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Number of foreigners in Korea hits record high of 2.73 million in June

Published: 27 Jul. 2025, 13:44 Updated: 27 Jul. 2025, 14:22

Foreign tourists receive guidance from a tour guide in Jung District, central Seoul, on July 1. [NEWS1]

The number of foreigners or ethnic Koreans with foreign citizenship living in Korea has reached a record high of 2.73 million, with one in three being Chinese, government data showed on Sunday.

The number of registered foreigners in the country was 1.56 million as of end-June, with that of Koreans holding foreign citizenship and residing in the country reaching 552,419, according to immigration data from the Ministry of Justice.

The number of foreigners on short-term stays, including tourists, stood at 620,403, the data showed.

The number of foreign residents in Korea had reached a record of 2.52 million in 2019 before falling sharply to 1.96 million in 2021 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This number rebounded to 2.51 million in 2023 before reaching a new high of 2.65 million at the end of last year.

Compared with the previous month, the latest number marks a 1.5 percent increase.

By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for 35.6 percent of the total, or 972,176 people, followed by Vietnamese nationals at 341,153, Americans at 196,664, Thais at 173,710 and Uzbeks at 98,457.

More than half the foreigners lived in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area, while the rest lived in the central Chungcheong region and the country's southern provinces.

Nearly half of them were between the ages of 20 and 39.

About 20 percent of the foreigners were staying on F-4 visas issued to overseas Koreans, while roughly 12 percent held E-9 visas for nonprofessional workers. Others held F-5 permanent residency visas, D-2 student visas and B-2 tourist visas.

Yonhap