• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.28-38
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• 1987

This paper was set out to study the structure of the career occupational mobility in the early and rapid phase of industrialization in Korea. By analyzing the individual life histories regarding occupational mobility and achievement, I propose a model of yearly career mobility of Korean men and Women during the period of 30 years between 1954 and 1983. With the occupational classification scheme of 5 groups - Upper Nonmanual, Lower Nonmanual, Self Employed, Manual, Farm - the mobility pattern in the person-year mobility table analyzed can be characterized primarily by the strong influence of immobility. The degree of immobility, however, is different by the occupational groups. The absolute amount of immobility can be summarized as being U-shaped. Overall, the pattern of mobility can be explained best by the concept of occupational distance. I then propose a model of relative career occupational mobility pattern that combines the conceptual and theoretical basis and the methodological rigor. The model is based on the notion of the reproduction of inequality, the labor market context, and the life history perspective. The model encompasses the 6 conceptual explanatory factors such as persistence effect, ceiling effect, traditional sector effect, nonmanual occupation effect, alternative mobility channel effect, and occupational distance effect, as well as the effects of both origin and destination occupations. The relative pattern of career mobiliity in Korea can be characterized by the following six findings. First, the persistence effect on the diagonal cells of the mobility table is dominant. Second, a clear evidence of the negative effect of occupational distance between nonmanual occupations and manual and farm occupations is found. Third, the out-mobility from farming took place regardless of the destination occupations. Fourth, the internal mobility within the nonmanual occupation block is high and bi-directional, and is exclusive against other occupations. Fifth, the 'self employed' occupation is serving a peculiar function in both inflow and outflow pattern. Last, the relative pattern of career occupation mobility is asymmetrical in terms of the upward and downward mobility.