The causes and selectivity of internal migration in Korea

Jin Ho Choi, Ajou University

The main purpose of this paper is to examine reasons for move among inter-regional migrants and selectivity of migration in Korea. The main source of data for this analysis comes from raw data of the 1997 Special Migration Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office of Korea. The analysis revealed that among various reasons for move, employment related reason is the most important for inter-regional migrants. But for intra-regional migrants, housing related reason is prominent. As expected, reasons for move are varied with the individual attributes, such as age, sex, marital status, housing ownership and education level. The paper also deals with selectivity of migration, particularly for those who moved between the Capital Region and outside of the Capital Region as a whole. The analysis of selectivity found that young adults, singles in their marital status, and those who have a higher educational attainment are more likely to move.