Myths of migration on retirement in Korea: Do the elderly move to less dense areas?

• The Korean government anticipates that older Koreans choose to move to rural areas at retirement.
• The typical pattern of retirement migration in Korea is a move to areas of higher density.
• The oldest age group (over 75 years) showed a much stronger mobility pattern to higher density areas.
• The movement to higher density areas diminishes at the origin density is over 24,000 persons per km2.
• Density difference between origin and destination is a key predictor of the mobility patterns.

Korea's problems relating to an ageing population in an increasingly urbanised setting are closely related to relocation processes in later life. The Korean government anticipates that older Koreans living in a higher density urban area will choose to move to peri-urban and rural areas or return to their place of birth at retirement. This paper will examine two major mobility patterns of elderly location choice: ageing in place and retirement migration using data from the Residential Registration records, 2001–2010. Based on a multiple regression model and time-series analysis this study found that older people living in high density areas do not move to lower density areas. Whilst the most frequent movement to a higher density area was apparent amongst younger people, the oldest age group (over 75 years) showed a much stronger mobility pattern towards higher density areas than other older people. The factor of density difference between origin and destination appears to be a key predictor of the mobility patterns of older people.