SEOUL — For 38-year-old office worker Kim, the decision to leave Seoul was not an easy one. Having spent his entire career in the capital, Kim hoped to stay. However, when his landlord demanded a hefty deposit increase upon the renewal of his lease, the numbers simply no longer added up.

"I wanted to keep living in Seoul, but the soaring Jeonse (lump-sum deposit) rates became impossible to shoulder," Kim said. "Taking on a larger bank loan meant drowning in monthly interest payments. Moving to Gyeonggi Province was the only realistic option left."

Kim eventually relocated to Hanam, Gyeonggi Province. While his daily commute to Seoul has grown significantly longer, he found that looking for a wider and more affordable home outside the capital was far more practical than stretching his finances for a comparable apartment in Seoul.

Kim’s situation reflects a broader, accelerating trend across the Seoul metropolitan area. As home prices and rental rates in the capital surge in tandem, a growing number of residents are packing their bags and moving outward to Gyeonggi Province.

According to data compiled by the National Statistics Agency on domestic migration, 223,416 people moved from Seoul to Gyeonggi Province between January and September of this year, marking a 5.0% increase compared to the same period last year (212,715). Conversely, migration in the opposite direction—from Gyeonggi to Seoul—dipped slightly to 185,022.

Consequently, the net migration population moving from Seoul to Gyeonggi reached 38,394 during the first nine weeks, surging 40.3% from 27,374 a year earlier. This steady outflow has persisted across all quarters, showing no signs of slowing down.

Among Gyeonggi cities, Pyeongtaek saw the largest net inflow with 12,640 new residents, followed by Paju, Gwangmyeong, Hwaseong, Uiwang, and Osan.

Property experts point out that the continuous rise in housing costs is the primary catalyst. The surge is no longer confined to affluent districts like Gangnam; traditionally lower-cost outer districts of Seoul—such as Guro, Geumcheon, Gwanak, and Nowon—have also seen dramatic spikes in both sales and rental prices, leaving budget-conscious tenants with virtually no affordable alternatives within city limits.

Ironically, the influx of displaced Seoul residents has begun to exert upward pressure on Gyeonggi's housing market as well. Since September, weekly apartment price growth rates in Gyeonggi have occasionally outpaced those of Seoul, fueled by incoming demand looking for relative affordability, particularly in small-to-medium-sized apartments under 60 square meters.

"As central Seoul housing prices soar out of reach, financially constrained homebuyers and renters are naturally turning to adjacent regions," noted Park Won-gab, a senior real estate specialist at KB Kookmin Bank. "With high rental costs and a shortage of listings persisting in the capital, the ripple effect on Gyeonggi's housing market is expected to continue."

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