[New Korean Dream⑦] Reasons for Coming to Korea... 9% Are Foreign Workers, 170,000 International Students and Trainees

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] It has been revealed that the majority of foreigners visiting and staying in South Korea are here for employment or academic purposes. In particular, foreign workers accounted for about 9% of the total. The number of foreigners who came to South Korea for studying abroad or training was estimated at approximately 170,000.

According to the Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreigners Policy Statistical Monthly Report for May 2022, released on the 22nd of last month, the total number of foreigners residing in South Korea as of May was confirmed to be 2,012,862. When categorized by visa type issued, excluding 485,131 overseas Koreans who entered simply because they wanted to visit their homeland, the largest group was foreigners who came for non-professional employment purposes, totaling 223,374. 'New Korean Dream'

The majority of foreigners with non-professional employment purposes are foreign workers employed in domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, factories, and similar places. Foreign workers aiming to engage in simple labor-intensive industries are issued non-professional employment (E-9) visas. This visa allows a maximum stay of up to 3 years, and if re-employed under the condition of continuous employment, they can stay an additional 1 year and 10 months.

The number of such foreign workers has continued to increase this year. Before May, there were 219,139 in February, 220,751 in March, and 221,512 in April. Compared to 220,605 in May last year, this represents a 1.3% increase.

Next, there were many foreigners who came to South Korea to learn something. The number of international students was 121,139, and general trainees numbered 55,343. This appears to be the result of South Korean universities actively attracting foreign students recently. Universities have expanded admissions and transfer screening for foreign students under the banner of campus globalization and internationalization. The weight of the 'globalization index' in various comprehensive evaluation indicators conducted nationwide for universities in South Korea has increased. It is also analyzed that the rise in foreigners wanting to learn Korean, driven by the global spotlight on Korean popular culture and the 'Hallyu' wave, contributed to this increase. Besides international students, there were 1,739 technical trainees and 2,070 professors writing theses or conducting research at universities.

The number of tourists was 62,192. Since the COVID-19 situation has calmed down, the number of tourists visiting South Korea has steadily increased, recording 41,664 in February, 42,873 in March, and 54,083 in April.

In particular, tourists from Asian countries have increased significantly. In response, the Ministry of Justice improved the visa issuance system this month for Japan, Taiwan, and Macau, where visitors have surged. These three countries had temporarily suspended mutual visa-free entry due to the spread of COVID-19. The Ministry of Justice improved the current system, which issues a single-entry visa valid for up to 90 days for tourism purposes, to issue a multiple-entry visa (C-3, valid for 1 year) that allows multiple visits if the applicant wishes.

Other categories included 135,334 marriage immigrants and 114,985 visiting workers. There were also 13,939 foreigners for conversation instruction purposes. Relatively fewer foreigners came for corporate-related activities such as corporate investment (6,380) and trade management (2,175).