Discussion
On October 10th 2023, No. 278th Japan Specialist Seminar was held in GL room (Bldg 140), GSIS in hybrid format. With ten participants on the spot and 35 participants online, Duol Kim, Professor in Department of Economics in Myongji University gave a presentation titled as “Standard of Living in Japan, 1840-2023 ”. The below is the summary.
Firstly, Professor Kim introduced the materials about the usage of people's heights. Next, the presenter briefly explained his previous research which was about the results of the analysis of the standard of living in Korea using the key data of the deceased. Then, using the height data of Japanese travel deaths, Professor Kim explained the results of analytical changes in Japan's standard of living for more than 150 years from the 1840s to today.
Q/A was followed after the presentation. Compared to Korea, where height grew only by expanding the market during the opening port period, there were questions about why height did not grow after the opening port era in Japan. The presenter responded based on existing studies which show that the effect of the opening port era in Japanese trade was very small.
In addition, the seminar was concluded after discussions on the basis of comparison of the Japanese economy in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, height changes with aging, changes in Japanese diet, Koreans' immigration to Japan, the correlation between height and standard of living formed before the age of 25, and the concept of standard of living.
