[Jangmadang Generation]② 'Fragile System' At This Rate, North and South Koreans Will Become Different Races

Northern Youths Will Be 11cm Shorter Than Southern Peers by Next Year
Enlistment Height Standard Lowered to 137cm, Equivalent to Southern Elementary Students
Growth Disorders Due to Food Shortage Indicate 'Regime Vulnerability'

Editor's NoteKim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, is continuously building walls, turning North Korea into his own fortress. However, a more powerful crack has already begun from within. The younger generation, who grew up during the collapse of the rationing system, no longer believes that the 'Supreme Leader' will protect the people. These youths, who choose to live for 'themselves' rather than sacrifice for the party, yearn for freedom instead of loyalty. We explore the potential for change that could shake the Kim family's dictatorship, which has been entrenched for over 70 years, focusing on the Jangmadang Generation.

Private Kim Mo, a North Korean soldier rescued in the East Sea in December 2006 (center), is being repatriated to North Korea through the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom. Photo by Joint Press Corps

In December 2006, a photo that heated up the internet circulated widely. At that time, the United Nations Command repatriated two North Korean soldiers rescued from the East Sea back to North Korea. One of them, who was relatively healthy, walked back to the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom, and his small stature standing between U.S. and South Korean soldiers caught attention.

There are exceptions, such as North Korea's proud female basketball player Park Jin-a (born 2003, height 205 cm) and the ill-fated footballer Han Kwang-sung (born 1998, height 178 cm), who once played for the prestigious Italian club Juventus. While it is difficult to generalize that the entire 'Jangmadang Generation' is small in stature, many studies suggest that they generally have developmental issues.

Military Enlistment Height Standard Lowered to 137 cm... Comparable to a Ten-Year-Old in South Korea

Soldiers visiting the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the founding of the North Korean People's Army in April 2013. Photo by AP Yonhap News

The characteristics shown by the 'Jangmadang Generation' reveal the vulnerabilities of the North Korean regime itself. Not only has their mindset changed, but the average height gap between young people in the North and South has now widened by more than 10 cm.

On the 25th, the Korean Central News Agency posted numerous staged photos of young children taken from the Pyongyang Orphanage, stating, "The orphans of Korea, who receive the warm love and care of Comrade Kim Jong Un, are truly fortunate." But are North Korean children, who are said to be under the 'care of the Supreme Leader,' really growing well? The North Korean authorities do not disclose any information about residents' average height or weight. Even when international organizations request health data, they provide absurd figures, making it difficult to use as reliable statistics.

The first indicator to check is the 'military enlistment (initial conscription)' standard. According to data revealed by the National Intelligence Service in 2005, North Korea changed its military exemption criteria from the mid-1990s. Previously, those under 150 cm in height and 48 kg in weight were exempted from conscription. After the change, the criteria were lowered to 148 cm in height and 43 kg in weight. However, as the Jangmadang Generation, who grew up during the 'Arduous March,' were too small to fill the ranks, the standard was lowered further. According to Free North Korea Radio, the enlistment height standard was lowered to 137 cm in 2010.

South Korea considers various health conditions when determining military service eligibility. According to the 'Rules for Physical Examination and Other Tests for Military Service,' regardless of other conditions, those under 159 cm in height receive a grade 4 or lower, regardless of weight. Comparing minimum standards alone, the height difference between North and South Korean soldiers is at least 22 cm ? about the length of a head. In South Korea, children surpass an average height of 140 cm by age ten. This means there are North Korean soldiers shorter than elementary school students.

Fragile North Korean Regime Breaks Even Biological Laws

The process by which North Korea has changed its enlistment standards reflects issues of food shortages and resulting developmental disorders. This regime vulnerability has even broken the biological law that 'people living in northern regions tend to be taller.'

In the early 20th century, the Korean Peninsula was a poor and hungry land. For half of the past 100 years, the North and South were united, and for the remaining 70 years, they have lived under different regimes. South Korea has become the country with the largest average body size in Asia and is recognized globally as the country that has grown the most in height over the past century.

What about North Korea? Traditionally, it is common knowledge that people living in the northern parts tend to be taller on average than those in the south. In the West, this is explained by the German biologist's 'Bergmann's Rule,' which states that warm-blooded animals tend to have larger bodies in colder climates and smaller bodies in warmer climates. In East Asia, this phenomenon is called 'Buk-go Nam-jeo (北高南低),' meaning 'north tall, south short.' Japanese anthropologist Obama Motoji studied residents in Jiangsu and Shandong provinces in China and reached the same conclusion in a 1938 paper.

However, in North Korea, during the 'Arduous March' period when the Jangmadang Generation emerged, even this common sense collapsed.

Professor Park Soon-young of Seoul National University's Department of Anthropology published a comparative analysis in June 2004, comparing 2,384 North Korean defectors since 1999 with the average height of South Korean adults announced by the Korea Standard Science Institute in 1997. According to the study, the average height of male defectors in their 60s was 164.4 cm and females 151.8 cm, similar to or even taller than the South Korean averages (males 164.1 cm, females 151.2 cm). However, defectors in their early 20s averaged 164.9 cm for males and 153.9 cm for females, about 6 cm shorter than South Korean averages (males 170.8 cm, females 160.6 cm).

Professor Park predicted, "Due to North Korea's food crisis since the 1990s, the height gap between North and South Korean adults will widen further. If the nutritional status of North Korean children improves, some height increase will occur, but if nutrition improves after mid-to-late adolescence, weight gain is more likely than height increase."

Height Gap Between North and South Korean Youths Widens Beyond 11 cm

North Korea continues to maintain a fragile regime, and food shortages persist. This suggests that the height gap between young people in the North and South is likely to widen further. There are even concerns that the 'racial code' might change.

Professor Jung Woo-jin's team at Yonsei University analyzed the expected height of North and South Korean youths born in 2000 when they reach 25 years old. By 2025, South Korean males are projected to average 177.9 cm, while North Korean males are expected to be 166.3 cm, a gap of about 11 cm. For females, South Koreans are predicted to average 163.6 cm, and North Koreans 157.5 cm. The results suggest that the average height of a 25-year-old South Korean woman is similar to that of a 25-year-old North Korean man.

Ultimately, it is not an exaggeration to say that North Koreans' height remains at Joseon Dynasty levels. According to a study published in December 2011 by Professors Hwang Young-il and Shin Dong-hoon of Seoul National University College of Medicine's Department of Anatomy, the average height of our ancestors during the Joseon Dynasty was estimated at 161.1 cm for males and 148.9 cm for females. This analysis was based on femur bones collected from 116 Joseon-era skeletons (67 males and 49 females) from the 15th to 19th centuries.

An intelligence official commented, "This is a cruel result akin to a 70-year-long biological experiment," pointing out that "it shows how the Kim family's dictatorship has exploited the people to the extent that the races of the North and South have diverged."

In an interview with the media last November, Ri Il-gyu, a former North Korean embassy official in Cuba who defected, emphasized this 'physical difference.' He testified, "When I took my children abroad and returned to Pyongyang, the difference was clear. They were 5 to 10 cm taller and had different skin tones compared to classmates who only lived in North Korea." He attributed this to "living a life enjoying freedom."

Series Order

① People at the Center of Change: 'North Korean MZ Generation'
② Fragile Regime: This Could Lead to Racial Differences Between North and South
③ Former Security Department Member Who Dreamed of Joining the South Korean Military After Defection
④ Beards and Torn Jeans: North Korean Girls in Flux
⑤ Expert Recommendations: The Potential of the Jangmadang Generation