Population Crisis: Korea is Going Extinct…Except SEOUL 🇰🇷 Why Half of Koreans Live in a Megacity
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- Опубліковано 4 лис 2023
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Korea's population is decreasing due to an extremely low birth rate and a rapidly aging population. Smaller cities and towns are gradually disappearing not just due to these factors, but because young Koreans are increasingly migrating to Seoul. The greater Seoul area now contains over 50% of Korea's population, which is just over 11% of Korea's landmass. In this mini documentary, we discuss why this is happening, and what (if anything) can be done about this issue.
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Mentioned:
📍 Samseong Stn., Daechi Stn., Gangnam Stn.
📹 Korea's vanishing small towns: • Korea's Population Cri...
📹 Experience teaching English in Korea: • Teaching in Seoul, Kor...
📄 Sources/Articles
www.theargus.org/news/article...
english.hani.co.kr/arti/engli...
english.hani.co.kr/arti/engli...
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/...
www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nati...
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/...
www.joongang.co.kr/article/32...
www.index.go.kr/unity/potal/m...
news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2...
www.joongang.co.kr/amparticle...
medion.re.kr/pt/hospital/sele...
kosis.kr/statHtml/statHtml.do...
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I know these "documentary" style videos are a lot of work, but boy...i have learned so much from them! Your perspective is so personal, because you're living in the midst of what you're talking about.👍
Sooo glad to hear that 🥹
Our poor backs and necks definitely need a break for a couple of days, for sure 😅
@@2hearts1seoulhow about extreme capitalism in south Korea and demografi collapse
I am from England, and there is most definitely a divide when it comes to city living and smaller towns. As a recent graduate from university, I have found the transition from living in a large city during my studies to moving back to my home town very challenging. The difference in opportunities, ability to socialise, and be around likeminded younger people is non-existent now that I no longer live in a city centre. I would love the opportunity to move back, however the cost of living crisis in the UK is possibly the worst it has ever been, making money a scarcity and the ability to pay rent without student maintenance loans from the government almost impossible! So for now, saving money and moving back to a larger city for better opportunities is my main priority.
**Kyuho tumbling down the mountainside** Conglomeratttteeeeee 😮🙃😯🙃
😂😂
The country that I live in also experiences the same centralisation however it is extremely difficult to actually pay rent in the capital city so most young people are forced to stay in the suburbs/countryside/smaller cities and waste about 4-5h every day on transport to the capital where our jobs are. We all want to move to the capital to be closer to our jobs but our salaries are some of the lowest in Europe and the rent and food prices are some of the highest. So I feel like this is the reason why centralisation hasn't really happened to the extreme extent that we can observe in Seoul. I've just come home from a month in Seoul and I was shocked by how affordable everything was, from eating out to public transport (for instance one bus ride in Seoul is about 1500 won which is half the price of the bus ride in my country). Even stuff like convenience stores for instance are so affordable. You can get a full meal at a convenience store for pretty cheap. McDonald's is like 3 times cheaper than in my country. And the amazing Korean restaurants are uncomparably cheaper (like gimbap cheonguk or even more advanced restaurants are so affordable). The only thing that was a bit expensive was fruit but even then I could buy mandarins and apples pretty comfortably. I also loved how many parks there are in Seoul - it feels like you can take a breather from the city and go to for instance Seoul Forest or go hiking and you don't even really need to leave the greater Seoul area for that. I know it's different for people who are actually living and working there but to me Seoul really felt like heaven on earth. It made me understand why everyone wants to live there even though their reasons are access to better jobs and education. The city itself is unbelievably "user friendly" if I can use that phrase, really made for extreme comfort and convenience of its residents. Everything is so easy in Seoul. Fast, efficient, beautiful, affordable, great food. I wouldn't live outside of Seoul even if the companies implemented remote work LOL whereas in my own country I would give anything to work remotely so I wouldn't have to go to the capital every day.
Basically what I wanted to say before I got carried away was that everyone commuting to the capital every morning and then back in the afternoon creates another problem that Seoul doesn't really have. We have extreme traffic jams because everyone is going to the capital from their homes in the suburbs twice a day. In that way I think Seoul has it much better. I travelled around with buses and subways in Seoul even during rush hour and it was not nearly as bad as it is in my country during rush hours when everyone is on the road (most people here have a car plus we don't have a subway so everyone that doesn't have a car has to go by bus...so ALL the traffic is just on the roads).
Commuting that many hours a day to get to and from your job is insane :(
We choose to live in Seoul for most of the points you mentioned. If you think Korea is ‘cheap’ now, you should’ve visited 3-4 years ago before inflation became nuts 🥲 The traffic in Seoul is NUTS no matter what time of day though (except for very late at night), which is why we don’t even think about buying a car. We’d get there in 1/3 of the time on public transport anyway, but we always try to avoid commuting during rush hour because the crowds on the subway are panic-attack inducing 😰
@@2hearts1seoul Yeah the long commute is one of the things that drains me the most and contributes the most to my job dissatisfaction LOL I really wish I could work from home but remote work is not very common here sadly. Like you mentioned, one of the amazing things about Seoul as well is that you don't need a car! I have a license but I don't own a car (I'm not very fond of driving) so living in Seoul would be great for me. Public transport is absolutely amazing, I only used the subway maybe 10 times in total, otherwise I just took the bus everywhere, I loved how on time they were and despite the crazy traffic there were no delays. Really an amazing city.
I’ve been watching you guys’ videos for years and I’m amazed at how the quality keeps improving week after week! I know these documentary-like videos must be a lot of work so I wanted to say thanks for making my Sunday’s better! This was very informative and held my attention the entire time, keep up the good work! ❤️
Wow, thank you so much! 🥹
Loved hearing about this perspective and really enjoyed this style of video!
I live in a rural part of the UK and and the general consensus is that we're a forgotten part of the country. There are very little work opportunities and the facilities we do have access to are quite limited. I'd ideally like to move closer to one of the bigger cities for the exact same reasons you guys spoke about: better infrastructure, education, job opportunities, healthcare. I'm currently lucky enough to work remotely but I think for the future i'd need to think seriously about whether this is the right place to stay. So much emphasis is put on the larger cities that the smaller towns and villages are forgotten 😔
I live in the UK too, again not in a big city like yourself. Jobs within my area are limited in the industry that I am wanting to go into, there's only 2 jobs that i have seen posted that are within a reasonable distance from my house... all the decent jobs seem to be down south - mainly in London!
Hey Guys, I really enjoyed this topic, just a little remark for the future about the captions in the video. It would be better to use stronger colors or font with that it is easier to read. In some scenes the letters dissapeared into the backround. These topics are a really important in these days and times to discuss. Thank you and keep it up!!
Thanks for the tip! 😊
Back in 2015 when i studied in Seoul I took the slow train to Busan...and was shocked how abandoned and neglected the streets, the country side and other cities looked the further I got away from seoul. those images stuck in my mind..
I love these type of videos (and long ones♡) thank you!
I have lived in Daejeon for about 8 years. I’ve traveled to Seoul a lot and it definitely has perks, but I would never want to live there 😅 My husband is from Daejeon, so we have lots of friends and family around and both have businesses here. It’s an amazing city with lots of nature, milder weather (not as many typhoon like in Busan and not as cold as Seoul), great public transportation, etc. The best part is that there is SO MUCH less traffic and we can drive to other cities in Korea really easily or take the train. In Seoul, parking is a nightmare and driving is so stressful, so I definitely see why Seoulites drive less. We go to the mountains a lot and from our house it takes about 20 minutes and we are in a lush mountain area with lots of cafes and restaurants. Seoul is great for a lot of things, but I think the pressure and competitive nature there is way too high. Daejeon is more of a technology/science/medical city, so we still have lots of companies based here and a lot of universities like KAIST that are popular with foreign students who come to do PhDs in engineering and other tech and science fields.
I’ve met a lot of people who are originally from other places, including Seoul, and they have mixed feelings sometimes about living in Daejeon. Some say it’s so much better because it’s calmer, easier to get around, people are more friendly, and it’s less stressful. Others say it’s “boring” and that we don’t have as much to do. I think with a country as small as Korea, I’m happy living in a city like Daejeon where there is perhaps “less” overall but better quality of life. We are next to Sejong which has seen a lot of growth recently with real estate, etc. so we have lots of new businesses popping up. Also, if I ever want to go to a specific restaurant or concert that’s only in Seoul, I can take a 50 min train and be there but then go home to my nice quiet neighborhood.
Our neighborhood has TONS of families and our pediatrician’s office is usually swamped after school lets out during flu season. We definitely see the strain it takes on medical staff when there are less doctors to go around. But usually I can go to a doctor or dentist any time and be seen in a reasonable time frame.
I’m from a VERY small town in the US and I tell people I’m from the country (시골) and some Korean people tell me they think Daejeon is the countryside/시골 which I think is CRAZY because my hometown has less than 200,000 people whereas Daejeon has over 1.5 million. It’s all about perspective and your personal experience. I had a friend who was miserable when she lived closer to Sejong before there was much going on there, and she moved to Seoul and had a much better time.
It’s similar with Japan - I lived in Kyoto and Fukuoka but never in Tokyo and I would never have wanted to live in Tokyo because of how stressful and cramped and hectic it gets. But some people totally prefer it because all the top brands and universities are there. But when people want to relax they always get away to somewhere quieter and more peaceful.
대전 == 노잼, ㅎㅎㅎ
Sejong == nothing but govt offices and apartments, ㅋㅋㅋ
I heard that downtown Daejeon people do not consider 유성구 as part of Daejeon, hahaha
Many people call Daejeon 노잼 city😂but the city has both futuristic and old town vibes, so many science&technology institutions+cute little villages and beautiful nature!
My parents are from Daejeon and my grandmothers still live in the city so I visit there every holiday. I have lots of fond memories in Daejeon(especially in 꿈돌이랜드 and 성심당 lol).
I am from Sweden. Here, you can live in the capital or the smallest of small cities and still have the same opportunities. One of our big strength is definitely how our education is designed. Here, we don't rank schools! Every school is the same in term of status from elementary to university. Often, our universities are more divided by what you can study there. Some school are more focused on engineering while other more towards medicine, but that won't make that school "better" than any other. As long as you study the relevant program for your future job, they don't care where you got your degree. All schools in the country have the same grading system and the only factor is what this one student got on their tests. We don't focus on memorization or those multiple choice tests, but rather on the kids analytical skill. Can they argue for their answer, do they actually understand what the subject is about and those things. No one can see the other students score, unless they themselves decides to show it. Education is also free in Sweden, plus there are a lot of help from the government to make sure that any person who wants to study at a university can get the finance and living (even if they have to move) so they can get the degree they want. If your grades from high school are not great, we have like 2-3 more options for people to make their chances higher so they can get into university later in life.
One big difference is also, here you don't enroll to a university! You enroll to a course or a program. A program consists of many courses, all you need to get a specific degree. But you can get the same degree by applying to all those courses as "stand alone courses", but then there won't be a guarantee that you'll get every course, since they prioritise the people in the programs first. But that also means that you can study at 5 different universities all at the same time, but it doesn't cost you anything.
This all sounds fantastic 🥹
The #1 most appealing and freeing aspect of Seoul for me is the fact that such a large city with everything you could possibly need is also a very safe and clean city. I can't think of a large city in the U.S. that would compare.
Live in New Zealand and definitely think we have a problem with Auckland being over centralised, but not at quite the same level as Seoul! My husband and I actually tried to move to a smaller town a few years ago but struggled to find work close by so were commuting back into Auckland, and 3 hours in a car daily was so bad for us in all ways 😢 so we moved back in. We couldn't afford to miss the opportunities of career growth in our 20s/30s
3 hours a day commuting must have been SO exhausting 😩 I used to commute 2-3 hours a day for university and I hope I never have to do that again…so draining.
서울에 부모님 본가가 있는 게 특권이라는 말이 나오듯이 서울에 집이 있는 것 자체가 여러 면에서 삶의 질을 높여주는 것 같아요. 저 1년동안 대학교 통학할 때 편도 2시간 30분 걸렸었는데 결국 나머지 3년은 학교 앞에 방 구해서 살았거든요😂서울에 집 있어서 자취 비용 안 드는 친구들 부럽더라고요ㅠㅠ저는 지금도 서울 밖에 살고 있어서 어딘가로 이동할 때 한 시간은 기본이고 한 시간 반정도면 나쁘지 않다고 생각하는데 서울에 오래 산 친구들은 30분 이상 이동하면 멀다고 생각하더라고요ㅋㅋㅋ뭐든 서울에 다 있으니까 여행 외에는 장거리 이동할 이유가 없는거죠.
사람들이 서울로, 서울로 하는 가장 근본적인 이유는 일자리 때문이라고 생각하는데, 가장 현실적인 대책은 대기업 본사들을 지방으로 이전하는 방법밖에는 없다고 생각해요...솔직히 그게 아니라면 어느 누가 지방 가서 살까싶거든요.
지옥철 없는 출퇴근길을 상상하며ㅠㅠconglomerate 발음 배우고 갑니다ㅎㅎ
이번 브이로규멘터리도 시간 가는줄 모르고 봤네요. 감사합니다🤓
In Greece too most of the population lives in Athens. Love Seoul.
I love these videos y'all do of important topics like this. I feel like I learn so much.
Thank you sooo much! So glad to hear that 🥹
"conglomerate" 😂😂😂 "it's raining...conglomerate 😃"
Wow what a thorough and informative video. I hope we get more of these vlogumentaries in the future ! Also I loved the ending with the bloopers 😆
I grew up in Ivory Coast (west Africa). I’m half Taiwanese, half Ivorian. And I feel like the same thing is happening in Ivory Coast. Or maybe even worse. Everything happens in the capital: Abidjan. It is so saturated and expensive that a lot of people who work inside the city have to live in nearby cities, making them have very long commute to work (sometimes 3 hours long). Also because everyone wants to work in Abidjan, the traffic is hell. 😫 anyway I could go on about this but it would be too long 😅
I live in a small town in France, and the biggest city is one hour away by car. I envy the liveliness of a city and I love going to this city for a shopping day, BUT! I'm so happy going back to my home, in a quite area. Plus, I have a huge garden full of trees and birds, it's so peaceful after a day in the city! And there's basically everything I need in my town ( though I don't particularly like it). It's okay, because what I care about is spending time in a quiet cozy place, or with my friends. But I still wish the big city was a little bit nearer, it would be fun to go there whenever I feel like it. And I really miss not being able to go to cool exhibitions or events... but too many people in cities.. arrgh🤯 hard to have a definite opinion. Xx
I spent my first year in Korea in Daegu. There didn't feel like much happening in Daegu, even though it's one of Korea's biggest cities. I really didn't enjoy Daegu (sorry to anyone who is reading this from Daegu), and was about to give up on living in Korea, when I decided to give Seoul a try. There was just SOOOO much more to see and do and it was much easier to make new contacts in Seoul, that I stayed another 5 years in Korea.
Honestly, if you’re a ‘foreigner in Korea’ as well, there are so many more opportunities to connect with people and make friends in Seoul, which is so important, imo~
I lived in Daegu for 13 years - loved it. I think speaking fluent Korean helped. Seoul was okay. Different strokes for different folks.
This has always been a problem, even when I lived in Seoul over 3 decades ago. I don't know if it will ever change. Quite frankly if I ever went back there to retire, I wouldn't live in Seoul.
Finally learning how to say conglomerate thanks to Kyuho :D
Another great video guys, I really appreaciate the effort (research, filming, editing etc) you out into your vlogumantaries. I'm learning so much from it! As someone born and raised in Germany I have to say there's also a move of young people to big cities - the good thing is though that we have several of them so it's not all of us wanting to go to the same city. Plus it's very common to move around a lot for university and jobs so especially in our 20s we will move like a lot. That's not to say there's no problems because rent in big cities is crazy and all that but I guess it's not like Korea where you only have Seoul as an option for most and nothing else. I went to Korea for vacation a couple of times and also visited smaller cities which I really liked, it's so beautiful! It's sad to think some of these places might be abandoned soon because no one wants to live there anymore.
dang see this is why i love being subscribed to you guys~ you put in so much effort and talk about real life & interesting/important topics, all while managing to show korea's beauty! i do consider you to be a 'coupe channel' but you're also so much more than that~ i cant name any other 'couple content' that i actually enjoy, their relationship becomes their entire personality and its so cringe and awkward to watch, i hate it lmao. you two present yourselves in such a lovely way, we get to see you're beautiful relationship and little snippets of your life, but you also teach us so much, you make content with a worthwhile purpose~~ absolutely love it! it's a pleasure to watch you guys grow, i hope you continue sharing your journey with us
Wow…what a comment 🥹 Thank you so much for the kind words, it really means a lot 🥰
I live in Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario Canada). About an hour or so away by car to Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). I know definitely when I was younger I thought I had to go and live in the GTA in order to get big salaries and conveniences but over time Kitchener-Waterloo has improved. There are still a lot of companies centralized in the GTA but some are moving out due to the high cost of being in the GTA.
Because of the pandemic, this has changed a lot too because remote or hybrid work is more common nowadays here in Canada, especially in my industry so more people are working for these corporations in the GTA but doing it remotely from Kitchener-Waterloo. I still strive to one day work for one of these larger global companies as well, but I hope they move out of the GTA first... I don't want to go there anymore. I used to in my 20's for sure but now being 31 I prefer the city life without the insane GTA traffic and busy-ness. I even bought a house in Kitchener-Waterloo knowing I would only drive to the GTA and never live there even if I work there, I'd rather commute.
Slowly by surely the Ontario Government is trying to make transit going to the GTA accessible and affordable. Sadly as Sarah probably knows, Canada relies on vehicles and not public transportation. Even in medium to large cities people still prefer their vehicles unless they are students or low income and have to rely on public transportation. I wish our systems were better. Maybe in a couple decades (yes Canada is especially slow in getting public transit fixed so I don't see any vast improvements for a LONG time... and only if a government focusing on public transportation comes into power).
Canada’s reliance on vehicles is so unfortunate, but with the size of the country, I wonder if better transit systems are even possible 😩
Love this type of series! Educational and eye-opening. I grew up in Boston, so I'm used to city life, and the public transportation system is similar, though not on time, and it's always late. S Korea has such a great transportation system. I'm jealous.
I moved away from Boston to another city town and it was familiar to me because it's similar. Though the city I moved to Texas has meh transportation system. It still familiar. Anyways. thank you.
Excellent video. Also, great Kyuho! Sara is good at breaking down words. Good teaching skills 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Decentralization should be strategy implemended in politics. Rather building smaller cities across the country and across the coast area. This is happening across all developed nations. People are mpving to biggee cities and smaller towns being left behinde.
This was really informative and interesting to watch. You guys did a great job! I really appreciate that you guys take the time to make these types of videos 😊
Also, I laughed so hard at the bloopers of Kyuho trying to say “conglomerate” 😂
I look forward each week to your post. I appreciate your documentary style vlogs. I’m in Canada. Ontario. I used to live in southern Ontario, where the population density is significantly higher than northern Ontario (my current location). When I lived in southern Ontario, I used to work remotely 2-3 days a week. It was an hour commute to the office. When covid hit, our office went remote with one staff on site in the office. When I moved north, my job became 100% remote. Post Covid closures, most of my co-workers are working remotely about 70% of the time rather than going back to the everybody in the office at one time model. There are news stories that major cities have empty office buildings due to the increase of remote offices. Ottawa news reported about 1 empty office building being renovated and turned into apartments. It was a long expensive project, but it is held as an example that might help with the inner city housing shortages.
and the wind whispered *conglomerate*
STOPPP 😂😂😂
Very interesting information, well presented. Thank you for all the time and effort you both put in.
Great video. You’ve done so much research. Thank you.
I’m currently living 15-20 minutes outside of NYC. When I was younger I wanted to live in Manhattan but now I want more house space and quiet. I’ve thought of moving to other areas of the country in the big cities too. There’s definitely differences between being in the countryside smaller towns compared to the metropolitan areas. Some places are sufficient while others are quite desolate. There are parts of the US that are not as developed as the others. The disparities are quite apparent.
Living 15-20 mins outside of a large city sounds like a great balance 😄
Interesting doc.. My husband is a korean and he doesnt like seoul because #1 - its too crowded, #2- always traffic jam #3 - too urbanised, #4-expensive. hahah He lives an hour away from Seoul and works in Large semiconductor company, most of time if we do need to go Seoul it is only for something to do there :)
well i live in a small town and yes we have just about everything there...we don't have a hospital but we have a clinic...doctors offices in the area...dentista 4 pharmacies...3 labs...1 high school and 4 primary schools...but people take to not let their town be less compared to the big cities... the mayors of each town create festivals to attract more money to these towns and to attract people to stay in our town...thank you for sharing...if you were the government what would you do to help these towns that are fading away with time
I live in Bulgaria and I'm in my 20s and I have said it before and I'll say it again - it's like you're talking about my country. It's a big issue here too. For the last years I have felt like the government treats Sofia (our capital city) like it's the only city in the country. Nobody gives a damn about smaller cities. For the record I do NOT live in Sofia and I'm strongly against that because to be honest life there is so much lorse and harder than it is in the smaller cities. But everything you have said in this video can be applied to Bulgaria too.
'Conglomerate' part killed me xDDD
I'm from Australia (this is a lot to read, sorry!):
I'm currently studying to be a Registered Nurse in Australia and you have to do placements, in which they "force" you to do a rural/regional placement.
A bit of context I'm studying in a big 'regional city' but NOT to the size of say Sydney or Brisbane, and they still push us students to study even farther remote/rural locations because they have always struggled having more permanent people working in those areas (ageing society and younger people moving to bigger cities, because of the same examples you gave-except for public transport, ours is garbage all around), and they do this to try and promote students to potentially move there.
I've also met many RNS (from overseas) moving to my regional city because they'll get more "points" from the government towards getting their permeant residency/citizenship, same with many GP Doctors I've met, highly skilled workers moving into regional cities or even more remote towns as the government makes them as a step to attain their permanent residency visas/working towards citizenship.
The government is trying but, Australia is unique in that it's such a massive country with a much smaller population than Korea, and we just don't have the people, infrastructure, facilities etc.
Also we're going through a massive rental crisis and price inflation, so unfortunately a lot of people are unable to live in those big cities like Sydney, which is quite dangerous because first responders (RNs, Police, Ambulance, etc) can't afford to live where they work. and so we're getting this push back effect, where people living in the bigger cities are moving elsewhere but then that price jacks everything in the regional cities, and people in regional cities aren't able to cope with the huge inflation, and cost of living. So it's just a mess.
But the main incentive is money driven, the government are coming out with these work contracts and bonus incentives, but the longest contract I've seen is a 2 year one, but then eventually they'll move back to where their family and friends are, which is where they grew up. (This is RN specific sorry)
Woahhhh, that is a complicated yet fascinating situation. That’s so interesting that the Australian government gives more points to those trying to get citizenship if they move to regional cities! Thanks so much for sharing this :)
It's a very specific set of circumstances, but I think as you say bigger cities just have more opportunities, and generally easier to fund projects because that base infrastructure is already there. So I think governments worldwide will struggle to incentivise families to move out of places that have become home, and have all the requirements for a city full of opportunities and 'hope' for a better future for their communities. I think it's potentially easier to get younger people into other cities, if the right set of circumstances are met, like you said with Busan - improving facilities, business etc But yeah, loved the video, keep it up you 2
Australia's situation sounds similar to Canada. Canada is the second largest country in the world, but around 90% of the population lives within a couple of hours of the U.S. border. I know the Canadian government tries to recruit immigrants to the less populated provinces. Ironically I know someone who moved here from Spain last year. They considered many of the less populated provinces, but ultimately picked Ontario (Toronto specifically). They found even though some less populated provinces offered financial incentives they found the paperwork and lack of government assistance ultimately deterred them from immigrating to those provinces.
Closer to the core also means more infrastructure in place, transit, health care and urbanism.
Hey guys, enjoyed the video. Conglomerate!😁 I can totally understand why Seoul is central and so attractive for young people, esp. and their futures. I think those issues are similar in many countries. I'm in the US and many small towns are dying or dead because of many of the same reasons. Also, I was wondering if you guys could do a video on unique places you've never ever been in Seoul! (I've seen some yutbrs who use the same kind of little mic and have it pinned on their shirts...it might make it easier and more convenient, so you can be hands free👍)
Exact same thing is happening in Istanbul, Turkey.
Thank you for this vlogumentary. Very interesting! It seems that this centralization in an urban center would be very hard on farming families because they do need health and education services. Hope traditional best farming practices aren't lost. I live with my parents in a rural area in Maryland, USA. The suburban sprawl is constantly growing, though. I see so much of South Korea is undeveloped and remains forest, natural, and cultivated space, which is so wonderful. I appreciate the cultural diversity of cities but prefer large expanses of forested space without dense population. We all need more green space to flourish and preserve our mental health!
I’m in the US and went from a smaller city outside of Detroit to Chicago & recently went back. I miss the conveniences & community that comes with a bigger city with public transportation. Overall the city has a wider range of things to do & see - more amenities that I’m now missing dearly.
The city I grew up in although still a city seems more like a small town.
🎉Great video, loved the ending😅
I live in the Philippines and our capital is Manila. We often go there by car (I live a 2-3 hour drive away) and I do admit that it is so much easier to live in cities where there is a lot to do. More opportunities and activities. However, our public transportaton system sucks so we are a very car-centric country. Ive been to Seoul myself and I fell in love with the city because of the ease of transportation. I heavily relate to being amazed by how connected everything is in Seoul. But I must say that not all of my peers want to move to Manila because of the heavy traffic and high cost of living.
흥미로운 주제 좋네요. 영상화질도 4K로 훨씬 깔끔해서 잘 봤습니다~
Loved! Sorry Kyuho😊….but, Sarah you missed your calling as an on-camera reporter. 😂Excellent guys. It must have taken a lot of work. Well done! ❤ I work in NYC and live in Queens (technically still NYC). We definitely don’t have the same reasons for people to move here, as we have a lot of cities in the US that can give people the same things NYC can. With that said, people just want to live here for the obvious reason that it is NYC. I can only liken it to foreigners, yours truly included, wanting to move to Seoul, just because it’s Seoul and looks like a great place to live. 😍
❤ from New Zealand
I love watching your vlogs because they are relatable and give us “normal” folk a real perspective ❤❤❤❤
Thank you for all the research you did for this video, the workload doesn't get lost on me when you bring up all the numbers, statistics and interesting tidbits. and you also manage to make it interesting and not too info dumpy. I think SK is a fascinating place.
Thank you so much for the very kind words 🥹
These types of videos are definitely quite a bit of work 😅
Please do a Tim's taste test when they open! Im curious if the flavours are the same as Canada
Yeah, ask them for a double double and see if they’re confused or if they’ve done the appropriate cultural training 😂
I NEED my Iced Cap 👀
This was fascinating... and kind of frightening... having lived through the Christchurch earthquakes it makes you really consider centralised cities and how vulnerable they are. On another note, Sarah your eyes are looking gorgeous - can we please have an update on your eye surgery... Also I believe you mean Amenities 13:28
I’m from England and have lived in my city “garden of England” from birth and living 35/40 mins train ride to London. Being 30 I have noticed a huge change in my city. Our local council and government are trying to make us into a more larger city environment. Building flats where ever possible to keep up with the growing population because families and people are moving from “London” (not just central) to have a place where it’s cheaper to mortgage and not being that far to travel into the capital to work. I work in a hospital and it’s becoming very difficult to keep up with the demand of patients due to the increase of population in my area so much so that most of us who live here want to move further north due to the increase and because houses are cheaper. However that means work will be less and income will be less so it’s a hard balance to find. We are still living with my partners parents because of the cost of living is so high here now so it’s very hard to find a place that is affordable and not too far for our type of job role.
But it’s so interesting to see the changes they are trying to make to make more than just one large city to spread the work opportunities and. Or be so centralised
아주 흥미로운 주제의 다큐입니다~ 저 또한 다양한 기회가 많고 인프라가 잘 갖춰져 있는 서울에서 살고 싶네요.
영상에서 말씀하신대로 공기업/공공기관 지방 이전에 따라 수많은 기구가 세종 등으로 내려갔는데요... KTX로 1~2시간이면 전국 어디를 갈 수 있는 한국의 특성상
기관/회사들을 공간적으로 분산시키더라도 그곳과 관련하여 종사하는 인구의 생활 반경은 서울을 비롯한 수도권을 잘 벗어나지 않는 것 같네요.
I have been really enjoying the documentaries. Opens up some great topics of discussion. These types of conversations also are not just for Korea but is occurring in other countries as well. It is interesting to look at Korea, though, as it seems more like an extreme case.
Thank you so much-so glad you’ve been enjoying them :)
I love these sorts of videos.
I've lived in London all my life and, although the population density here isn't as dense as in Seoul, density is relatively high here than in other cities and towns across the country. That being said, there aren't any areas that I know of that have such a severe lack of amenities and infrastructure as villages and towns outside of Seoul - put I guess that's also because of birth rate is higher.
There is something called the postcode lottery here though, where education/healthcare, etc. are unevenly distributed depending on your postcode/where you're born.
At the moment, the government is planning to create 15 minute cities, where everything that's needed is within 15 minute's walking distance from where people live. These have proved quite controversial as people think the government wants people to stop moving around freely, but it's really just a way to reduce unnecessary car journeys and pollution. I think it'll also help prevent what you've been discussing from happening too in some ways, as it ensures areas outside of London have decent infrastructure in place.
Very interesting video, thanks!
The outtakes were just too good, was laughing soo much haha 🤣🤣
It is so serious issue in korea.
Thank you for your various and precise analysis.
I can speak only about my two experiences. I come from Spain and there was always a gradual swift to the big cities BUT compared to Seoul we have excellent universities across the country, which are specialised in different fields. Therefore it's quite common to move let's say from the capital to a small city due to your university studies. Sames applies to the country I am living now: Germany. Germans move like crazy for studying and working. Example: I have friends who were born in the south, their parents relocate during middle school to West, they attend university in the East, do semesters abroad and finish their master in other regions. This is very European. We just fucking move. I personally for education purpose only, attend 3 different schools in 3 countries, University in 2 countries as well.
On the topic of big vs small city. Here in Germany home office is super extend and many companies offer this option. Therefore a lot of people is moving to the country side where plot is cheaper. Education is great in general, therefore the opportunities for good education does not slack because of living in a small town/province.
Very interesting-thanks so much for sharing!
We honestly wonder SO much if Korea had more of a remote work culture, would people here be more willing to live further outside of Seoul? 🤔
It's one of the solutions in order to promote small cities. You can work for a big/medium company but do your living in your neighbour/small city (groceries, school, doc, dinning). It could be a solution but given the work culture of Asia, which life balance is almost non existent...will be difficult to apply. It's a problem of lifestyle. Europeans tend to have a more stable life/work balance. North Americans or Asian develop economies not su much.
This video was so interesting and informative! I am a high school English teacher in the US so I found all the education information really interesting and so different from where I’m teaching.
I think it’s great that those small villages/towns can return back to nature.
This was a GREAT vlog and very informative and I learned so much. Thank you both for your time, research and effort on this one! Way to go Kyuho to pronounce "conglomerate"!!!
Thanks SO much! Really appreciate it! 😄
I am in the middle of moving back to Seoul (lived there before) after moving to and living in Busan for 1 year. Busan is such a beautiful city and the beaches are amazing, I would even say, Busan is the most beautiful city in Korea. So why am I going back to Seoul? Even tho Busan is such a big city, there is not enough going on :( I like to go out to events, socialize and just be out and about surrounded by people, and that is best in Seoul. Busan is good if you want a more chill vibe, away from the masses. But if you are looking for more opportunities (job wise and in private life), Seoul just offers so much more. Busan would need to 1: offer more jobs, get more good companies. 2: offer more entertainment 3: make it more attractive to younger people to live here... 😢
If Busan gets to host the World Expo in 2030, that would be a big chance for them to expand and attract more people.
We’ve read how there’s currently a sort of mass exodus of young people from Busan for the very reasons you mentioned :( It’s also one of the fastest aging (if not THE fastest aging) large cities in Korea.
I grew up in a rural village close to a smaller city in Italy. It is the same thing there. Move to the cities for opportunity for education and work and specialised healthcare. I moved to Montreal, Canada and loved it when I first came here 15 years ago. It was like a small town with a large city feel. Now it is getting too big and crowded to my liking (nothing like Seoul!)...LOL I always preferred a rural area close to a smaller city or larger town. Canada is having this issue too where people want to settle in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver. Health care and education as well as opportunities are better. Our healthcare is struggling even in the larger cities but nothing like the smaller towns. I can work anywhere and everywhere as I am a nurse and the demand is everywhere and they even pay well in smaller towns and the cost of living is a lot less. I stay in Montreal for the convenience and culture. I am the one who works in the countryside. I go and work for three days and then go home and have the rest of the week off. I could never live where I work as there is nothing in terms of culture, restaurants, cafes. I do not have kids and if I did I would prefer sending them to a school in Montreal. Much better schools and quality of education, the schools where I work are dismal. Kids can barely read and write in French nevermind English!
Great documentary, I live in the United States in Las Vegas, so city life. I don't think I could live in a small town.
Looove all your videos! And the bloopers at the end 💯😂
Hahaha, thank youuu!
I live in NYC but grew up in an area where everything was minimum 30 minute drive by car. I moved here to study in my creative field & then stayed, because the particular styles I'm interested in just didn't exist where I grew up. Public transportation is definitely great to have, though I'm jealous of your 3-5 minutes (the MTA is inconsistent at best). Now that I've lived in cities for around 10 years vs. my 20 years in rural areas, when I do leave I really miss the saturation of it. There's so many good people, places, and food....buying a snack because you want it at 11:30 at night is such a city luxury that I treasure.
Also I love a beautiful cafe, Seoul has been on my list to visit for that reason alone for a while (though there are many!).
Conglomerate! 👏
Those late night snack runs in the city is something I still never take for granted! 🏃♀️
SK needs to take a good look of this education situation. Parents put so much pressure ton their kids to do well. Too much stress for the kids. SK needs to ease up on this.
Such an interesting topic. So I'm from Mexico and living in ther 3rd largest city here (Guadalajara) I think I didn't give much thought to this, however I think the situation here is similar, Mexico city having super large popultation, horrible traffic jams, gentrification... and my city just keeps growing, commuting time is getting longer, public services and transport are not good enough, large buildings are being build (it was rare to see it maybe 10 years ago), and for my experience in university and now as office worker a lot of my coworkers come from other cities in Mexico (smaller ones). Also instead of wanting to moving to the capital I think my generation wants to move abroad, somethings in Mexico don't seem to get better so I guess that is the reason.
On other hand I was a exchange student in Daegu in 2016 maybe cause is similar to the city I come from I found it comfortable, but of course that was as a student who lived in the dorm and had everything to live there, there was enough events and entertaining for us so I was really happy during my time there.
Anyway, thank you for this informative video + letting me know how to properly say conglomerate 😅😂 Have a nice week guys😊
Thanks guys for another cool documentary style video. I always find your videos of this type to be very interesting. I hope that Korea is able to do some thing about this mass exodus from smaller towns. I live in the US. And you could live just about anywhere. There are gonna be places that are going to have better public transportation amongst other things. But I don’t think that it’s as polarized as Seoul in South Korea.
You guys did a great job breaking down a complex issue. Where I live, it’s mostly a balance of people flocking to the big cities and people moving to less crowded ones because traffic, lifestyle, etc. That outro got me rofl 😂
Yeah, I feel like Canada is fairly similar! It helps that there’s more of a remote work culture too.
Hahah glad you enjoyed it! 😂
I have loved watching your videos since years, and it makes me so incredibly happy to see the progression. I really enjoyed the last scene of today's video! It made me smile so much! I'm so excited to continue watching you guys. Much love from Germany
Wow, thank you so much for sticking around for all this time 🥹❤️
The cities near by Seoul also want to join the mega city.
Love your videos. Whenever I watch, I can't wait to return to Korea. But in today's video, isn't it Daechi "Dong", not Daechi "District", which is in Gangnam District?
Amazing video!
Thank you!
Learned alot,thanks! ❤
Exact things here,too.Small town in kansas,so you have to move for better education and work opportunities.
Kansas&Korea- who would have thought,so many similarities? 😊
Get an exclusive Surfshark Black Friday deal! Enter promo code KYUHOSARAH to get up to 6 additional months for free at surfshark.deals/KYUHOSARAH :) Clicking that link really helps support our channel-this video was a doozy to film and edit 😅💦
Sarah and Kyuho- I just watched a video on The Baby Box. Have you guys ever visited there?❤
We have not, but we’ve definitely heard of it!
Hi! What is the name of the brunch place + British bakery?
현 시점에 대한 이슈들과 현실들을 잘 풀어주셔서 감사해요 제 생각에는 예전엔 서울 상경에 대한 환상이 많았다면 어느 순간부터는 경제적과 '나' 의 미래의 방향으로 더 많이 서울을 바라보고 가는 것 같아요 인구 감소와 지방에 의료 시설이 부족한 점은 안타까운 현실이지만 더 이상 좋아질 것 같지는 않다고 생각이 듭니다 그리고 SNS나 미디어 시대에 익숙한 세대이기에 현 경제적 상황으로는 1~2가지로는 돈에 대한 어려움으로 내가 누릴 수 없기에 다방면으로 열심히 해야 하는 '육각형 인간' 이라는 말이 생긴 것 같네요 대부분은 태어날 때부터 금수저가 아니니 내가 자체적으로 열심히 살아야 하는 것 즉 '자수성가' 하려는 사람들이 늘어나는 추세라고 봅니다
Conglomerate..... I loved that bit...lol
20:33 haha, It sounds like you wanted to say 기러기 아빠, instead of 갈매기 아빠 😁
‘Wild Goose Dad’ is when the mom and kid(s) move abroad (usually to an English speaking country, so the kids can learn English), and the dad stays in Korea to work. Geese migrate long distances twice a year, which is what the dad’s typically do when they visit their families. Seagulls don’t travel such long distances, so Seagull Dads are dads who live in different cities than their families within Korea 🪶
@@2hearts1seoul 😳 I didn’t know they separate those terms depending on the backstory.. I see 😅
It was honestly my (Sarah) first time hearing about ‘Seagull Dads’! I knew about Goose Dads, but there are always new terms popping up 😅
Gosh i miss living in korea the public transportation was so good that transportation was an afterthought. I never even thought about “how long do I have to wait”
I NEVER take it for granted 🥲
in the UK, the opposite is happening; rising cost of living in London has led to an exodus of people to cities like Leeds, Birmingham, Durham etc.
인구 밀도부터 저출산 문제까지 모든 근본적인 문제는 남들과 비교하는 문화 때문에 생기는 것 같습니다
요즘처럼 sns가 발달한 시대는 더욱더 남들과 비교하게 됩니다
모두들 집, 돈 이야기만 하지만 정말 돈이 없어서 아이를 안 낳는 걸까요
_It’s the same in America. Big cities like LA and New York and you will have the countryside where it’s undeveloped or untouched. People always migrate where the opportunities are. Those who want a slower life move into the suburbs or deep forests. Even some take it to extreme by being “off the grid” devoid of any modern conveniences._
Please share the name of the park in the last part of the video 🙏🏼
When in my 20-30’s I loved the big city, the hustle and bustle but now I wouldn’t mind living in the country.
Great topic. How does Busan and Daegu compare to the Seoul metro area?
As for me, I'm from New York (USA). While there are pockets in the central US that are less populated, we have many large cities, so it is vastly different for us. We subsidize farmers so we still have a lot of farming/ranching communities.
Busan is experiencing a decline in population due to a large outflow of young people who are coming to Seoul for more opportunities. Not entirely sure about Daegu, but I’m guessing it would be the same as Busan, or worse :/
Busan metro has only 3.3 million people
Seoul capital metro has 26 million people (more than half of all So. Koreans)
If you all watch a lot of K-Dramas, you’ll definitely learn a lot about Korean life… everyone in countryside wants to go to Seoul for more opportunities, abandoned villages, conglomerate families, stressful education, etc ….
I live in Windsor, Ontario. There's only one Regional Hospital (which is outdated and doesn't have advanced technology) in my city and there isn't a separate children's hospital or a pediatric emergency unit, so children who need to go to a children's hospital have to be transferred to the Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario which is 2 hours away by car (train as well). There's only one university and one college in my city which is expensive to attend per year. I want to move away from my city or live abroad because there isn't much to do or see where I live, I would prefer to live somewhere where there are more things to do that aren't related to drinking alcohol which is what most young people do in my city but I have no interest in doing that. I would love to visit Seoul or other cities in Korea in the near future and experience how life is different there compared to Canada, try new foods, and learn more about Korean culture and the Korean language.
used to be. after earthquake people start to go back countrysides, even nearest villages.
Thanks, this is very interesting. My mind went to the agriculture of the country...if the farmers suffer and there are no younger generations to carry on, eventually that will have serious consequences for the cities as well. After all, everyone in the city eats food, and not all food can just be imported. I know you've touched on it some with your visits to Kyuho's grandfather, but I for one would be interested in a deeper dive if you ever felt like it, including what plans the government has or has tried in that area, in the same way you explained their attempts to spread out the large companies. I know these mini documentaries are a LOT of work, and I really appreciate the effort you put in to explain these things to us. Thank you! 💚
Cities can't really survive without a strong agricultural base supporting it. Once the local agricultural sector disappears then all food will have to be imported and this will have a massive increase in the cost of living in cities. And if imports ever get disrupted for any reason eg. War then South Korea would be in serious trouble. They are not there yet but every year South Korea seems to be moving in that direction. Its getting more difficult to keep farms going due to labour shortages as well.
I'm not from Finland, but I know they're experiencing a similar issue in that all the young people want to move to Helsinki (the capital). I think about 25% of the population lives in the capital
Tim Hortons in Seoul?!! Sarah you’re SET!!!!!
That alone is a reason for us to be living in Seoul 🥹☕️
I do like Seoul about a lots of opportunities and nice restaurants etc just like you guys but I can't stand with too many people everyday and limited nature so I moved to another city in Korea just I want you guys try some visit new city in Korea like brand new city like 동탄 and feel the new future of cities of Korea
Glad I stayed around until the end haha.
It's kinda scary to think about. What is Korea going to be like in 100 years if this continues? Not sure if you've seen Judge Dredd, but we don't want Korea turning into all the mega cities in that movie. Basically everyone in the country was stuffed into a handful of dedicated areas and there was mass overcrowding. It's like the rich get richer. Seoul has everything, so more and more people are coming to make their living because they have the best opportunities, as you've mentioned.
How does Busan place into this? I'm sure the infrastructure over there isn't as good, but you would think being the 2nd largest city, that these companies will have offices over there too? Are there really that few opportunities over there to pursue?
Busan is experiencing population decline-a lot of young people have been leaving Busan and heading to Seoul. Busan also has a rapidly aging population compared to Korea’s other large cities, so it doesn’t look good :/
Not sure what the average income is in Seoul? 879 USD per month doesn’t seem excessive to me for tuition. After care can easily cost that much in Canada for school aged children in Canada. I guess I would be more worried about the pressure this would place on the child. My daughter went to a private school in Canada that was highly regarded which placed a strong emphasis on communication in the written and verbal format, reasoning skills, and yes science and math for the first 8 years of her education. This early education cost about 1500/month but it set her up to do really well in an International Baccleaureate program in public school in high school where she score highly. She did not do a lot of outside of education in addition to this, but rather spent her early years having fun at school. Homework didn’t start until she was 12, and then of course more in high school and lots in Uni. I was happy with this approach because I wanted her to be a child when she was a child. She graduated from a professional school in Uni at a very young age for that profession in Canada, and is now a full fledged professional in her dream area with a job she loves in her 20’s. And as you know, the severe centralized issue isn’t really possible in Canada. We are all spread out, but we live in a very large city in Canada where lots of opportunities exist. Of course, southern Ontario is probably the most concentrated population in Canada. My two youngest are making their way through their education in the same way.
I live in Russia and we have the same issue with centralization. Especially Moscow, is like a totally different country. I personally live in small city and we dont have here a lot of job varieties and i dont see personal growth here. Btw I used to study in a bigger city, so same problem here. And government don't do much about this
I live in America in the state of Utah and I would actually say there is a huge resurgence of people who want to move to the countryside. I really think this is dependent on political opinions. I've noticed that those who lean to the more conservative side want countryside living and back to basics where those who lean towards the liberal side are more interested in cities. Obviously, people aren't just statistics so there are going to be people all over the spectrum who don't fit "the mold" but those who want more amenities and government programs are interested in the cities and the perks they offer and those who want nothing to do with the government are flocking to buy land and raise their families away from large groups of people.
Govt programs are what draws people to cities? Which ones? I think that is false.
That's fine, you can disagree :)@@eh2657
I have many nephews and nieces who have actually moved to smaller, more rural areas from the small cities and towns they grew up in. I’m not sure how they are managing that. My husband and I moved from the very developed So. California area 30 years ago to Las Vegas, which at the time was much smaller than it is now, and are definitely looking for an even smaller, more rural place to retire. Our one limitation is needing to be close enough to someplace with a good oncological medical center for my husband who has a chronic, not acute thank heavens, cancer. So, within an hour or two.
One thought I had while watching this was prompted from an article I read about the lack of people willing to go into the blue collar trades, like auto mechanics, manufacturing, etc. I don’t know how accurate that is, but perhaps if those trades could be promoted, with training centers and schools located in smaller areas, I wonder if that could help draw people there. Also, I know if I moved there I definitely would want to be outside of Seoul to be less crowded, have more quiet and space, lower costs. I’d be perfectly happy with several dogs and fewer people around.
Anyway, very fascinating and informative vlog. I hope a solution can be found.
Im sooooo jealous of that transportation system!! (Southern Ontario 🇨🇦)
Coming from Nova Scotia…I appreciate Seoul Metro every single day 🥹🚊🚍