Components of Population Growth in Seoul: 1960-1966

Abstract

A total of 2,445,000 persons were counted within the boundary of Seoul at the time of the 1960 Census of Korea. The 1966 Census shows that the number of persons living in Seoul at the time of the census was 3,805,000, indicating an increase of 1,360,000 persons during the intercensal period of 1960-1966. This paper attempts to· identify the components of this increase and their relative contributions to the growth of population within the administrative boundary of Seoul for this period. Theoretically. the size of population in a city for a specified time period can change through an interplay of three basic processes; net balance of in and out-migration (net migration). net balance of births and deaths (natural increase). and boundary changes (annexation). The size of population will rise if the inflow of migration is greater than the outflow. if the number of births exceeds the number of deaths. and if the city expands its boundary and annexes a part of surrounding populated territory. It appears that each one of these components played an important role in making a high population growth rate for Seoul during the 1960-1966 period.