More and More Foreigners Live in Korea

Published on 2017/12/17 | Source

Korea is home to an ever-increasing number of foreigners.

According Justice Ministry data, there were 2.05 million foreign resident in Korea late last year, or four percent of the entire population.

The figure may seem small in international comparison but has jumped more than six times in the last 19 years, from just 310,000 in 1998.

The largest group are Chinese, including ethnic Koreans, with 1.02 million, followed by 150,000 Vietnamese and 140,000 U.S. citizens.

The number of foreign students reached the 100,000-mark for the first time last year with 104,262, a significant rise from 63,952 in 2008. More than double the number of Korean students or 223,908 study abroad.