The number of immigrants in South Korea, which includes foreign nationals residing here as well as naturalized citizens, reached a record high of over 1.56 million in 2024, according to government data released Tuesday. Similarly, the number of employed foreign nationals also hit an all-time high at 1.01 million.
The number of those having resided in South Korea for at least 91 days, aged 15 and above, reached about 1,561,000 as of May, compared to 1.48 million tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.
Specifically, foreign nationals accounted for 1.51 million, with naturalized citizens being 51,000.
Ethnic Koreans with Chinese nationality made up the largest group at 493,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous year. They were followed by Vietnamese nationals, whose population reached 234,000, up 13,000 over the same period, according to the data.
The data showed 64.7 percent of foreign nationals residing in South Korea — 1.01 million — had jobs as of May, up 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier. Naturalized citizens were employed at comparable rate at 65.9 percent, down 1.5 percentage points over the period.
Some 51 percent of foreign nationals residing in South Korea earned a monthly income between 2 million won and 3 million won ($1,390-$2,090), while 37.1 percent earned more than 3 million won. Among naturalized citizens, 44.4 percent reported earning between 2 million won and 3 million won, with 26.2 percent earning more than 3 million won.
The majority of immigrants here reported being satisfied with their overall life in the country. Satisfaction rates were high, with 84.3 percent of foreign residents and 86.2 percent of naturalized citizens expressing positive assessments. However, discrimination remains an issue for some, with 17.4 percent of foreign residents and 17.7 percent of naturalized citizens reporting experiences here with discrimination. The most common reason cited was their country of origin.
When it came to Korean language proficiency, both groups showed strong self-assessment, with the highest proportion of respondents describing their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills as “very proficient.” The survey also revealed that 90.4 percent of foreign residents expressed a desire to extend their stay in Korea. Among options for staying longer, “visa extension” was the most commonly preferred method, chosen by 61.6 percent of foreign residents.
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