Foreign students on Jan. 5 attend a Korean speech contest at by Ewha Womans University in Seoul. (Yonhap News)
By Gil Kyuyoung
The number of expats in the country has reach a record-high 2.46 million.
Based on a report released on Oct. 24 by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of foreign residents who stayed in the country for over three months as of November last year was 2,459,542. The figure accounted for 4.8% of the country's overall population of 51,774,521 and was higher than that of Daegu, the nation's No. 4 biggest city.
Those without Korean nationality comprised most of the foreign population with 1,935,150, followed by naturalized citizens with 234,506 and the children of expat families 289,886.
The ministry said the rise was driven by growth in the number of foreign workers (16.6% or 67,111) and international students (8.9% or 16,932) from last year.
Gyeonggi-do Province had the most expats with 809,801, followed by Seoul (449,014), Incheon (160,859), and the provinces of Chungcheongnam-do (155,589) and Gyeongsangnam-do (150,643).
More information on the report is available on the ministry's website (www.mois.go.kr).
Deputy Minister Kim Min Jae said, "Expats have become a major part of our society in comprising 4.8% of our combined population, so we will make efforts with related ministries and local governments so that they can settle in each region without difficulty."
