According to recent governmental statistics, the count of foreigners residing in South Korea has hit an all-time peak, exceeding 1.56 million individuals last year. More than fifty percent of these immigrant laborers received a typical monthly income ranging from 2 million to 3 million won ($1,400-$2,100).
The statistics released on March 18 by Statistics Korea along with the Ministry of Justice offer insights into the demographic information, job market patterns, and earnings of foreigners living in South Korea.
By the close of 2024, the number of foreign residents aged 15 and above reached an unprecedented level of 1.561 million, representing a significant increase of 9.1%, or approximately 130,000 individuals, compared to the prior year. This marks the most substantial growth observed since 2012.
Males represented 57.8% of the foreign resident population, with females comprising the rest at 42.2%. The majority of males moved to Korea seeking job opportunities, whereas most females migrated for marital purposes or educational reasons.
With regard to visa types, males predominantly occupy positions under the E-9 non-skilled employment visa category (90.9%), the E-5 specialized occupation visa category (71.8%), and the visa for visiting ethnic Korean nationals with foreign citizenships (57.3%). Conversely, women make up the majority of individuals classified as marriage immigrants (79.6%) and those holding student visas (53.3%).
The job participation rate for foreign residents stood at 64.7%. The highest proportion of these individuals were employed in mining and manufacturing sectors (45.6%), trailed by those in wholesale, retail trade, as well as accommodation and food services (18.9%); then came workers in business, personal, and public service industries (14.2%); lastly, employees in construction made up 10.6%.
Over half of the international workers, specifically 51.2%, received a monthly income ranging from 2 million to 3 million won. An additional 37.1% earned above 3 million won. Those earning between 1 million and 2 million won constituted 8.4%, whereas only 3.3% had a salary beneath 1 million won.
The group earning more than 3 million won was mainly composed of permanent residents (55.2%) and overseas Koreans (46.1%). Individuals with an income below 1 million won or within the range of 1 to 2 million won were largely made up of international students.
Most of South Korea’s foreign inhabitants came from Asia, where individuals of other Asian origins constituted 35.8%, ethnic Koreans from China comprised 31.6%, those from Vietnam accounted for 15.0%, and people from China itself represented 8.6%. Including residents hailing from countries such as Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, and Cambodia, Asians formed approximately 91% of South Korea’s total foreign populace.
The data indicated that 59% of all foreign inhabitants resided within the Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon. On a five-point scale, these foreigners reported an average happiness score of 4.3 points.