Cholla Sees More Moving In than Out for the First Time in 28 Years

Both north and south parts of the Cholla province in the southwest of Korea have for the first time in 28 years recorded greater levels of migration into the area than out.
Moreover, more men than women moved to other provinces, which is also a new phenomenon.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) on June 1 unveiled the 1998 national population's migration statistics, which showed that 1,481 more people had moved in to Cholla than those leaving it.
Cholla had displayed steep rates of migration out of the province in the region of between 20,000-130,000 people every year since 1990.
A source from NSO explained that, 'The recent economic turbulence prevented people from finding employment in Seoul, and therefore many have returned to their home towns.'
However, southeastern Kyongsang province has untiringly maintained outward migration since 1990.
The harsh economic slump also brought about diminished moving in 1998. There were 8.1 million national migrants - 660,000 less than in 1997.
Half of the total number of migrants were young people in their 20s and 30s, especially concentrated around the metropolitan areas.
Hwashik Bong : trojans@joongang.co.kr