The average Korean man stands about 174 cm tall (5 feet 8.5 inches), and the average Korean woman stands about 160.5 cm tall (5 feet 3 inches), based on nationwide body measurement surveys from South Korea’s Agency for Technology and Standards (Korea JoongAng Daily). These figures describe South Korea specifically, not North Korea or the broader Korean diaspora.
The number moves depending on who gets measured. A national average mixes together 70 year olds and 20 year olds, and those two groups grew up on very different diets. Younger adults, measured separately, already run noticeably taller than the overall population average, which is the first thing worth understanding before comparing Korea to anywhere else.
One more distinction matters here: measured height and self-reported height are not the same thing. Surveys that rely on people reporting their own height tend to run a bit generous. The figures used in this article come from physical measurement studies, not self-report.
Key Takeaways
- Adult Korean men average 174 cm (5’8.5″); adult Korean women average 160.5 cm (5’3″), per South Korea’s national anthropometric survey.
- Younger Korean adults are taller than the national average suggests. 19 year old men now average 175.5 cm, and 19 year old women average 163.2 cm.
- South Korea’s population gained roughly a foot of average height over the past century, one of the largest shifts recorded anywhere in the world.
- Korean averages now sit close to, and in the younger cohort slightly ahead of, the overall adult average in the United States.
- Genetics sets the range, but childhood nutrition, disease exposure, and living standards determine where in that range a population actually lands.
- An average describes a population trend, not a prediction for any one person.
What Is the Average Height in South Korea?
South Korea’s national average comes from anthropometric surveys that physically measure thousands of people across age groups, not from height reported on a form. The most cited figures, 174 cm for men and 160.5 cm for women, were recorded in a Korean Agency for Technology and Standards survey and have stayed roughly flat since 2003, a sign that overall adult growth has leveled off in the general population (Korea JoongAng Daily).
That plateau in the all ages average hides a generational story, which the next two sections untangle.
Average Height of Korean Men
Adult Korean men average 174 cm, or 5 feet 8.5 inches. Among 19 year olds specifically, the figure rises to about 175.5 cm, or 5 feet 9 inches, reflecting a generation raised on better childhood nutrition than their fathers’ cohort.
The gap between the all ages average and the youngest adult cohort is small but real, and it is the clearest evidence that Korean male height is still edging upward at the margins even as the broader national number holds steady.
Average Height of Korean Women
Adult Korean women average 160.5 cm, or 5 feet 3 inches. Among 19 year olds, the average climbs to roughly 163.2 cm, or 5 feet 4 inches.
That gap, about 2.7 cm, is larger for women than for men, and it lines up with research showing Korean women posted one of the biggest height gains of any population group measured over the last century (NCD Risk Factor Collaboration).
Average Korean Height by Age
A single national average flattens out what is actually a steep generational climb. Adults born in the 1950s and 1960s grew up during and after wartime food scarcity. Adults born in the 1990s grew up during a period of rapid economic growth and much more reliable nutrition.
KNHANES survey data tracking Korean adolescents across different survey years found measurable height gains even within a single decade, with later cohorts of teenagers coming in taller at the same ages than earlier cohorts did (KNHANES cohort study). This is a cohort effect, not individual growth. Nobody gets taller as the national average shifts. Each new generation simply starts from a higher baseline than the one before it.
Average Korean Height vs. American Height
South Korean and American adult heights now sit close together, closer than most people expect. The table below lines up the national averages for both countries.
| Group | South Korea (all adults) | United States (adults 20+) |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 174 cm (5’8.5″) | 175 cm (5’8.9″) |
| Women | 160.5 cm (5’3″) | 161.3 cm (5’3.5″) |
The average height for men in the USA comes in at 68.9 inches according to CDC measurement data, less than half an inch above the Korean male average (CDC/NCHS). That’s a much smaller gap than the stereotype of “short Asians, tall Americans” would suggest.
Run the same comparison using Korea’s youngest adult cohort instead of the national average, and the gap closes further or even flips. Korean men at 19 average 175.5 cm, essentially matching the overall US adult male average, while Korean women at 19 average 163.2 cm, about two centimeters taller than the overall US adult female average. The headline comparison depends heavily on which age slice gets used.
How Korean Height Compares With Other Countries
Within East Asia, South Korea and China currently lead on height among 19 year olds, with Japan trailing both by a few centimeters. A global tracking project spanning nearly 200 countries recorded these figures for 2019 birth cohorts measured at age 19:
| Country | Men (age 19) | Women (age 19) |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 175.5 cm (5’9″) | 163.2 cm (5’4″) |
| China | 175.7 cm (5’9″) | 163.5 cm (5’4″) |
| Japan | 172.1 cm (5’8″) | 158.5 cm (5’2″) |
Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration data reported in nownews.com.
China’s 19 year old cohort edged slightly ahead of South Korea’s by this measure, a reversal from the 1980s, when Japan led the region. The average height in China has climbed sharply since the 1980s, tracking the same nutrition and development story that reshaped South Korea a generation earlier. Japan’s growth, by contrast, largely stalled for cohorts born after the early 1960s, a pattern researchers have tied partly to declining average calorie intake among younger generations.
Why Have Koreans Become Taller?
South Korea posted one of the largest height increases recorded anywhere on earth. Men born across the twentieth century gained roughly 12.9 cm on average, and women gained roughly 11.6 cm, according to a skeletal anthropometry study tracing stature from the Joseon era through 2010 (Korea Herald). A separate, modern measurement based analysis put the gain for South Korean women at 20.2 cm across the twentieth century, the largest increase of any population studied worldwide.
Height barely moved for roughly 500 years before that, from the 1400s through the late 1800s, then rose sharply starting in the early 1900s as the country industrialized. The timing lines up with the usual suspects: improved childhood nutrition, reduced infectious disease, and rising living standards, all of which let more children reach the height their genes allowed for in the first place rather than falling short of it due to illness or poor diet.
What Determines a Korean Person’s Height?
Height comes from a mix of genetic potential and the childhood environment that either supports or limits reaching it. Genetics sets a likely range for any individual, but protein intake, sleep, chronic illness, and overall childhood health determine where within that range a person actually ends up.
Population level differences in average height, including the gap that still exists between some countries, come down mostly to environment and nutrition history rather than ethnicity itself. The last century of Korean data makes that case about as clearly as any dataset available: the same population gained more than a foot of average height once living conditions changed, without any shift in genetics at all. Growth plates close around the end of puberty regardless of ethnicity, and what happens nutritionally before that point matters far more than ancestry for where an individual lands.
Final Thoughts
Korean men average 174 cm and Korean women average 160.5 cm nationally, but younger Korean adults already run taller than that figure. The gap between South Korea and the United States is smaller than the stereotype suggests, and the gap between South Korea and its East Asian neighbors has shifted within a single generation. None of these averages predict any individual’s height. If anything, the Korean data is a reminder that population height responds to nutrition and living standards far more than it responds to anything fixed.
FAQs About the Average Height of Koreans
Are Koreans tall?
Relative to the global population, yes. South Korean adults rank among the taller national populations worldwide, and the younger generation ranks higher still, roughly on par with or slightly ahead of the overall US adult average.
How tall is the average Korean man?
About 174 cm, or 5 feet 8.5 inches, across all adults. Among 19 year olds specifically, the average is closer to 175.5 cm.
How tall is the average Korean woman?
About 160.5 cm, or 5 feet 3 inches, across all adults. Among 19 year olds, the average rises to roughly 163.2 cm.
Are younger Koreans taller than older generations?
Yes, noticeably so. The shift reflects better childhood nutrition and living conditions for people born from the 1980s onward compared with earlier generations.
Are Koreans taller than Japanese people?
Among the current young adult cohort, yes. South Korean 19 year olds average a few centimeters taller than their Japanese counterparts for both sexes.
Are Koreans taller than Chinese people?
The two are close, with China’s most recent 19 year old cohort averaging marginally taller than South Korea’s by current data, a gap of well under a centimeter.
Why did Korean height increase so much over the past century?
Better childhood nutrition, reduced infectious disease, and rising living standards let more of the population reach the height their genetics already supported, rather than genetics itself changing.
Jay Lauer is a health researcher with 15+ years specializing in bone development and growth nutrition. He holds a B.S. in Kinesiology and is a certified health coach (ACE). As lead author at HowToGrowTaller.com, Jay has published 300+ evidence-based articles, citing sources from PubMed and NIH. He regularly reviews and updates content to reflect the latest clinical research.