Korea Immigration Regional Dashboard
한국어
Statistical terms
Each statistic counts different people. Statistics with similar names differ in whom they count and in what a share is divided by, so they cannot be added together or compared directly. This page gathers the terms used on this site in one place, with questions that check the definitions.
Terms
| Terms | Definition | Share divided by | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered foreigners | Foreign nationals staying more than 90 days who have completed foreigner registration. Overseas Koreans on F-4 who reported their place of residence instead of registering are not included. | A place's share is of its resident-registration population of Korean nationals. | MOJ Statistical Yearbook on Immigration and Foreign Policy |
| Staying foreigners | Every foreign national in Korea on the reference date: registered foreigners, overseas Koreans who reported residence, and short-term visitors staying 90 days or less. | MOJ Statistical Yearbook on Immigration and Foreign Policy | |
| Foreign residents | A broader count: residents without Korean nationality staying more than 90 days, people who acquired Korean nationality (naturalized citizens and others), and children of foreign residents. It includes people who became Korean nationals, so it is larger than the registered count. | A place's share is of all residents, Korean nationals plus foreign residents. | MOIS Status of Foreign Residents in Local Governments |
| Children of foreign residents | Children with at least one parent who is a foreign national or acquired Korean nationality, whatever the child's own nationality. The summary table counts only children born in Korea, so it is smaller than the sum of the table by age. | MOIS Status of Foreign Residents in Local Governments | |
| Marriage migrants | Foreign spouses of Korean nationals. Once they acquire Korean nationality they leave the marriage-migrant count and are counted as naturalized citizens. | MOJ (F-6 status of stay), MOIS | |
| Naturalized citizens | Former foreign nationals who acquired Korean nationality, by naturalization or otherwise. As Korean nationals they are not registered foreigners, but they are counted among foreign residents (MOIS). | MOJ, MOIS | |
| Overseas Koreans | Ethnic Koreans who hold a foreign nationality. They stay on statuses such as Overseas Korean (F-4) and Working Visit (H-2); Korean-Chinese are the largest group. | MOJ Statistical Yearbook on Immigration and Foreign Policy | |
| Visa category | The status that sets what a foreign national may do while staying in Korea, named by a letter and number code such as Non-professional Employment (E-9), Study (D-2) or Marriage Migrant (F-6); often called a visa. | MOJ Statistical Yearbook on Immigration and Foreign Policy | |
| Foreigners without status | People counted as staying past their permitted period or without a status of stay. The official statistic calls them illegal-stay foreigners; this site uses a neutral term. | A nationality's share is of the staying foreigners of that nationality. | MOJ Statistical Yearbook on Immigration and Foreign Policy |
| Multicultural households | Households with a marriage migrant or a naturalized citizen, formed with a Korean national or among themselves. The count is of households, not people. | The share is of general households. | Statistics Korea, Population and Housing Census |
| Members of multicultural households | Everyone living in a multicultural household: the marriage migrant or naturalized citizen, the Korean spouse, children and other family living with them. The census counts them and MOIS publishes the same figure. | Statistics Korea census, MOIS | |
| Multicultural families | A common phrase, not a statistical term. A figure has to say whether it counts multicultural households or their members. The law uses a related term for families covered by the Multicultural Families Support Act. | Everyday term | |
| Multicultural births | Births with at least one parent who is a foreign national or a naturalized citizen, counted in the year the birth was registered. | The share is of all births in the place. | Statistics Korea, Vital Statistics |
| Multicultural marriages and divorces | Marriages and divorces in which at least one spouse is a foreign national or a naturalized citizen, counted in the year they were registered. They are events of the year, not the number of couples living together. | The share is of all marriages or divorces in the place. | Statistics Korea, Vital Statistics |
Note: the definitions follow each agency's published statistics and this site's population bases (see the Indicators and scope page).
Check questions
Choose an answer to see whether it is right and the definition of the term. Scores are not saved.
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A Korean husband, a Vietnamese wife who has not naturalized and their two children live together. Which count covers all four of them?
Correct.
Not quite.
Members of multicultural households
Everyone living in a multicultural household: the marriage migrant or naturalized citizen, the Korean spouse, children and other family living with them. The census counts them and MOIS publishes the same figure.
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How many multicultural households is the same home?
Correct.
Not quite.
Multicultural households
Households with a marriage migrant or a naturalized citizen, formed with a Korean national or among themselves. The count is of households, not people.
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An American of Korean descent on F-4 who reported a place of residence instead of registering: is this person a registered foreigner?
Correct.
Not quite.
Registered foreigners
Foreign nationals staying more than 90 days who have completed foreigner registration. Overseas Koreans on F-4 who reported their place of residence instead of registering are not included.
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Which count does include that person?
Correct.
Not quite.
Staying foreigners
Every foreign national in Korea on the reference date: registered foreigners, overseas Koreans who reported residence, and short-term visitors staying 90 days or less.
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Someone who acquired Korean nationality: registered foreigners or foreign residents (MOIS)?
Correct.
Not quite.
Naturalized citizens
Former foreign nationals who acquired Korean nationality, by naturalization or otherwise. As Korean nationals they are not registered foreigners, but they are counted among foreign residents (MOIS).
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When a marriage migrant naturalizes, what happens to the marriage-migrant count?
Correct.
Not quite.
Marriage migrants
Foreign spouses of Korean nationals. Once they acquire Korean nationality they leave the marriage-migrant count and are counted as naturalized citizens.
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A place's share of registered foreigners is a share of what?
Correct.
Not quite.
Registered foreigners
Foreign nationals staying more than 90 days who have completed foreigner registration. Overseas Koreans on F-4 who reported their place of residence instead of registering are not included.
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What is the multicultural household share a share of?
Correct.
Not quite.
Multicultural households
Households with a marriage migrant or a naturalized citizen, formed with a Korean national or among themselves. The count is of households, not people.
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The father is Korean by birth and the mother a naturalized Korean. Is the baby's birth a multicultural birth?
Correct.
Not quite.
Multicultural births
Births with at least one parent who is a foreign national or a naturalized citizen, counted in the year the birth was registered.
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To answer "how many multicultural families are there", what must be settled first?
Correct.
Not quite.
Multicultural families
A common phrase, not a statistical term. A figure has to say whether it counts multicultural households or their members. The law uses a related term for families covered by the Multicultural Families Support Act.
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Is the number of multicultural marriages in 2024 the number of multicultural couples living together that year?
Correct.
Not quite.
Multicultural marriages and divorces
Marriages and divorces in which at least one spouse is a foreign national or a naturalized citizen, counted in the year they were registered. They are events of the year, not the number of couples living together.
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What does the site call someone who stays after their permitted period ends?
Correct.
Not quite.
Foreigners without status
People counted as staying past their permitted period or without a status of stay. The official statistic calls them illegal-stay foreigners; this site uses a neutral term.
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