Abstract
This study was conducted to assess the psychosocial adjustment of
Korean-American physicians in the aspect of personal satisfaction after
returning to Korea. A questionnaire was mailed to 72 Korean-American physicians
who were practicing medicine in Korea and forty physicians responded. These
physicians, typically in their 50s, lived in America for 21-30 years before
coming back to Korea. The most frequent motives for them to come back to Korea
were giving back to their native country, longing for their native country,
filial duty, and suggestions from their colleagues or professors to move back.
Eighty percent of them were extremely satisfied or slightly satisfied with their
work in Korea, and only 10% are extremely or slightly dissatisfied with their
decision to return. Although most of them are content for the time being in
Korea, only 12.5% have definite plans to stay in Korea after retirement. The
variables that were most significantly related to personal satisfaction of
returning to Korea were how well treated at work and how much satisfied with job
rather than other factors such as motives for returning, duration of staying in
America and in Korea, and family situation.