Short men desperate to look taller

Nearly 600 undergo surgery each year to extend limb bones

By Baek Byung-yeul, Nam Hyun-woo, Park Ji-won

Suffering a sprained ankle because of high-heeled shoes is a painful injury not only for women seeking to be fashionable.

Many Korean men desperately seek to appear taller than they are to attract women.
For more than a decade, a preference for increasingly tall men has developed among Korean women.

This is due in part to one TV personality's controversial remark -- "Men below 180 centimeters are losers." This drew fire from men but appreciation from many women. But Korean men had to concede that "Men's height really matters for women."

Since then, men haunted by their height have attempted to look taller by stacking insoles in their shoes or even undergoing "height-increasing" surgery.

Elevating insoles

Kim Joon-sup, a 26-year-old law school student living in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, suffers from such "height paranoia."

One of the most embarrassing circumstances he has when attempting to hide his relatively short height is going to restaurants where customers have to sit on the floor.

"I am about 165 centimeters tall (five feet and three inches), and I always put thick extra insoles in my shoes. This is why I am afraid of taking them off. I don't want to show how short I am to others," Kim said.

He said his height has always been a source of stress.

"It would take several nights of talking in detail about all the episodes related to my short height," he said with a bitter smile.

"It is an absolute headache for me. I had to hesitate before asking a woman taller than me out on a date, and I am often overwhelmed when I meet a tall lady."

He said he even considered having Illizarov surgery -- a surgical operation that can increase a person's height by extending the bones in their legs.

"But I heard it could be risky, so I gave up and have been using height-boosting insoles."

Just a decade ago, many Koreans used extra insoles to provide cushioning or better ventilation. However, as more men attempt to conceal their diminutive stature,
insoles became a way of liberating short men from their height inferiority complex.

"I heard that inserting up to a four-centimeter thick shoe insert will benefit my spine. But, despite the extra aid, I'm still below average in terms of height," he said.

In the early 2000s, so-called "elevator shoes," which have higher heels and extra footpads, were special equipment for people sensitive about their height.

In recent years, these "invisible elevators" have become popular in every clothing store, attracting men such as Kim.

On Kim's shoe shelf, there are different kinds of height-increasing insoles and elevator shoes for what he listed as, "different times, places and occasions."

"I have used extra insoles since I was in high school. Now I'm using both elevating insoles and shoes. With these items, I usually extend my height to about 175 centimeters."

Like Kim, Korean men are finding height-increasing aids as a key to overcoming the prejudice of women who discriminate against shorter men. Not only relatively small men such as Kim, but also men of above average height are using extra insoles, because they regard themselves as short.

However, what seems to have risen, along with the artificially boosted height of some men is the number of males who have low self-esteem, because according to statistics, the average height of Korean males is not that low.

According to last year's Military Manpower Administration's physical examination of 361,202 young men in their 20s, who were soon to be conscripted for their compulsory two-year military service, their average height was 173.3 centimeters.

Moreover, a Ministry of Education survey shows that the average height of Korean men was 173.7 centimeters as of 2011.

In the same year, the average height of Japanese men stood at 170.7 centimeters, according to the country's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Complex gone wild

To boost their height and increase their chances of attracting women, some men are undergoing surgery -- nearly 600 every year.

Orthopedic clinics here are offering "height-increasing" surgery.

The most common form is limb-lengthening. This begins by breaking normally functioning bones and then inserting titanium rods between them. The minimum cost for such a procedure is 10 million won (approximately $9,300), the maximum, 20 million won.

After inserting the rods, an external support frame is constructed around the legs which help the patient walk until the bones are completely attached to the rod and regenerate themselves.

Theoretically, after a six-month recovery, they can resume everyday life, with an additional five to six centimeters in height.

Limb-lengthening surgery was originally developed to help people born with handicapped limbs or those injured in accidents, but increasing numbers of Korean men dissatisfied with their natural height are opting to undergo the risky procedure, even while knowing that they might suffer complications or lose the ability to walk.

A man in his 30s, who asked not to be identified, suffered complications because his bones did not regenerate after surgery.

Another victim in his 20s, said his pelvic bones were seriously damaged after surgery.

Another victim in her 30s broke her ankle after the metal rods inserted in her legs collapsed.

These victims pursued legal action against hospitals after suffering the unwanted side effects.

Some parents are also determined that their children should be taller. Instead of insoles, elevating shoes or surgery, "growth clinics" are now in business in Seoul.

"Many hospitals offer such clinics these days," said one surgeon surnamed Nam.

According to him, most growth clinic procedures claim to stimulate the growth plates in children's bones. Methods employed range from hanging children upside down to injecting them with hormones. But he also pointed out that such practices add a maximum 2 extra centimeters to estimated height. Most children undergo a series of injections, typically 12 per month which costs an average 1.5 million won. A course of injections can last up to 12 months. The doctors say the optimum age for young people to undergo this is between the ages of 10 to 13 for girls and 12 to 15 for boys.

"Though it is pricy, many parents are visiting hospitals to make their children grow taller," he said.

"The injections do not guarantee immediate results, but such procedures are preferable because they are safer than surgery," he added. No evidence or examples were given to support this statement.

Why we call this page a 'Page 0'

We have received many inquiries, some even from reporters in the newsroom, about we have a "Page 0." Some even wonder whether the "0" in the name is the alphabet letter or a zero as the two can appear the same.

To clear the confusion and quell the curiosity as any responsible newspaper will do, we checked back to the days of April last year when the first Page 0 was published, more exactly an April 26 piece about gay bars. One of four "cub" reporters who wrote the inaugural piece recalls that it was first suggested to lable the "Young Page," because it was left to the discretion of the rookies to select subjects and to design the layout. Then, an editor suggested calling it "Page Young."

But "young" can means zero in one of its Korean translation so somehow, somebody pushed for Page 0 and the name has stuck since. In hindsight, we think that whether it is called Page Zero or Page Young, it reflects the spirit of our newspaper ― trying to perpetually change itself and get closer to more readers. ― ED.