Asian American Attitudes toward Height | Asian American Poll

AA ATTITUDE TOWARD HEIGHT
(Updated Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:39:09 AM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Assuming you are an Asian American, how important is height in your assessment of a person's attractiveness?
It's a key element of attractiveness. | 20%
It's one of many factors I consider. | 44%
It's less important than other personal qualities. | 28%
I am not attracted to tall people. | 8%

Assuming you are an Asian American, which best matches your feelings toward your own height?
I'd like to be 3 inches taller. | 43%
I'd like to be an inch taller. | 27%
I'm happy with my height. | 26%
I'd like to be an inch shorter. | 4%

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WHAT YOU SAY

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Hey Northern Chinese guys
Do you guys consider southern chinese as same people? I'm not well versed in Chinese history, I though most northern Chinese were ethnic Manchus. To me southern Chinese look more like Vietnamese, shorter and darker.
Curious Corean American Thursday, October 25, 2001 at 20:24:30 (PDT)

Also, I do agree that Northern Chinese are the tallest people in Asia, taller than Koreans. But then again, you guys have the biggest genetic stock... 1.2 billion individuals. It's just a game of chance -- you have a billion ppl mating, you're bound to come up with some very tall ppl. If there were 1.2 billion Koreans, I would bet that our average height would be much greater than Chinese as a WHOLE NATION (that includes Southern, Northern, and Western Chinese), since we are Northern Asians. But yeah, since China has a much larger genetic stock, you tend to show greater variation in height. And finally, I was just pointing out that Koreans are still larger than Taiwanese.... didn't say anything about Chinese from Shanghai or Beijing or anything like that. But I'm telling you, my boys were wicked tall.... no one could f*** with us.
Me Again Thursday, October 25, 2001 at 15:39:56 (PDT)

Hmm,

I don't think I said anything about Koreans being taller than whites, on average. Indeed, they are smaller. But hey, I"m telling you, my crew was f***in' HUGE....
Me Again Thursday, October 25, 2001 at 15:32:44 (PDT)

Sorry, I have to correct myself earlier on instead of saying Koreans are not the tallest and biggest, I meant to write, Koreans are not the tallest and largest people in Asian, but Northern Chinese are probably so.
Koreans Are Not The Tallest Nor Largest Thursday, October 25, 2001 at 08:46:46 (PDT)

Yes, there are Chinese women 6+ ft. in height. And no, I am not talking about the women's basketball team. Infact, at my restaurant, we hired a Chinese waitress, originally from shandong, and is at least 6'0 in height. She is probably the tallest woman at all times, in our restaurant, customer or employee. Is that to say all northerns are tall? Well, pretty much yes. lol. And that's just Shandong. If you go even farther north, they get quite stocky, such as places like Harbin. And no, I'm not talking about ABC's. These are individuals born and raised in China, absolutely horrible at English, who reach these heights. As for Koreans, they are probably second place, though that's not much to brag about. Let's face it, the majority of Asians are small, and with an average height of 5'8 (or less) for men, Koreans are not exactly impressive. The majority of immigrants I've seen are under the 5'7 mark, a far cry from the 6'0 or so average of northern chinese immigrants.

As for southerners, the second generation is significantly larger than the first generation. It's not terribly rare to find 5'11 children with parents scarcely 5'4.
chinatown Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 21:37:15 (PDT)

Northern Chinese,

I apologize to everybody else for getting off topic but need to respond to a comment by Northern Chinese. How do you define Chinese? How are the Northern Chinese more Chinese than the Southern Chinese? "Chinese" is not a race, but a culture and identity. The culture did start in the north and spread, but that does not make Northerners "more Chinese" than Southerners even if there is a height difference (the gap is gradually closing with improved nutrition).
Who Is Chinese? Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 18:48:35 (PDT)

Actually most tall African tribes regularly drink cows milk as most of thier cultures revolve around hearding cattle. The Massai come to mind as one such tribe. The mongolians drink goats milk, sheeps milk and yaks milk. The theory behind dairy still holds true. Perhaps it should be modified to specify cows milk.
Fact Finder Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 10:28:42 (PDT)

Though there may be more of a disparity of heights between some Taiwanese and Koreans, the younger generation Taiwanese are quite taller.

Then, in America, the disparity is even less. I know quite a few tall and even well built Taiwanese-Americans. Ever watch the movie "Corky Romano?" The Asian FBI agent character (Agent Cox) is played by a Taiwanese-American named Roger Fan, who is a childhood friend and high school classmate of mine. You will note that he is 6'2" tall (you will notice he is taller than just everybody ever other character in the movie). His father is only 5'4". That is more evidence of the increased height gains between the older and younger generation Taiwanese and Taiwanese-Americans. Yes, the Korean younger generation have also posted height gains, but I think the gains are greater among Taiwanese and Taiwanese-Americans.
Taiwanese Height Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 19:51:59 (PDT)

Korean guy,

Could you please distinguish between SOUTHERN Chinese and Northern Chinese? I think since you are in HK, all the Chinese you meet are deep southern, as well as the Taiwanese. I seriously don't think Koreans are bigger than us Northern Chinese, who are just as, probably more Chinese than the Southerners.

Amongst my Korean friends, I have always been the biggest guy. Though I will admit they are on the whole, bigger than my Southern countrymen like the deep southern ones such as Cantonese and Taiwanese. But nope, sorry but from my experience, Northerners have always been physically the biggest (height and build) Asians.
Northern Chinese Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 19:37:45 (PDT)

The average height for teens/young adults in South Korea seems to be about 5'9". I was there this summer. There were also a good number of very tall men and women. Quite shocking, for a Korean American who's only 5'8".
Wow... Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 19:36:48 (PDT)

Korean guy in China,

I think Dan was saying that Taiwanese are not all puny midgets as some earlier posts were misleading people to believe. He was saying that Taiwanese are taller and bigger than you think- the younger generation is noticiably taller than the older generation. And he was saying that it's not uncommon for them to be 5'10" and above. He was not saying they are bigger than Koreans.

Regarding Hong Kong- yes the natives there are shorter, but if you go more north even Shanghai, Shandong, Beijing or further up the people are taller and built. Where I work there several Northern Chinese immigrant women 6 feet tall! I kid you not. There are a couple of Chinese men (one from Northern China) well over 6 feet tall. There is this young Taiwanese guy who is 6'4" and not skinny. However, there is also this guy (a Cantonese Hong Kong native) who is 6'2."

Anyhow, size and height has nothing to do with how modern, how superior or how powerful a nation is.
Proud Asian -American Male Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 15:22:11 (PDT)

Korean guy in China:

You keep on mentioning your experience in Hong Kong, but we are talking about Taiwan (yes, both largely of Southern Chinese stock, but you are basing your expericence in school in Hong Kong). Certainly there are tall Koreans, but they are on average still shorter and smaller than the average Caucasian. Face the music.

Anyhow, among Asians, they are not even the tallest or biggest- Northern Chinese, I would say are taller and bigger on average than the average Korean (even if their PER CAPITA GNP is smaller than South Korea's).
Koreans Are Not The Tallest Nor Biggest Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 15:09:40 (PDT)

Korean guys 6'3" or almost 6'5"? Yes, there may be some, but that is not in the majority. White North Americans as a whole are still bigger and taller than Koreans. So, stop exaggerating the heights of Koreans.
Sick of Koreans Exaggerating Their Heights Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 14:50:06 (PDT)

Hey guys,
I was born in Taiwan and went back last summer. As a guy that's tall enough to be exempted from military obligations in Taiwan I have to say that i've seen perhaps only one or two guys standing at the same height as me over the summer and generally speaking Taiwanese ppl are still pretty short compared to north americans. i think the average height is like 5 7" (170cm). maybe some at 5'11 (180) but really very very few over 6'3''(190). But younger ppl are definately much taller than the old ones already. And also I think Koreans are prob a little bit taller than the Taiwanese.
dunking stickman Monday, October 22, 2001 at 22:24:55 (PDT)

To DAN and the rest of the Taiwanese crew...

Will you guys stop making dumb excuses and exceptions as to why you're getting taller as a country? We already know that Asians on the whole are getting taller as our living standards rise... And on the same note, it's not like the average height for teens in Korea is at a standstill while the average height in Taiwan is increasing. We've almost always been taller than you guys over the past decades, and we still continue to be.

The tallest guys in my almost completely Asian international high school in Hong Kong were the Korean guys. There was one CRAZY guy that was almost 6'5", and 2 that were 6'3", and several who were around 6' or 6'1". I was one of the 'little guys' at 5'10". These guys were the top dogs at our school (we thought we were so cool... haha). Ever bump into a group of 5 or 6 six-plus-footers in the hallway at school? Quite intimidating... I can think of one Chinese guy that was over 6 feet, and the rest of the taller guys amongst the Chinese ranged from about 5'8" to 5'10". Also, the Korean guys were generally naturally more built/hefty than the Chinese guys. Don't get me wrong: we were all friends and we got along great, its just that the Korean guys had more of a "presence", in terms of height and build. Even the white British and Austrailian kids (who were quite tall too) gave us respect because we were a physical presence.

But anyway, I'm not denying that Taiwanese are getting taller, and in the overall scheme of things, they aren't the shortest people in Asia. But the fact remains -- even though Taiwan may have a higher GNP than S. Korea (Btw, the GNP gap between Taiwan and South Korea is very small, so I don't think that means Koreans don't get three square mals everyday, or anything like that. Koreans are very well fed on the whole.), Korean males have always been taller. I dunno why, they just have been and still are on the whole.
Korean guy in China Monday, October 22, 2001 at 16:55:51 (PDT)

Proud Asian-American Male,

I agree with you so what if they can date white women? Just because someone is white doesn't mean that they're superior and higher in ranking! Do Asians have to get the stamp of approval from the whites before they are labeled as being attractive?!!

AM Sunday, October 21, 2001 at 03:29:09 (PDT)

no.... lol, i grew up in taiwan.... i tell u! i felt so bad in middle school
(taiwan) compare to most of my friends because of my height (5" 7 at the time)...

am i short? hell yeah, i'm only 5"9

u said taiwanese are short? that's already wrong

then u went on and said because of our nutrition? sorry, but taiwanese have higher average income than south koreans..

no! teenagers in taiwan are really tall, and i'm not kidding... why? part of the reason is that, nowadays, taiwanese girls tend to look at guys' heights alot! so evolution then takes place... :]
DAN Thursday, October 18, 2001 at 23:32:46 (PDT)

A lot of African tribes are tall and milk is absent in their diets. A lot of Mongol tribes drink milk, but many of them can be quite short and stout.
oops Wednesday, October 17, 2001 at 20:36:32 (PDT)

It's like 75% of us asians are either short or tiny but it's all good.
badmaxxi Wednesday, October 17, 2001 at 19:27:18 (PDT)

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