Korean Life Expectancy Increased by 42 Years during Past 70 Years

The average life expectancy has increased by 42 years during the past 70 years.

Prof. Koo Ja-Heung (Inha University, Mathematics and Statistics) revealed yesterday in the Journal for the Mathematics and History the analysis result of `the Life Index` of the Japanese colonial era, which was found in the archive of the National Statistical Office (NSO).

This `Life Index` is the first life index in Korean history, which then prof. Mizushima Haruo (School for the Preventive Medicine of Kyong-Sung University) made from the population and death notice data of the Japanese colonial government.

According to this life index, the average life expectancy of Korean was 32.4 for Korean men and 35.1 years for Korean women (average of 33.7 years) during 1926-1930. Compared to that the average life expectancy was 71.1 years for men and 79.2 years for women (average of 75.6 years) in 1999, the Korean life expectancy increased 42 years during the past 70 years.

The average life expectancy of the then Japanese residents in Korea was 42.3 years, 8.6 years longer than Korean. Prof. Koo analyzed that the life expectancy was very short because of the malnutrition, the frequent outbreak of an epidemic disease, and the high death rate of infants. The infant death rate was 252 (male) and 230 (female) out 1,000 infants. But the infants who passed the first birthday could live up to average 44 years old.

Prof. Koo said, ``Since the birth and death notices were not done appropriately then, it is hard to say that the statistics are accurate. But it would be meaningful to observe the life history through the first life index.``

``While the life expectancy dramatically rose in the aftermath of the increase of the productivity since the Industrial Revolution the Western societies, the life expectancy of Koreans jumped with the industrialization in the twentieth century.`` said Prof. Hwang Sang-Ik (Medical History) of College of Medicine, Seoul National University. ``With the advent of the industrial society, the improvement of nutritive condition, water supply, and housing condition have contributed to the extension of life expectancy rather than the medical development.``

The life index refers to the life expectancy by age, based on the census data and the death rate. The life expectancy of 80 years in 2001 means that the peoples, born in 2001, may live up to 80 years old.

The life index has been used for the calculation of insurance benefits or pension benefits. The government began to make the life index from 1970s since the Liberation.

dongho@donga.com