Number of Foreigners Residing in Korea Hits All-Time High of 2.73 Million... One in Three is Chinese

Ministry of Justice Immigration Service Statistics... Sharp Increase Following 2021 Low of 1.96 Million During COVID-19

Overseas Koreans, Non-professional Employment, and Permanent Residency Top the List... Majority Reside in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

'No Umbrella' (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sung-min = Foreign tourists move through Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on the 16th as rain falls. 2025.7.16 ksm7976@yna.co.kr

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Sang-seo = The number of foreigners residing in South Korea for purposes such as studies, work, or tourism has exceeded 2.73 million, marking the highest figure on record.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s Korea Immigration Service on the 27th, the number of foreigners residing in the country as of the end of June this year was 2,732,797, an increase of 1.5% (40,068) from the previous month.

Of this total, registered foreigners (long-term residents) and foreign-national Korean residents with domestic residence reports numbered 1,559,975 and 552,419, respectively. Short-term residents, including tourists, totaled 620,403.

The number of foreigners in Korea hit a previous record high of approximately 2.52 million in 2019, before declining for two consecutive years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, falling to roughly 2.04 million in 2020 and 1.96 million in 2021.

Following the transition to the endemic phase, the number recovered to the 2.5 million mark in 2023 (approx. 2.51 million) and rose to approximately 2.65 million last year.

After reaching 2.72 million in March of this year, the figure showed a slight downward trend to 2.71 million in April and 2.69 million in May, before rebounding to reach a new all-time high of 2.73 million last month.

Trends in Resident Foreigners (Unit: 10,000) [Provided by Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service]

By nationality, Chinese citizens accounted for 35.6% of the total, with 972,176 residents.

This was followed by Vietnam (341,153), the United States (196,664), Thailand (173,710), and Uzbekistan (98,457).

More than half of registered foreigners were living in the Seoul metropolitan area. The Yeongnam region accounted for 317,286 (20.3%), the Chungcheong region for 200,939 (12.9%), and the Honam region for 136,990 (8.8%).

In terms of age demographics, those aged 30–39 made up the largest group (25.7%), followed by 20–29 (23.1%), 40–49 (16.7%), 60 and older (13.5%), 50–59 (12.3%), and those aged 19 or younger (8.7%).

By visa status, Overseas Koreans (F-4) were the largest group at 554,895. Non-professional employment (E-9), allowed through the Employment Permit System, followed at 341,453. Permanent residency (F-5) holders totaled 214,036, international students (D-2) numbered 191,297, and transit tourism (B-2) visitors stood at 171,063.

Notably, the number of foreigners staying in the country for tourism purposes saw a sharp increase of 29.6% compared to the previous month.