• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.273-300
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• 2018

In order to analyze the experience of women from the provinces settling in Seoul, the current study conducts in-depth interviews on seven women who are working in Seoul after coming up to Seoul to attend and graduate from university. The results of the interview were analyzed using grounded theory methodology, under which the open coding extracted one hundred ten concepts, twenty-one sub-categories, and eleven categories encompassing them all. Causal condition is 'difficulty of settling in Seoul' and contextual conditions are 'intensification of psychological anxiety', 'reduction in quality of life', and 'continuation of economic instability'. The central phenomenon is 'dilemma of continuing life in Seoul' and intervening condition is 'diagnosis of ten years after coming up to Seoul'. Action/interaction strategies are 'changes in personal life', 'securing economic abilities through a stable job', and 'finding ways to participate in the society', while the result was 'choosing whether to continue living in Seoul'. The paradigm of experience of women from the provinces settling in Seoul proceed from coming up to Seoul for university to becoming independent, adapting to life in the city, experiencing growth and failures, facing challenge and searching for solutions, and conducting self-evaluation and making new choices. The participants reported that they were aware of differences and experienced anxieties as a stranger in Seoul even after living in the city for ten years; the problems they face have become more complex and diverse since when they were in university, and while they launched a career and making money, the gap between them and their peers from Seoul has not closed. The women also express desperation that they may need to leave Seoul to find alternatives to problems caused by accumulated stress and social problems that cannot be solved by an individual. In conclusion, the current study confirmed that efforts by individuals can only have limited effects in helping women from the provinces to settle in Seoul, indicating that detailed policy plans are required to solve social issues in the overall Korean society.