Migrant Adjustment in Seoul, Korea: Employment and Housing

Abstract

To examine the role of the migrants in the job and housing markets, a sample survey of 1000 households in Seoul, Korea was conducted. For each sample household chosen, in an area probability sample based on the city registration lists, 1 household member, aged 15-45, was interviewed about employment, housing, migration and family histories, and the social and psychological adjustment in Seoul City of the respondent and his family members. Interveiws were completed for 978 cases in 2 rounds in 1974-75. An important feature of the sample was the inclusion of the control group of lifetime urban residents who were used as the standard by which migrants' adjustment was examined. This group comprised 27% of the sample. Additionally, the migrant group was subdivided according to length of residence in Seoul City. Those who resided there for fewer than 5 years were classified as recent migrants and comprised 20% of the sample. Longterm migrants, those with residence greater than 5 years, comprised 53% of the sample. Recent migrants were concentrated in the blue collar occupations, but there was virtually no difference between the occupational distributions of longterm migrants and lifetime urban residents. Lifetime urban residents showed higher unemployment rates and higher educational enrollment rates than either the recent or longterm migrants groups. There was a 10% differential favoring employment in modern industries (secondary and tertiary) among the lifetime urban residents; fewer than 40% of the recent migrants fell into the modern categories compared to 44% for longterm migrants, and over 50% for lifetime urban residents. Lifetime urban residents were significantly less likely to be employed in traditional service occupations than were recent migrants. Longer term migrants were intermediate for the tertiary traditional sector, but they were significantly less likely to be employed in the manufacturing or secondary sector, especially the modern secondary sector, possibly reflecting the job market upon their arrival in Seoul. Younger respondents were concentrated in blue collar occupations, but for those 25 years old and older more than half were employed in white collar occupations. The quality of dwellings for migrants and natives was measured in 3 areas: housing quality; neighborhood quality, and tenure status. To a certain extent migrants were in lower quality housing compared to urban natives, but this appeared to be due not to recency of migration itself but to other characteristics of the migrants. The relative position of recent, versus longterm migrants, was opposite to the expected pattern. The quality of the neighborhood of residence differed somewhat more for migrants and nonmigrants. The relative positions were as hypothesized: neighborhood quality increased with duration of residence. The range of differences was narrowed considerably when the effects of age, education, and income were removed. Owning or not owning one's house seemed related much more closely to the formation of attachments in the urban area, that is, commitment. Migrants through time do come to approximate the economic and housing patterns of lifetime urban residents.