Exploring Social Well-Being Among Older Migrants in Rural and Semi-Rural Areas of South Korea

Korea is currently one of the fastest ageing societies in the world, coupled with a very low fertility rate. As the country is facing these realities, the Korean government has implemented various institutional measures to address this social phenomenon. Along with the ageing of Korea’s population is the ageing of its long-term foreign residents, many of which have lived most of their adult lives in the country, have families of their own, and see themselves staying longer in their adopted country.

This study examines the experiences of migrants in Korea as they reach their older years. In particular, this research focuses on women from the Philippines who arrived in Korea beginning in the early 1990s, and are currently living in the country’s rural and/or semi-rural areas. Most of these women came to Korea as marriage migrants to Korean men living in these regions. Based on qualitative data gathered through interviews and fieldwork in selected areas in Chungcheongnam-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Gyeonggi-do in 2023-2024, this study analyzes ageing, migration, and social well-being from feminist and transnational perspectives. Specifically, this study explores these migrants’ perceptions of their ageing process outside their countries of birth, as it relates to their own perceptions on social well-being—particularly its social and cultural aspects—as long-term migrants in Korea. It is argued here that the ageing experience of migration is gendered and intertwined with one’s own cultural and social capital. In addition, language and communication, one’s status of residence, citizenship, spirituality and religion, and the presence or absence of family are also deemed significant. This study aims to shed light on the challenges that older female migrants in Korea are facing as they navigate their own ageing along with societal changes in their host country.