‘Hell Joseon’ exhausted them into leaving, then the ‘infrastructure’ convinced them to return··· the backstory of ‘reverse immigration’ - 경향신문

This article was translated by an AI tool. Feedback Here.

Migration in pursuit of a better life is a long-standing human instinct. Yet the standard for what feels ‘better’ changes with the times. There was a period when the terms ‘Hell Joseon’ and ‘Tal-Joseon’ were all the rage in Korea. Among younger generations, the desire to escape suffocating competition, soaring home prices, and a rigid social climate spread rapidly. Leaving Korea came to be seen as both a challenge and an escape, and settling abroad was even consumed as a kind of success narrative.

These days, however, the opposite question is surfacing online. Not only the country’s image elevated by the popularity of K-content, but also Korea’s living conditionsquick access to healthcare, dense everyday infrastructure, and convenient administrative systemsare drawing renewed attention. Recently, YouTuber Oliver Ssam, who has over 2 million subscribers, lamented the difficulties of life in the United States, saying, “I am rethinking immigrant life.” His video, which mentioned high medical costs and unstable living conditions, immediately sparked speculation that he might be ‘coming back to Korea’. Some users posted comments accusing him of health insurance ‘freeriding’. He drew a line, saying, “I have not chosen a destination,” but the episode laid bare the insecurities that had been hidden behind the romance of living abroad.

According to the Overseas Koreans Agency, about 10,000 people filed as ‘permanent returnees’those who had been living abroad for permanent residence and then returned to Koreabetween 2019 and 2024. It is hard to say that reverse immigration has increased explosively. Even so, why is the topic coming up more frequently online? The reason it feels larger than the actual numbers is that where to live has become not just a choice for some overseas Koreans, but a question that reexamines the living conditions of Korean society as a whole. We looked more closely at the practical concerns of those who chose to return.

The choice to end life abroad and return to Korea can sometimes look like failure. But reverse immigration also requires courage and involves a challenge. A couple in their thirties, Lee Hyun and Kim Ho-jung, who chose to immigrate to Canada in 2018 and even obtained permanent residency, have shared both their immigration and return journeys while running the YouTube channel ‘Hyun Couple’. They gave up jobs at a foreign conglomerate and as a Korean Air flight attendant and secured permanent residency in Canada, but life as immigrants was not easy and living costs were far higher than expected. Lockdowns during the COVID period compounded things, shrinking daily life further. Kim said, “We emigrated to spend more time with our child, but we found ourselves constantly worrying about money and visas.” In the end, the couple chose to head back to Korea, and after returning, they chose to start a business rather than seek employment.

The concerns of Jeong Bo-ram (35), who returned after eight years in Australia, were similar. Through the YouTube channel ‘Boram-inneun Boa’, Jeong has shared life after moving back, saying, “The lives of Koreans in Australia are far from the leisurely lives of Australians,” and, “Korean parents with children had to struggle even more because there was hardly anywhere nearby to turn for help.” Seeing young couples who chose life abroad to avoid Korea’s cutthroat competition being chased by visa fees and living expenses made her thoughts complicated. She chose immigration for her child, but ended up carrying the ache of not being able to see her own parents easily.

A KoreanBritish international couple in their fifties and sixties who run the YouTube channel ‘Konglish Couple’ lived in Silicon Valley for over a decade, but after retirement decided to settle in Korea, the wife’s home country. The first reason they cited for returning was everyday convenience. Kongbu (nickname), the wife in ‘Konglish Couple’, said, “In Korea, even just the public transportation is impressive,” and, “Government offices, banks, hospitals… everything is processed quickly.” There were emotional reasons, too. She said, “I thought I had adapted to life in the U.S. to some extent, but the moment I returned and heard Korean, I realized I had been living in a tense state all along.” The financial burden was another factor that could not be ignored. To maintain their current standard of living, they would have had to sustain a high Silicon Valley income even after retirement. She added, “Living and housing costs in Korea have gone up, but they are still far cheaper than in the U.S.,” and, “After being abroad for a long time and coming back to Korea, I feel citizens, especially the younger generation, have become kinder and more well-mannered,” listing the advantages of life in Korea. She also noted that worrying about her father living alone in Korea, and the small happiness of being able to eat the Korean food she had missed as much as she wanted, were not trivial.

That said, Korean society’s view of reverse immigration is not straightforward. In 2024, those aged 60 or older made up 56.3% of permanent returnees, more than half. As the flow has become centered on older age groups, the issue is expanding beyond individual life choices into a broader social debate about welfare and pension systems.

Since 2011, the Ministry of Justice has operated a dual-nationality system that allows Korean nationals aged 65 or older living overseas to restore Korean nationality and reside in Korea, on the condition that they ‘do not exercise rights as a foreigner’. The original purpose is to help older people continue a stable life in their homeland. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the total amount of basic pension paid to dual nationals in 2023 was 21.2 billion won, about nine times the 2.28 billion won paid in 2014. Over the same period, the number of multinational seniors receiving the basic pension rose more than fivefold, from 1,047 to 5,699. There is criticism that the structure in which they receive pensions after meeting certain conditions upon return is ‘out of balance with the intent of the system’. Inside and outside the government, measures such as factoring ‘length of domestic residence’ into basicpension eligibility are being reviewed. As with the case of YouTuber Oliver Ssam, misunderstandings and debate over health insurance continue. In fact, requirements for enrollment and residence in the national health insurance have been tightened; for foreigners, in principle, residing in Korea for six months or more is now required to qualify as dependents. While fixes continue to close loopholes in the system, public distrust remains ongoing.

For some, reverse immigration is a homecoming; for others, it is a second migration in life. There is no need to welcome or warn against that decision uniformly. What is clear is that the criteria by which people decide where to live are changing. Rather than chasing a utopia that might be somewhere out there, the tendency to look back at the strengths of Korean society is quietly growing year by year.