Hormone treatment craze has kids' heights, costs and side effects all on the rise
Published: 28 Jan. 2026, 19:46
![Parents and a teenager enter a growth clinic in Seoul’s Gangnam area. [IM SOUNG-BIN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/28/06cb7bbd-b740-4b0e-b544-d311740aa672.jpg)
Parents and a teenager enter a growth clinic in Seoul’s Gangnam area. [IM SOUNG-BIN]
On a weekday afternoon in Seocho District, southern Seoul, a well-known medical clinic specializing in childhood “growth” was already full. Parents and children crowded the waiting area, clutching numbered tickets.
As families left the clinic, many carried insulated cooler bags. Inside were growth hormone injections.
“We live in another area, but I’ve been so worried about my kids’ height that I came all the way here after hearing about this place,” said a parent who brought two elementary-school-aged siblings to the clinic on Jan. 9.
That day, another nearby growth clinic was also crowded with parents holding their children’s hands in the lobby.
In affluent neighborhoods such as Gangnam, clinics that prescribe treatments to help children grow taller are booming. Parents say word is spreading among mothers that growth tests are now “essential.” These so-called “growth clinics” are increasingly recommended even for children who are not unusually short.
![A growth clinic in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 28 [RYU HYO-RIM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/28/1430032d-f831-4ea4-9642-8c8d8e1e2bcd.jpg)
A growth clinic in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 28 [RYU HYO-RIM]
At one prominent clinic, staff said this week that families would need to wait more than a month just to receive a growth test. An X-ray to assess growth plates costs about 100,000 won ($70). When blood tests and ultrasounds are added, the total rises to nearly 600,000 won.
That is only for testing. If a child starts growth hormone injection treatment, families can end up paying as much as more than 1 million won per month.
While the cost makes it hard for many to decide easily, the number of parents visiting clinics continues to rise, fueled by marketing that stokes hope of increasing a child’s “final height.”
“The clinic said ages 5 to 9 are the ‘golden time,’ and that we came late,” said a parent of a 9-year-old boy surnamed Jeong. “Among moms, people talk a lot about getting the test in the winter before kids enter elementary school.”
Jeong also said many people talk as if it were a simple equation: “If you don’t take the shots, they’ll grow to 160 to 165 centimeters (5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 5 inches), but if you do, they’ll grow to over 170.”
“The really famous clinics take too long even to book an appointment, so in a panic I ended up going to a less well-known place,” said a parent of a 10-year-old boy surnamed Ahn. “Parents around me talk about giving their kids growth hormone injections almost like it’s something to brag about, and they say everyone would do it if they had the money.”
As growth hormone treatment is increasingly treated like a mainstream option, some children who are already taller than their peers are also getting treated, parents say. “For taller kids, the treatment costs even more,” Ahn added.
![An advertisement for a height-growth management business in Seoul’s Gangnam area [IM SOUNG-BIN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/28/375e293a-b9f1-4970-879a-3fdf8fc6e7e6.jpg)
An advertisement for a height-growth management business in Seoul’s Gangnam area [IM SOUNG-BIN]
The problem is that reported side effects have also risen along with the increase in prescriptions. Cases of serious adverse reactions, including pneumonia, linked to growth hormone injections surged from nine in 2020 to 165 in 2024.
On top of that, exaggerated advertisements such as “10 centimeters up” or “Revealing the secrets of height growth that parents can never know” are spreading. As a result, posture and body-shape “management” businesses — where it is difficult to clearly verify height-growth effects — are also gaining popularity.
Online, food advertisements are also proliferating, promoting products as if children can grow significantly in a short time simply by eating them — with claims like “Grew 15 centimeters in six months.”
Experts say measures are needed because many children who are following a normal growth pattern are being swept up in the trend and receiving injections unnecessarily.
“Growth hormone injections are recommended for clearly defined conditions such as growth hormone deficiency or Turner syndrome, but it is not right to recommend them to a large number of children,” said Professor Suh Byung-kyu of the pediatrics department at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital.
“People think that getting injections automatically makes you taller, but that isn’t true,” said Suh. “Even if a child is currently small, if they are growing well, the injections may not have a large effect — so a cautious approach is needed.”
![The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/28/83dc842c-4095-4b35-a32d-1d66d8b51647.jpg)
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety [YONHAP]
The government says it is also responding to problems caused by exaggerated advertising. “Last year we inspected hospitals, clinics and pharmacies for exaggerated advertising, and this year we plan to strengthen safety management for growth hormone products,” said an official at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY IM SOUNG-BIN, RYU HYO-RIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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