Korea Immigration Regional Dashboard
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Registered foreigners are counted across 192 nationalities.
China
People registered with China nationality number 226,628, which is 14.1% of all registered foreigners and ranks 3 in size. Compared with 187,934 in 2015, 10 years earlier, that is an increase of about 20.6%. They live in 250 districts, and the largest counts are Seoul Dongdaemun-gu with 8,005, Gyeonggi-do Ansan-si Danwon-gu with 7,762, and Gyeonggi-do Siheung-si with 7,406. The index of dissimilarity (D) from Koreans is 0.377, the isolation index is 0.009, and interaction with Koreans is 0.955. The highest location quotient (LQ) is in Seoul Jongno-gu at 6.6, where this nationality is 2.9% of the foreigners in that district. The continent of origin is East Asia. The largest age group is 20-24 at 17.6%, and men are 41.1%. This value alone is based on staying foreigners. Estimated mother tongues are Chinese at 90.8% and Cantonese at 5.6%.
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook on Immigration and Foreign Policy 2025 (registered foreigners by nationality, registered foreigners by nationality and district, registered foreigners by status of stay), staying foreigners by nationality and age
The index of dissimilarity, the isolation index, and the location quotient are calculated from the open dataset.
| Indicators | China | All registered foreigners | Relative to total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered foreigners | 226,628 | 1,604,920 | 14.1% of the total |
| Districts of residence | 250 | 250 | All districts |
| Index of dissimilarity (D) | 0.377 | 0.280 | rank 99 of 107 |
| Isolation index | 0.0093 | 0.045 | rank 3 of 107 |
| Interaction with Koreans | 0.955 | 0.955 | rank 60 of 107 |
| Continent | East Asia | 568,673 (35.4% of the total) | 39.9% of those from East Asia |
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook (registered foreigners by nationality), segregation indicators from the open dataset.
Note: the dissimilarity index D measures how far a nationality's distribution across districts differs from that of Korean nationals; 0 means the two distributions match and 1 means complete separation. Isolation is the probability that a member meets someone of the same nationality, and interaction the probability of meeting a Korean resident. In the All registered foreigners column the three indices treat all registered foreigners as one group and use the same formulas. In the Relative to total column, rank 1 is the highest value among nationalities with 100 or more registered foreigners that year; in the continent row that column gives this nationality's share of all registered foreigners from the continent.
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook, each year.
Note: The vertical scale resets to the size of the selected nationality.
View as table
| Year | China | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 90,298 | 52,157 |
| 2007 | 111,008 | 67,197 |
| 2008 | 121,754 | 79,848 |
| 2009 | 125,564 | 86,166 |
| 2010 | 139,261 | 98,225 |
| 2011 | 147,301 | 110,564 |
| 2012 | 151,945 | 114,211 |
| 2013 | 161,098 | 113,843 |
| 2014 | 171,174 | 122,571 |
| 2015 | 187,934 | 128,042 |
| 2016 | 207,259 | 137,769 |
| 2017 | 208,343 | 151,385 |
| 2018 | 207,777 | 170,707 |
| 2019 | 208,081 | 187,334 |
| 2020 | 178,910 | 181,415 |
| 2021 | 170,852 | 178,928 |
| 2022 | 181,571 | 196,883 |
| 2023 | 205,502 | 227,930 |
| 2024 | 218,893 | 261,581 |
| 2025 | 226,628 | 293,907 |
| Rank | District | China Nationality | Share of local foreigners | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seoul Dongdaemun-gu | 8,005 | 38.7 | |
| 2 | Gyeonggi-do Ansan-si Danwon-gu | 7,762 | 20.3 | |
| 3 | Gyeonggi-do Siheung-si | 7,406 | 17.6 | |
| 4 | Gyeonggi-do Bucheon-si | 7,207 | 22.7 | |
| 5 | Jeju-do Jeju-si | 6,435 | 34.9 | |
| 6 | Seoul Seodaemun-gu | 5,963 | 35.7 | |
| 7 | Seoul Guro-gu | 5,914 | 24.2 | |
| 8 | Seoul Gwangjin-gu | 5,635 | 31.4 | |
| 9 | Seoul Yeongdeungpo-gu | 5,491 | 23.0 | |
| 10 | Gyeongsangbuk-do Gyeongsan-si | 5,377 | 24.1 |
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook (registered foreigners by district and nationality).
Note: Nationwide, China nationals make up 14.1% of all registered foreigners, so an area whose share is above that holds relatively many of them.
| Rank | District | China Nationality | Location quotient (LQ) | Share of local foreigners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seoul Jongno-gu | 3,967 | 6.6 | 2.9 |
| 2 | Seoul Jung-gu | 3,330 | 6.4 | 2.8 |
| 3 | Gyeonggi-do Ansan-si Danwon-gu | 7,762 | 6.1 | 2.7 |
| 4 | Seoul Dongdaemun-gu | 8,005 | 5.2 | 2.3 |
| 5 | Gyeongsangbuk-do Gyeongsan-si | 5,377 | 4.6 | 2.0 |
| 6 | Seoul Seodaemun-gu | 5,963 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| 7 | Jeju-do Seogwipo-si | 3,290 | 4.2 | 1.8 |
| 8 | Seoul Gwangjin-gu | 5,635 | 3.9 | 1.7 |
| 9 | Seoul Guro-gu | 5,914 | 3.5 | 1.5 |
| 10 | Seoul Yeongdeungpo-gu | 5,491 | 3.4 | 1.5 |
Source: Location quotient from the open dataset.
Note: the location quotient is the local share divided by the national share; above 1.5 counts as over-representation.
| Visa category | Persons | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student(D2) | 72,531 | 32.0 | |
| Permanent Residence(F5) | 38,668 | 17.1 | |
| Marriage Migration(F6) | 26,636 | 11.8 | |
| Residential(F2) | 26,333 | 11.6 | |
| Visiting Cohabitation(F1) | 17,975 | 7.9 | |
| Dependent Family(F3) | 13,388 | 5.9 | |
| Specially Designated Activities(E7) | 9,740 | 4.3 | |
| General Trainee(D4) | 5,863 | 2.6 | |
| Other statuses | 15,494 | 6.8 |
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook (registered foreigners by status of stay and nationality).
Note: The rows of this table add to 226,628, the whole of the China nationality.
| Age group | Total | Male | Female | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 6,983 | 3,579 | 3,404 | 2.1 |
| 5-9 | 11,500 | 5,929 | 5,571 | 3.4 |
| 10-14 | 9,543 | 4,803 | 4,740 | 2.8 |
| 15-19 | 15,830 | 6,530 | 9,300 | 4.7 |
| 20-24 | 59,255 | 22,096 | 37,159 | 17.6 |
| 25-29 | 43,425 | 16,128 | 27,297 | 12.9 |
| 30-34 | 29,128 | 11,644 | 17,484 | 8.6 |
| 35-39 | 41,092 | 18,354 | 22,738 | 12.2 |
| 40-44 | 33,414 | 13,756 | 19,658 | 9.9 |
| 45-49 | 26,624 | 10,721 | 15,903 | 7.9 |
| 50-54 | 23,182 | 9,328 | 13,854 | 6.9 |
| 55-59 | 17,994 | 7,348 | 10,646 | 5.3 |
| 60+ | 19,297 | 8,452 | 10,845 | 5.7 |
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook (staying foreigners by nationality and age).
Only this table counts all foreign residents, so it totals 337,267 rather than the 226,628 registered foreigners
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook (staying foreigners by nationality and age).
Note: The bar length is the share each cell holds within the whole nationality. This figure alone uses staying foreigners, so its total differs from registered foreigners.
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook, each year (registered foreigners by status of stay and nationality).
Note: The share each status holds within this nationality in that year. The five largest statuses in 2025 are drawn.
View as table
| Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 30.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 26.5 | 4.6 |
| 2009 | 36.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 26.8 | 5.7 |
| 2010 | 36.6 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 24.4 | 6.6 |
| 2011 | 32.9 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 22.8 | 8.5 |
| 2012 | 28.8 | 7.8 | 13.6 | 10.6 | 12.3 |
| 2013 | 24.4 | 10.3 | 16.8 | 8.1 | 14.8 |
| 2014 | 22.3 | 11.8 | 15.3 | 8.6 | 16.2 |
| 2015 | 21.5 | 12.4 | 13.3 | 8.8 | 19.0 |
| 2016 | 22.4 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 8.6 | 21.2 |
| 2017 | 24.8 | 13.6 | 11.4 | 8.8 | 20.6 |
| 2018 | 27.2 | 14.8 | 11.5 | 8.5 | 18.9 |
| 2019 | 28.7 | 16.1 | 11.6 | 8.5 | 17.6 |
| 2020 | 24.7 | 19.2 | 13.4 | 9.4 | 16.9 |
| 2021 | 24.6 | 20.5 | 14.0 | 9.1 | 16.4 |
| 2022 | 29.0 | 19.6 | 13.2 | 8.6 | 14.5 |
| 2023 | 30.4 | 17.6 | 12.3 | 9.7 | 14.7 |
| 2024 | 30.9 | 17.1 | 11.9 | 10.6 | 11.8 |
| 2025 | 32.0 | 17.1 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 7.9 |
Source: Segregation indicators from the open dataset.
Note: the dissimilarity index D measures how far a nationality's distribution across districts differs from that of Korean nationals, isolation is the probability that a member meets someone of the same nationality, and interaction the probability of meeting a Korean resident. The three run on different ranges, so they are selected one at a time.
View as table
| Year | Index of dissimilarity (D) | Isolation index | Interaction with Koreans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.294 | 0.005 | 0.969 |
| 2015 | 0.310 | 0.006 | 0.966 |
| 2016 | 0.330 | 0.007 | 0.965 |
| 2017 | 0.340 | 0.008 | 0.965 |
| 2018 | 0.348 | 0.008 | 0.963 |
| 2019 | 0.354 | 0.008 | 0.963 |
| 2020 | 0.354 | 0.007 | 0.966 |
| 2021 | 0.351 | 0.006 | 0.968 |
| 2022 | 0.368 | 0.007 | 0.965 |
| 2023 | 0.379 | 0.008 | 0.961 |
| 2024 | 0.379 | 0.009 | 0.958 |
| 2025 | 0.377 | 0.009 | 0.955 |
| First language | Share | |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 90.8 | |
| Cantonese | 5.6 | |
| Uyghur | 0.8 |
Source: Ethnologue 24th edition, first-language shares by country.
Note: the estimated demand on the language page is this share multiplied by the registered foreign population of each nationality. Shares below 0.5% are not listed, and a person who speaks more than one language is not distinguished.
Count range
Note: The boundaries are shapes simplified for display and are drawn as pen lines. The fill values are the provincial totals from the yearbook and do not depend on the shapes.
Source: MOJ Statistical Yearbook (registered foreigners by nationality and district), summed to the province level.
View as table
| Province | China Nationality | Share of national |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul | 67,780 | 29.9 |
| Gyeonggi-do | 67,086 | 29.6 |
| Incheon | 13,663 | 6.0 |
| Gyeongsangbuk-do | 10,277 | 4.5 |
| Jeju-do | 9,725 | 4.3 |
| Busan | 8,442 | 3.7 |
| Chungcheongnam-do | 8,337 | 3.7 |
| Chungcheongbuk-do | 6,713 | 3.0 |
| Gyeongsangnam-do | 6,064 | 2.7 |
| Jeollabuk-do | 5,480 | 2.4 |
| Daegu | 4,095 | 1.8 |
| Gangwon-do | 4,094 | 1.8 |
| Jeollanam-do | 3,889 | 1.7 |
| Daejeon | 3,833 | 1.7 |
| Gwangju | 3,508 | 1.5 |
| Ulsan | 2,381 | 1.1 |
| Sejong | 1,261 | 0.6 |