The photo to the right shows a traditional farming village in South Korea. As Korean agriculture is modernized, this type of dwelling is being replaced by more modern single family dwellings made of cinder block, but many of the older homes remain. The migration to the cities has been fueled by the lack of land and jobs in the countryside. Life in the city may not be better than in the country, but it certainly is different. Working conditions range from hard physical labor in construction and assembly plants to typical desk jobs in modern business buildings and school campuses.
Jobs are plentiful, but living space is limited and expensive.
Here we see a typical set of new high-rises in Seoul overlooking the Han river. The photo below shows a fairly typical street scene in downtown Seoul. There may be more bicycles than in a typical U.S. city, and the signs are in a foreign language, but otherwise this snapshot could be in any large city in America. All rights reserved.