The average height of South Korean women has grown by 20cm in the past hundred years, which is the most rapid increase in the world. BBC Newshour asked for an opinion about this research from Prof. Schwekendiek (Academy of East Asian Studies), who has published several dissertations about the trend of height in Korea.
Prof. Schwekendiek explained that the main reason for the result of the research is improvement of nutrition in Korea; Koreans are having traditional meals containing lots of vegetables, but also eating more milk and meat than in the past. He mentioned that the average height of Koreans is the tallest among Asian countries including Taiwan, Japan, China, and North Korea.
Prof. Daniel Jong Schwekendiek was born in Korea but raised in Germany. He received a bachelor, masters, and doctoral degree at University of Tubingen. He has worked as a researcher at Seoul National University, University of Oxford, and University of California, Berkeley, and has been a professor at SKKU since 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p042ndys
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