1
Minsu Chung
1
⋅Uijung Kim
2
⋅Hyeonseo Lee
3
⋅Seongju Hong
4
⋅Dongryeol Lee
5
The Seoul Metropolitan Region (SMG) is disproportionately over-concentrated,
squeezing more than half of the population into a space just 12% of South Korea’s total
land area. The density has worsened from continued influx of young population. From
2015 to 2021, youth migrants were behind a 78.5% increase in the population of the
capital region, while dealing respective declines of 75.3%, 87.8%, and 77.2% in Dongnam,
Honam, Daegyeong Regions during the same period.
The persistent hemorrhage of productive youth force poses serious problems for the
non-capital areas. Depopulation has accelerated as the result of birth deficiency. In Honam,
the birth loss due to fewer young population across last two decades was equivalent to
49.7% of the number of newborns in 2021. The setback ratio was 31.6% for Daegeyeong
and 21.9% for Dongnam Regions. The shortage of youth force deepened labor mismatch
and damaged employment outside the capital region, worsening their environment to host
companies. The phenomenon portends secular implications for human capital and growth
potential outside the capital area due to the loss of the young with tertiary education.
The government paid utmost attention to regional development for decades to deter
polarization, but obviously to little avail as evinced by the increased concentration around
the capital. The consequence demands a reexamination in the even-growth model for
regional development by concentrating resources to breed core municipalities to maximize
policy effects and benefits from the economies of agglomeration.
Youth mobility pivoted towards the capital region stems not just from higher income
expectations but also from the disparities in social amenities such as entertainment and
medical facilities. All non-capital regions cannot grow to be as resourceful as Seoul area,
given the demographic and fiscal constraints. The most practical policy option would be
vitalization of core municipalities through maximization of agglomeration and spillover
benefits. Empirical studies of other countries support the effectiveness of big metropolitan
No. 2023-29
BOK ISSUE NOTE
Nov. 2, 2023
Regional Migration and Economy
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