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Standards of Living in Colonial Korea: Did the Masses Become Worse Off or Better Off Under Japanese Rule?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Mitsuhiko Kimura
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Abstract

This article discusses the changing living standards among the Korean masses under Japanese rule. Farm income per household, agricultural real wages, and per capita calorie intake from staple foods declined. On the other hand primary school enrollment, literacy, and survival rates rose, and average stature at least did not decrease. Arguing that literacy rates, survival rates, and average stature are variables more directly related to living conditions than the others, this article concludes that the Korean masses' standards of living rose between colonization and 1940. Still, any summary assessment depends on the weights assigned to different variables.

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Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 53 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 629 - 652
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1993

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