The Push and Pull Factors Affecting the Migration of Mongolians to the Republic of South Korea

Abstract

Migration, which is a rational labour issue within society, has become a hot topic globally. In recent years there has been an increase in labour migration due to globalization, disparities in the development levels of countries, culture and environment, social instability, political regimes and war. The objective of the presented study was to research the push & pull factors affecting the migration of Mongolians to the Republic of South Korea. The survey was conducted among 498 Mongolians living and working in the Jeollanamеdu and Jeollabugdu districts of the metropolitan cities of Incheon and Ulsan, as well as in the capital city Seoul. Numerous statistical techniques were applied to test the reliability and validity of the data, as well as factor analysis to confirm that the concepts of each variable were correctly measured, correlation analysis to assess the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, and multiple regression analysis to predict the value of variables used in the study. The results of the study showed that the major push factor was an economic one, for which the main motives for migration were low or instable income, the economic downturn and poverty. Likewise, the pull factors were also economic, whereby the motivation to migrate to South Korea was driven by high wages, wellbeing, the opportunity to save and/ or social factors, such as access to quality education, the cultural experience and joining family members who had already settled in the country.