Foreign residents top 2 million with new visa system, more int'l students

The number of foreign residents in Korea broke 2 million last year, as more people entered the country in search of jobs, contributing to a slowdown in the rapid aging of the country's population.

A job fair for international students held last year in North Chungcheong [NORTH CHUNGCHEONG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT]

The number of foreign residents in Korea broke 2 million last year, as more people entered the country in search of jobs, contributing to a modest population increase amid a decline in Korean nationals.

Foreign residents totaled 2.04 million as of November, up a whopping 5.6 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 3.9 percent of the total population, according to Statistics Korea data released on Tuesday.

The steep growth was led by people from Vietnam, a population that jumped 15.3 percent on year, followed by Myanmar and Nepal with increases of 31.3 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Overall, Chinese residents made up more than a quarter of all foreign residents, making them the largest foreign group.

The foreign resident population dwindled following the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, but bounced back in 2022 and has been on the rise since.

The number of foreigners grew on an expansion of the employment permit system and a rise in international students, while the number of Korean nationals decreased due to natural decline, according to the agency.

The Korean government has been trying to attract foreign workers into the country in the face of a dwindling working population.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Employment and Labor launched a pilot program in 2024, inviting a hundred Filipino caregivers to work in the country under the E-9 visa for nonskilled workers. The government extended their visas upon expiration.

Of the entire foreign resident population, 58 percent are living in the greater Seoul area, most prominently in Ansan and Hwaseong in Gyeonggi.

Foreign students write their resumes at a job fair in Busan on Sept. 27, 2024. [YONHAP]

On the back of the growth of foreign residents, Korea’s total population stood at 51.81 million, up 0.1 percent, from a year earlier. The growth was milder than the 0.2 percent of the previous year.

It marked the second straight year of growth after two years of decline. In the same period, the number of Koreans living in the country fell 0.2 percent on year in 2024 to 49.76 million. The downward trend has persisted since 2021.

Korea faced a population contraction in 2021, a first since the agency started collecting relevant data back in 1949.

The total population is calculated using data on births and deaths, as well as international migration involving foreigners who live or enter the country with the plan to live in Korea for more than three months.

Similar to foreign residents, multicultural family also jumped 5.7 percent on year to 439,000 households last year, continuing the upward streak since 2016.

Those aged 65 and above also set a record, breaking 10 million for the first time to total 10.12 million, up 5.3 percent from a year earlier.

But the working population aged between 15 and 64 fell, a trend that has persisted since 2018.

That demographic fell 0.8 percent last year from a year earlier to 36.26 million, accounting for 70 percent of the total population.

Korea has been grappling with a rapidly aging society and record-low birthrate, which experts have warned will hamper the country’s growth.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]