The Impact of Rapid Urbanization on South Korean Family Composition and the Elderly Population in South Korea

This research uses data from the South Korean Census of Population to examine changes in population distribution across urban and rural areas of the country, and to examine changes in family composition. Findings are consistent with findings from similar published research in illustrating the impact of recent population and economic factors on traditional Korean Society. More specifically, the research examines movement of younger cohorts to urban areas, and an increasing proportion of individuals living in nuclear family households as opposed to the traditional stem family. The pattern of change in family composition has particular consequences for the elderly in Korean Society.