A Foreigner's Experience Living in Korea: "Great for Travel and Excellent Medical System, but Difficult to Settle"

South Korea Ranks 40th Among 52 Countries as a 'Good Country for Foreigners to Live'
High Quality of Life at 9th Place...Medical Care 2nd, Travel 4th
Settlement Convenience Remains at 41st Place

A foreigner carrying a suitcase is passing through Itaewon Street in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Is South Korea a good country to live in for foreigners? According to a survey of foreigners residing in South Korea, the country has an excellent medical system and is a good place to travel, but it scores low on settlement convenience, resulting in an overall low life satisfaction.

According to the 'Expat Insider 2022' report by InterNations, an organization for people living outside their home countries, South Korea ranked 40th out of 52 countries in the overall ranking of "best countries for foreigners to live in."

Last year, South Korea ranked 47th out of 59 countries, so considering the reduced number of countries evaluated, there was no significant change in ranking.

The survey was conducted with 11,970 respondents from 177 nationalities. The main survey categories included quality of life, ease of settling in, working environment, personal finance, and basic factors.

Although South Korea's overall ranking was low, it ranked 9th in quality of life, placing it in the top 10. In particular, the subcategory of quality of life, "medical care," ranked 2nd following Taiwan, and "travel" also ranked high at 4th place. "Safety" was ranked 20th, and "leisure" was 23rd.

On the other hand, "ease of settling in" remained low at 41st place. "Working environment" ranked 31st, and "personal finance" was 35th. The basic factors, which include digital life, housing, and language, ranked 42nd.

Among the subcategories, "salary and job security" and "digital life" were relatively high at 16th place. Culture welcoming foreigners and language generally hovered around the 40th rank.

Meanwhile, Mexico took first place as the best country for foreigners to live in. Indonesia ranked 2nd, and Taiwan, which had been ranked 1st for three consecutive years in this survey, came in 3rd. Portugal and Spain ranked 4th and 5th respectively.

Kuwait remained at the bottom for this year as well as last year. Other countries with low rankings included New Zealand, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Luxembourg, and Japan.

The report stated, "Foreigners living in Mexico were satisfied with ease of settling in and personal finance, and also rated the local residents as friendly," adding, "Indonesia was found to be easy to find housing, and Taiwan was surveyed as safe with a stable financial system."