Data released by the Foreign Ministry last week showed that the number of Korean emigrants fell to a record low in 2014. Only 249 Koreans emigrated to foreign countries last year, down from 302 in the previous year. The figure marked the lowest since the government began compiling emigration data in 1962 when 386 people left the country to live abroad.
The number of Korean emigrants increased rapidly to a peak of 46,533 in 1976. Until the early 2000s, more than 10,000 Koreans emigrated annually. The number fell below the 10,000 mark in 2003 and shrank to less than 1,000 in 2010.
In contrast to the continuous decline in the number of emigrants, thousands of Korean compatriots overseas have returned home annually in recent years for permanent resettlement.
This phenomenon seems to result from the country’s economic advancement and improved living standards. It also suggests that Koreans’ discontent with what they see as deteriorating livelihoods may be better understood from a relative viewpoint.
A global public opinion survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Center in 2014 found that only 9 percent of Koreans felt satisfied with their present lives. The proportion was the lowest among the 44 surveyed countries except for Japan with 8 percent. Still, few Koreans now appear to consider emigration as a way of enabling them to live a better life.
In demographic terms, the negligible number of emigrants may be nothing for the country facing the gloomy prospect of population shrinkage to be concerned about. With its fertility rate ― the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her childbearing years ― remaining at 1.21 last year, Korea is expected to see its population begin shrinking in 2030.
Coupled with a continuing decrease in the number of Korean students studying abroad, however, the reduction of emigration to such low figures may not be overlooked as simply reflecting the country’s enhanced economic status in the world. According to data from the Education Ministry, 219,543 Korean students attended foreign universities and other institutions of higher learning in 2014, down from 262,465 in 2011. The decline appears to stem from the growing perception that foreign degrees are not appreciated as much as before in the country.
It may not be an exaggerated concern that the downward trends in emigration and overseas study can be a sign of Koreans losing their challenging spirit and tenacity that have enabled the country to ascend to a major economic powerhouse from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War. This character should not be weakened but strengthened, if Korea is to make another economic leap forward.
In order to further enhance its prosperity in a closer partnership with the global community, Korea may need to encourage more of its people to emigrate while seeking to accept more immigrants. Consideration should be given to granting dual nationality to overseas Koreans to provide them with more opportunities. Opening the doors of educational institutions here wider to emigrants’ offspring would also help maintain and expand the Korean diaspora network around the world.
