The purpose of this study is to examine the motives and barriers of lifelong education according to socioeconomic status, occupational status, demographic status. The typology of motives was classified into social contact, social stimulation, community service, external expectation, professional advancement, and cognitive interest by Boshier. The typology of barriers was classified into situational barriers, institutional barriers, and dispositional barriers by Cross. Literature review and survey research were conducted to accomplish the purpose of this study. The collected data through the survey were analyzed with SPSS WIN 11.5 program, and x2 test, T-test and one-way ANOVA were employed. The major findings of this study were as follows: There were significant differences in the social contact according to each income, education, company size, occupational position, sex and age, in the social stimulation according to each company size, occupational category, sex and age, in the community service according to each occupational category, occupational position, and age, in the external expectation according to each income and age, in the professional advancement according to each education, occupational type, company size, occupational category, occupational position, and age, in the cognitive interest according to each education, occupational type, company size, occupational position, and age, at the level of p<.05. There were significant differences in the situational barriers according to each education, occupational category, occupational position, and age, in the institutional barriers according to occupational type, in the dispositional barriers according to age, at the level of p<.05.

worker's status, participation in the lifelong education, motives, barriers