Metro Seoul gaining population again

The population is concentrating in the Seoul metropolitan area again. This latest trend comes in contrast to the exodus of urbanites to the provincial areas from the capital region, where the cost of living has been high since the financial crisis that forced the nation to rely on the International Monetary Fund bailout program in late 1997. In particular, the number of men who are moving is much more than that of women, while the total number of the moving population is returning to the level before the IMF era.

According to data on population movement in the second quarter reported by the National Statistical Office, a total of 145,000 people moved into the metropolitan area of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, while 110,000 left the region.

Thus, the population of the metropolitan area increased by 35,000, 3.5 times the number of the same period a year earlier (10,000). The size of the net influx of population is the second largest after that of the first quarter of last year (44,000), according to the office.

According to the latest trend of net population inflow into the capital area, the first quarter of 1998 recorded 10,000, second quarter minus 1,000, third quarter minus 6,000 and fourth quarter 6,000, while the first quarter of 1999 saw an increase of 22,000, second quarter 10,000, third quarter 34,000 and fourth quarter 28,000.

Lee Myung-Jai mjlee@donga.com