GK:2.1.1 Population Growth
Geography of Korea: II. Population and Living Space > 1. Population > 1) Population Growth
목차
1) Population Growth
The most basic concept in discussions of population is population size, and generally when we speak of changes in population size we are talking about population fluctuations. At this time population fluctuation refers to a quantitative change in the population of a given area or country over a given amount of time, to include both increases and reductions in population. Population change can be achieved either naturally through rates of births and deaths or by social fluctuations such as migrations. Population change will naturally vary by state and region and can be influenced by such factors as economic levels, health and hygienic conditions, religion and ethical systems, and population policy.
Understanding the varied aspects of population and population change requires accurate population statistics. Modern censuses began to be conducted in Korea from 1925 and have been taken every five years since that time. But even prior to this, population surveys were undertaken from as far back as the ancient period for purposes of taxation or corvée labor, though very few of these surveys are extant and those that have survived are fragmented. We have some population dating to the period of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) and population data can also be culled from such things as gazetteers, maps, and historical records.
(1) Population change from the ancient period through the Joseon Dynasty
From extant historical documents and gazetteers we can estimate that around the start of the Common Era (CE) the population of the Korean Peninsula was about three million. During the period of the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) a regular population census was initiated, though almost nothing is extant from these surveys. In the tenth century, during the early Goryeo, it is estimated the population of the peninsula was seven million, while scholars have estimated that by the end of the Goryeo in the fourteenth century the peninsula’s population was somewhere between 5.5 and ten million.
Extant census data from the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) period is relatively abundant. Through this material we can paint a general picture of population trends during the Joseon, and see that between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the peninsula’s population steadily increased, something attributable to advances in agricultural production and the relative peace that characterized the period. From the late sixteenth through the early seventeenth centuries Korea suffered through two large-scale conflicts: the so-called Imjin waeran, or Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), and the Byeongja horan, or Manchu invasion of Korea (1636–1637). The result of these conflicts was a significant drop in the population of the peninsula. Following this, up to the nineteenth century we see a pattern of population rise and fall. Overall this period saw a cumulative rise in Korea’s population, but periods of poor harvests and famine brought on by natural disaster, epidemics, and social turmoil did result in elevated mortality rates for certain periods and concomitant drops in the overall population.
In sum, Korea of the Joseon period was a typical agrarian society and as such both its birth and mortality rates were high and so its population levels were fairly stable and exhibited only incremental increases. During the Joseon period it is estimated that the crude birth rate (the number of births per 1000 population over a given period, usually measured as one year) held steady at the high rate of 35–45 births, while the crude death rate is estimated to have also been a high 30–35 deaths per 1000 population.
(2) Population during the Japanese occupation period (1910–1945)
The Korean Peninsula experienced a tremendous population change during the period of Japanese occupation. From the late nineteenth century Western medicine and medical facilities began to be introduced to Korea, and with the subsequent Japanese colonization these changes spread nationwide even as sanitary conditions also improved. Thus, from the 1920s Korea’s mortality rate began to decrease while its birth rate maintained its high level.
This drop in the mortality rate and high birth rate resulted in a rapid natural increase in Korea’s population. In 1915 the natural annual population growth rate was a mere 0.4 percent, while after 1935 this had increased to 2.0 percent. Thus, while the total population of the peninsula was around 17.4 million in 1910, by 1930 this was about 20 million, and a 1944 census gave the population as 25.1 million. In the course of thirty-four years—from 1910 to 1944—Korea’s population had increased by 7.7 million. However, during this thirty-four-year period some 3.3 million Koreans had also immigrated abroad, and so the actual population increase was more like 11 million. The result of such rapid population increase was greater population pressures on the land, especially in rural areas, that experienced a variety of problems due to the rise in population. This was compounded by the Japanese policy of exploitation of Korea’s rural economy, and as rural conditions worsened there began a mass exodus from the country’s agricultural areas.
(3) Population change from national liberation to the present day
The population of the Korean Peninsula was further influenced by national liberation, the subsequent division into North and South, and the Korean War (1950–1953). Following national division into North and South in 1948, population data from North Korea has become very difficult to attain and what we have is of dubious reliability, and so population change on the peninsula since that time can only accurately be detailed for South Korea. In 1949, the population of South Korea was 20,166,756. Following this, despite the many North Korean refugees to the South during the Korean War, the cumulative effects of human casualties from that war, as well as the loss of the densely populated regions of Gyeonggi-do and Hwanghae-do provinces to the North, meant that the South experienced a total population decline of about 1.3 million. However, with the Korean War armistice stability was restored and population began to increase exponentially. By 1960, South Korea’s population had reached the population level of the entire Korean peninsula just prior to liberation in 1945. During the years 1955–1960, despite the fact that there was almost no social increase in the population (i.e., the influx of refugees or other population increases not attributable to domestic births), South Korea experienced its most rapid period of population increase, with an average annual growth rate of 3 percent—or some 700,000 people a year. This population explosion can be attributed the post-Korean War “baby boom.” The introduction of new medicines, antibiotics, and medical technologies also played a significant role in reducing the mortality rate and increasing the country’s population.
| Year | Population | Gender ratio | Population density(people/km2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 20,166,756 | 100.1 | 204.9 |
| 1955 | 21,502,386 | 100.1 | 218.4 |
| 1960 | 24,989,241 | 100.8 | 253.9 |
| 1966 | 29,159,640 | 101.4 | 296.4 |
| 1970 | 30,882,386 | 100.8 | 320.4 |
| 1975 | 34,706,620 | 101.3 | 351.1 |
| 1980 | 37,436,315 | 100.5 | 378.8 |
| 1985 | 40,448,486 | 100.2 | 408.8 |
| 1990 | 43,410,899 | 100.7 | 437.7 |
| 1995 | 44,608,726 | 100.7 | 449.4 |
| 2000 | 46,136,101 | 100.7 | 463.9 |
| 2005 | 47,278,951 | 99.5 | 474.5 |
| 2010 | 48,580,293 | 98.7 | 485.6 |
This trend of rapid population growth extended through the 1960s. In the period 1960–1966 the annual population growth averaged 2.6 percent, and by 1967 South Korea’s population had surpassed 30 million. Faced with this, the government initiated a population control policy in order to reduce the pressures associated with its rapidly increasing populace. As part of this policy, in 1962 the government established a family planning program. Led by the central government, the family planning program has been very strongly emphasized, resulting in a lowering of the national birth rate, and from the late 1970s in a reduction of the annual population increase to 600,000. During this period the reduction of the national birth rate also came with a reduction in the national mortality rate. This decrease in the mortality rate can be attributed to the country’s advancing economic development and the resulting improvement in living standards and expansion of health and medical services. The total population of South Korea was over 40 million in 1984; the 2010 census revealed a total population of 48,580,293. Currently, South Korea’s population is experiencing stagnant growth due the gradual reduction of the mortality rate and the rapid decrease in the birth rate. In the course of sixty years South Korea has undergone a demographic transition, from that of a high birth rate/high mortality rate society to one of low birth rate/low mortality rate. Considering this transition played out in western developed nations over the course of 150–200 years, one can appreciate the rapid changes to its population structure that South Korea has experienced over only the last century.
