korea in German print media accounts in part for its negative image there. However, the fact that this bias has recently abated suggests that those media will eventually produce a credible portrait of this far-away countr

The biological standard of living in early South Korea: Physical wellbeing based on body mass indices, 1940s to 1950s

This study fills a gap in the literature on the physical well-being of humans by employing BMI measurements of 89 Koreans measured from the early 1940s to mid-1950s. This period is of special historical concern since it coincides with the end of World War II, during which Japan utilized the Korean peninsula as a supply base for its war efforts, the disruptive American occupation period of Korea (1945-1948), the destructive Korean War (1950-1953), and the chaotic early years after the war. This study draws on records of employees from a large Korean bank. BMI values were lower in the latter period, indicating that living standards must have declined after the Korean War. While the war destroyed Korea’s economy, relief aid prevented a total collapse during war times. However, international massive grain programs such as PL 480 had not yet been implemented in the mid-1950s, leaving people vulnerable directly after the war. Anthropometric comparisons with historical populations in the United States as well as with pre-modern to contemporary Koreans are made in a latter section of this paper. 

Incorruptible Information on North Korea? An Overview and Review of Anthropometric Assessments

North Korea is still a hermit kingdom from where few reliable statistics emerge. Anthropometric information has been published, and physical measurements cannot be manipulated per se. With respect to the technical potential offered by incorruptible information, this paper gives the first and comprehensive overview of anthropometrical assessments of North Korea, as well as their systematic review by making use of both a qualitative discussion and a quantitative index. As many as 23 anthropometric surveys are available which is quite impressive given an otherwise statistical terra incognita. Our index shows that in qualitative terms surveys fall into three categories from those surveys conducted by international organizations dominate over refugee surveys and North Korean publications. However, no fully statistically representative and independent survey for North Korea has ever been carried out, as refugees surveys are severely self-selection biased, government surveys completely irreplicable, and United Nations surveys possibly skewed by pre-selection of regions

The North Korean standard of living during the famine

For decades, North Korea has been one of the world's most secluded societies. Due to a lack of reliable statistics, little analytical research has been done on the well-being of those who suffer most under totalitarianism: the North Korean people. By considering height data as a sensitive indicator of the North Korean standard of living, we explain what has historically influenced the welfare of children in different regions. Using cross-sectional data from 1997 when the peak of the infamous famine coincided with extreme environmental influences, we primarily test a number of socioeconomic hypotheses that have been proposed in the literature. Of these, the public distribution system and local harvest conditions--which may reflect black and gray market activity--were found as having a positive and statistically significant effect on height outcomes. Furthermore, from a biological point of view, males and older birth cohorts seem to have suffered more during the famine of the 1990s.North Korea East-Asia Standard of living Health Famine Anthropometry

Determinants of well-being in North Korea: Evidence from the post-famine period

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.North Korea DPRK Anthropometry Health Standard of living Child malnutrition Human biology Famine Food aid Socio-economics Human biology

The biological standard of living in colonial Korea, 1910-1945

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 166 cm. 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.Economic-history Anthropometric history Living standards Colonialism Korea Japan Asia Health