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As cricket bats crack in Incheon, immigration reshapes Korea's local communities

Published: 18 Feb. 2026, 19:23

Cricket players from India and Pakistan compete at Korea's only cricket ground, located at the Asiad Stadium in Michuhol District, Incheon. [LEE YOUNG-KEUN]

As the number of foreign residents in Korea surges toward 3 million, the government has designated a record 100 sub-districts as “foreigner-dense clusters,” underscoring how immigrant communities are rapidly reshaping local neighborhoods across the country.

The change was starkly apparent in a park in Michuhol District, Incheon, last fall, where 11 immigrants from India and Pakistan lined up in yellow and blue uniforms to play cricket. The Pakistani team batted first. When a Pakistani batter struck a ball delivered by an Indian bowler, a sharp crack rang out.

From the stands came cheers of “shabaash” — Hindi for “well done.” The scene unfolded at the Asiad Cricket Stadium in Michuhol District, the only dedicated cricket ground in Korea.

In South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, cricket is a wildly popular sport. Immigrants from those countries — ranging from unskilled workers to researchers at large corporations and foreign spouses — gather to play the game.

Cricket teams formed by country of origin function much like hometown associations. Each team typically has between 11 and around 15 players. Given the ongoing territorial and religious disputes between India and Pakistan centered on Kashmir, matches between the two sides often turn into fierce contests of pride both on and off the field.

“As soon as the Lunar New Year holiday ends, we begin training and prepare for leagues and tournaments throughout the year,” said Nasir Khan, 57, vice president of the Korea Cricket Association and a Pakistan-born naturalized Korean citizen since 2009. “In everyday life, we build friendships like a hometown group, but in competitions, we represent our respective countries of origin and compete as if our lives depend on it.”

Migrants walk through a market in Ansan, Gyeonggi, on July 29, 2025. Ansan has the highest immigrant population in Korea, with 108,000 immigrants as of 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Cricket leagues hold games at the Incheon Asiad ground largely because many South Asians have settled in Incheon. Of the city’s 10 districts and counties, five have more than 10,000 registered foreign residents. There are also three neighborhoods designated as foreign resident clusters.

The Ministry of Justice recently designated 100 administrative sub-districts — dong, eup and myeon — nationwide as foreign resident cluster areas as of the end of December 2024, according to data compiled by the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday.

Out of 3,551 such administrative units nationwide, the designation of 100 as foreign resident clusters marks the first time the number has reached three digits since the system was introduced in 2015. The figure rose from 64 in 2023 and 85 in 2024 to 100 last year.

An area qualifies as a cluster if registered foreign residents account for at least 20 percent of the total population or if the foreign population exceeds 5,000. By province and metropolitan city, Gyeonggi had 44 such areas, Seoul had 23 and South Chungcheong and South Gyeongsang had seven each.

The Wongok-dong Multicultural Village Special Zone in Ansan, Gyeonggi, is seen in this file photo. [YONHAP]

Incheon, Daegu and North Chungcheong had three each, while Daejeon, Ulsan, Jeju and South Jeolla had one each. There were none in Sejong, Gangwon or North Jeolla.

The number of foreigners residing in Korea on short- and long-term visas is projected to surpass 3 million by 2030. The number of foreign residents stood at 2.78 million as of the end of December last year — more than the combined population of Daegu, with about 2.35 million people, and Sejong, with about 400,000, according to the Ministry of Justice’s monthly immigration statistics.

Wongok-dong in Ansan, Gyeonggi — the country’s only designated multicultural village special zone — has a foreign resident ratio of 83.2 percent, with foreigners accounting for 25,475 of the neighborhood's 30,598 people as of November 2024.

The area has formed a distinct Asian multicultural enclave within the city, with about 90 restaurants and grocery stores representing countries such as China, Russia, Vietnam, India and Uzbekistan. It has also been designated a multicultural food street. The Wongok-dong Multicultural Village Special Zone, designated by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, will remain in place through 2027.

Members of multicultural families take part in a cooking class for making traditional Korean dishes ahead of the Seollal holidays at a community center in Jung District, Daegu, on Feb. 5. [NEWS1]

Seojeong University in Yangju, Gyeonggi, has the largest number of foreign students among junior colleges in Korea, with 5,092 international students, including language trainees, as of April 1 last year. At each mealtime, students from Vietnam, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Uzbekistan gather in the dormitory cafeteria to cook and share dishes from their home countries.

As the number of Muslim students has grown, the university has installed separate washing facilities so they can wash their feet, accommodating religious practices that require removing shoes and praying.

International students of various nationalities prepare dishes from their countries at the international dormitory at Seojeong University in Yangju, Gyeonggi. [LEE YOUNG-KEUN]

The number of foreign residents in Yangju, where the university is located, rose to 10,224 as of December last year, up 18.4 percent — or 1,610 people — from 8,634 in 2023.

The Ministry of Justice said it plans to review the terminology used for foreign resident clusters to move away from the negative connotation of the Korean word for “cluster,” miljip jiyeok, which may suggest overcrowding.

“We are considering changing the term ‘cluster’ as there is concern about negative perceptions of the term,” said an official at the Korea Immigration Service.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SON SUNG-BAE, LEE YOUNG-KEUN [[email protected]]