Seoul statistics reflect 50 years of changes

By Kim Tae-jong

The number of foreign residents in Seoul has shown a nearly 30-fold increase during the past 50 years, according to statistics data released by the city government Sunday.

The number of foreign residents increased to 2.62 billion last year from 8,772 in 1960. During the same period, the total population of the city jumped four times to 105.75 billion from 22.45 billion.

The total number of housing units came in at 25.25 billion won last year, up 333 percent compared to four decades ago.

In 2010, 256 babies were born a day on average, while the number of newborn babies a day recorded 557 in 1981.

An average 198 couples got married a day, while 60 couples got divorced. In the past 30 years, the number of divorces increased to 21,768 from 2,955.

The number of subway passengers jumped to 64.3 billion last year from 5.4 billion in 1980, while that of bus passengers decreased to 45.9 billion from 70.9 billion.

The number of deaths from traffic accidents decreased to 1.16 a day last year from 2.05 in 2000. The scale of the city’s economy has also drastically expanded.

The gross product of the city jumped to 237 trillion in 2009 from 67 trillion won in 1985. The consumer price index also increased to 115.5 in 2010 from 3.7 in 1965.

The price of the popular dish, jajangmyeon, or noodles with black bean sauce, soared 24-fold, compared to 1975.

Going to the cinema also costs more as the price of a movie ticket increased 21.2 percent from 1975.

Beef and public bath houses increased 28.7 and 27.9-fold in the same period, respectively. Bus fares showed a 24.4-fold increase.