Lorenz Villanueva

Sociological (South Korea)

Korean society has undergone a major transformation since 1960. An economic

miracle, demographic transition, urbanization, changes in family life, and the formation
of civil society constitute the major features of the transformation. The collapse of the
Syngman Rhee regime attributable to student power in 1960 and the institution of a
military regime headed by Park Jung-hee one year later signaled the beginning of the
whole process. The military government initiated a strong drive for economic growth and
population control in 1962, and its efforts were rewarded.
Before its economy rose out of its traditional stagnation, Korea was one of the poorest
countries in the world, with few natural resources and rapidly growing population
pressures. In 1960, the per capita GNP was about 80 US dollars, and 25 million people
resided on the approximately 100,000 square kilometers (62,000 square miles) of land.
In addition, the country had been divided into two political entities after its liberation in
1945 from the 35-year colonial rule of Japan, and a civil war during 1950-53 (the Korean
War) reconfirmed the division.

Traditionally, most Koreans had engaged in agriculture. But the exploitative agricultural
policy of the colonial regime resulted in the exodus of poor tenants and farm laborers to
Japan, Manchuria, and cities on the Korean peninsula throughout the colonial period.
The urban population increased from 2.8% of the total population in 1915 to 13.2% in
1944. It was estimated that there were about four million Koreans overseas—
representing 13% of all Koreans worldwide at the end of the colonial rule. In sum, Korea
experienced the largest diaspora of any country in the first half of the twentieth century.

Following the 1950-53 war, Korean emigrants in Japan and Manchuria were repatriated
on a massive scale, and about 80% of them settled in South Korea. Adding to this, a
population movement developed from North to South Korea immediately following the
liberation and continued through the civil war. The total number of returnees and
refugees that entered South Korea was estimated at more than 3 million, about 15% of
the total South Korean population. The destitute migrants headed for cities, and the
cities experienced population explosions. Another result of the war was a baby boom
that brought about an annual rate of natural population growth of 3%, the highest in the
history of Korea. The baby boom added difficulties to an already desperate economy. At
this moment of crisis, the country started on its path toward development and
modernization.
The proportional increase of the urban population began in the early colonial period, but
urbanization in its modern sense had to wait until 1960. In the 1960s, a massive flight of
farmers to cities was caused mainly by poverty in rural areas, and the proportion of the
urban population increased from 28% to 41% between 1960 and 1970. The primary
destination of these migrants was Seoul. From 1960 to 1965, about 5% of the rural
population left for the cities, 70% of whom headed for Seoul; from 1965 to 1970, 13.6%
left for the cities, 61% of whom went to Seoul. As a result, by 1970 Seoul was a
migrants’ city, where those who had arrived during the last decade comprised about
50% of the population. It was also noticed that other big cities like Pusan and newly-
installed industrial cities like Ulsan showed big population gains through migration. The
proportion of urban residents has increased continuously, passing the 50% level in the
late 1970s, and reaching 80% in 2000. Rural-to-urban migration was the major
component of this rapid urbanization in the earlier stage, but its contribution has
dwindled sharply with the shrinking size of the rural population. Instead, urban sprawl
and the installation of new cities in rural hinterlands account for most of the urban
population growth since 1980. Also, industrialization and modernization assumed an
increasingly important role in both migration and urbanization in more recent years.

The tendency of the population to concentrate in Seoul has lessened greatly since
1970, and in the 1990s population gains through migration almost ceased in
metropolitan areas. This does not indicate an emerging trend of population
decentralization among cities, but rather the spatial expansion of the functional
governance of Seoul proper into nearby areas and satellite cities, a process which has
formed Greater Seoul, or a Seoul megalopolis, consisting of Seoul City, Inchon, and
cities in neighboring Kyounggi Province. Greater Seoul’s share of migrants has been
more than 50% since 1955 (except during 1975-80). This tendency of concentration had
weakened during 1955-80, but has greatly strengthened since 1980. It is reported that
about 80% of rural-to-urban migrants move to Greater Seoul and more than 40% of the
Korean population is currently living in this region. Population concentration in this so-
called ‘broad capital district’ poses serious problems for the national economy,
environment, transportation, and development.

Concerning the future of Korean society, there are certainties and uncertainties.
Demographic pictures are relatively certain, but people are uncertain of economic
prospects. Population will increase to the peak of slightly more than 50 million in the
mid-2010s and will decrease rapidly afterward. Population aging will proceed more
rapidly during the next three or four decades, until the proportion of the elderly reach
one quarter of the total population. A similar trend is expected in North Korea. Korea will
face a new demographic situation that contrasts sharply with what prevailed throughout
the twentieth century. For example, the labor force situation will be reversed. The
Korean economy has been aided greatly by a growing labor force during 1960-2000, but
will be burdened by the population aging and a shrinking labor force in the coming
years.

North Korea and the national reunification might be crucial factors in evaluating the
future of Korea. It is widely believed that the two Koreas will be reunited sometime in the
earlier part of the twenty-first century. The timing and method would have tremendous
demographic as well as economic implications for both Koreas. More immediate
concerns in this regard might be the prospects of political relationship, economic
cooperation, and labor migration between South and North Korea.