Demographics of South Korea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the demographic features of the population of South Korea,
including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic
status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Nationality

noun: South Korean(s)

adjective: South Korean

Background

Although a variety of different Asian peoples had migrated to the Korean Peninsula in
past centuries, very few have remained permanently, so by 1990 both South Korea and
North Korea were among the world's most ethnically homogeneous nations. The number
of indigenous minorities was negligible. In South Korea, people of foreign origin,
including Chinese, Japanese, Westerners, Southeast Asians, South Asians and others
were a small percentage of the population whose residence was generally temporary.

Koreans tend to equate nationality or citizenship with membership in a single,

homogeneous ethnic group or "race" (minjok, in Korean). A common language and
culture also are viewed as important elements in Korean identity. The idea of multiracial
or multiethnic nations, like the United States or India, strikes many Koreans as odd or
even contradictory.

Regional differences

Against the background of ethnic homogeneity, however, significant regional differences

exist.

Within South Korea, the most important regional difference is between the Gyeongsang
region, embracing Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces in the
southeast, and the Jeolla region, embracing Jeollabuk-do and Jeollanam-do provinces in
the southwest. The two regions, separated by the Jirisan Massif, nurture a rivalry said to
reach back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea Period, which lasted from the fourth century
to the seventh century A.D., when the kingdoms of Baekje and Silla struggled for control
of the peninsula.

Observers noted that interregional marriages are rare, and that as of 1990 a new four
lane highway completed in 1984 between Gwangju and Daegu, the capitals of
Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do provinces, had not been successful in promoting
travel between the two areas.

South Korea's political elite, including presidents Park Chung Hee, Chun Doo Hwan, and
Roh Tae Woo, have come largely from the Gyeongsang region. As a result, Gyeongsang
has been a special beneficiary of government development assistance. By contrast, the

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Jeolla region has remained comparatively rural, undeveloped, and poor. Chronically
disaffected, its people rightly or wrongly have a reputation for rebelliousness.

Regional bitterness was intensified by the May 1980 Gwangju massacre, in which about
200 and perhaps many more inhabitants of the capital of Jeollanam-do were killed by
government troops sent to quell an insurrection. Many of the troops reportedly were from
the Gyeongsang region.

Population settlement patterns

South Korea was one of the world's most densely populated countries, with an estimated
425 people per square kilometer in 1989--over sixteen times the average population
density of the United States in the late 1980s. By comparison, China had an estimated
114 people, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) 246 people, and Japan
323 people per square kilometer in the late 1980s. Because about 70 percent of South
Korea's land area is mountainous and the population is concentrated in the lowland
areas, actual population densities were in general greater than the average. As early as
1975, it was estimated that the density of South Korea's thirty-five cities, each of which
had a population of 50,000 or more inhabitants, was 3,700 people per square kilometer.
Because of continued migration to urban areas, the figure was doubtless higher in the
late 1980s.

The extreme crowding in South Korea in 1990 was a major factor not only in economic
development and in the standard of living but also in the development of social attitudes
and human relationships. More than most other peoples, South Koreans have had to
learn to live peacefully with each other in small, crowded spaces, in which the
competition for limited resources, including space itself, is intense. Continued population
growth means that the shortage of space for living and working will grow more severe.
According to the government's Economic Planning Board, the population density will be
530 people per square kilometer by 2023, the year the population is expected to
stabilize.

Koreans living overseas

By the end of 1988 there were over 2 million South Korean overseas residents. North
America was the preferred destination, as the choice of over 1.2 million. Korean
immigrants in the United States and Canada gained a reputation for hard work and
economic success. South Koreans also were overseas residents of Japan (at least
680,000), Central and South America (785,000), the Middle East (62,000), Western
Europe (40,000), New Zealand (30,000), other Asian countries (27,000), and Africa
(25,000). A limited number of South Korean government-sponsored migrants settled in
Chile, Argentina, and other Latin American countries.

Because of South Korea's rapid economic expansion, an increasing number of its

citizens reside abroad on a temporary basis as business executives, technical
personnel, foreign students, and construction workers. A small number of overseas
South Koreans had migrated back to South Korea primarily because of the much
improved economic conditions and the difficulties in adjusting to living abroad.

Ethnic groups

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South Korea is a homogeneous society with absolute majority of the population of
Korean ethnicity. In 1970, an estimate of 120,000 Chinese resided in South Korea.
However, due to economic restrictions by the Korean government, the number fell to
around 21,000 today. That number is suspect, however, due to the high number of
Chinese who now work and reside in Korea more or less permanently.

In a 10-year period starting in the late 1990s the number of Chinese in Korea exploded.
It is estimated that there are at least 300,000 and possibly more than 1,000,000 Chinese
citizens living in South Korea as permanent residents or illegal immigrants, including
Joseonjok (조선족/朝鮮族, Chinese citizens of Korean descent) and Han Chinese.[1]
There is a large Chinese community in Seoul's southwestern area (Daerim/Namguro)
and a smaller but established community in Seongnam. This community, known as
Hwakyo (화교, 華僑) by the Koreans, distrusts ordinary Koreans and tend to avoid those
unfamiliar to them.

There are migrant workers from Southeast Asia and increasingly from Eastern Europe,
and in the main cities, particularly Seoul, there is a small but growing number of
foreigners related to business and education. The number of marriages between
Koreans and foreigners has risen steadily in the past few years. In 2005, 14 percent of
all marriages in South Korea were marriages to foreigners (about 26,000 marriages).
Many Korean agencies encourage 'international' marriages to Chinese, Vietnamese and
Thai women, adding a new degree of complexity to the issue of ethnicity. [2]

There are also some 29,000 United States military personnel who are usually invisible to
most Koreans because they are restricted to their bases.

Languages

The Korean language is spoken by a vast majority of the population. English is widely
taught in primary school, middle school and high school, and continues to be taught in
higher education.

Middle school and High school students also begin to study a 2nd foreign language by
their second year. Most schools offer Japanese, Chinese, and German, and students
can learn basic proficiency. Private academies and private classes teach various
languages including Mandarin, Japanese, French, German, Russian, Vietnamese,
Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew. Still, a great emphasis is placed on English for
examination purposes.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise
indicated.

Growth
Year Population Age structure
rate

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 • 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 4,714,103/female
4,262,873)
• 15-64 years: 72.1% (male 18,004,719/female
2007 49,044,790 0.578% 17,346,594)

• 65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,921,803/female

2,794,698)
• 0-14 years: 18.9% (male 4,844,083/female
4,368,139)
• 15-64 years: 71.8% (male 17,886,148/female
2006 48,846,823 0.58% 17,250,862)

• 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 1,818,677/female

2,678,914)

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 4,714,103/female 4,262,873)

• 15-64 years: 72.1% (male 18,004,719/female 17,346,594)
• 65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,921,803/female 2,794,698)

Growth

• Birth rate: 9.38 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

• Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (August 2006 est.)
• Death rate: 5.94 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
• Infant mortality rate: 6.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
• Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio

• at birth: 1.13 male(s)/female

• under 15 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
• 15-99 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
• total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Life expectancy

• total population: 79.05 years

• male: 75.7 years
• female: 82.4 years (2007 est.)

Religions

Main article: Religion in South Korea

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 • Nonreligious: 46.92%
• Christianity: 29.25%
• Buddhism: 22.8%
• Confucianism: 0.23%
• Islam: 0.08%[3][4][5] - 0.27%*[6] (* If it includes foreign workers from Muslim
countries who have no citizenship)
• Other: 0.53% - 0.72%

Literacy

• Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

• total population: 97.9%
• male: 99.2%
• female: 96.6% (2002)

Sources: CIA World Factbook 2006; International Religious Freedom Report

2006

References

1. ^ Yonhap News recently used the smaller number in an article " No 'real'
Chinatown in S. Korea, the result of xenophobic attitudes" by Kim Hyung Jin
(August 29, 2006)
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20060829/4801000000200608290912
33E3.html but a story on the Korean Hwakyo community by Tsinghua University
reports the higher figure (“화교자본 끌어들이려면 화교사회 키워라”; in Korean)
http://www.tsinghua.co.kr/introduce/board_view_form.html?cpage=4&uid=193&b
oard_id=2&keyfield=&search_text=
2. ^ Onishi, Norimitsu. "Marriage brokers in Vietnam cater to S. Korean bachelors."
February 21, 2007. International Herald Tribune.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/21/news/brides.php
3. ^ "South Korea". Adherents.com. http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_341.html.
Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
4. ^ Baker, Don. "Islam Struggles for a Toehold in Korea". Harvard Asia Quarterly.
http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/167/. Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
5. ^ "Dynamic Korea: Muslims, a minority among minorities". The Jakarta Post.
2008-07-30. http://old.thejakartapost.com/community/korea3.asp. Retrieved on
2008-07-29.
6. ^ "Korea’s Muslims Mark Ramadan". The Chosun Ilbo. September 11, 2008.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809110016.html.
Retrieved on 2008-10-09.

• This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of

the Library of Congress Country Studies.
• This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of
the CIA World Factbook.

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