The number of immigrants last year showed the second-highest rise among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Shown are international students in June at the Hanyang Global Fair hosted by Hanyang University’s Seoul campus in the city's Seongdong-gu District. (Hanyang's official Facebook page)

By Yoon Sojung

The number of immigrants to Korea last year saw the second-highest rise among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 

An increase of seasonal short-term foreign workers and the global popularity of Hallyu (Korean Wave) were cited as the major reasons behind such growth.

In its 2024 International Migration Outlook released on Nov. 14, the OECD said the number of people who received permanent residency and immigrated to its 38 member countries reached a record 6.5 million last year. The major factors cited behind the increase were growth in the number of seasonal workers and asylum seekers. 

The data counts the number of immigrants who settle in a country through permanent residence or citizenship but also refugees, international students and temporary workers. Korea every year sends data to the OECD on the number of registered foreign residents who stay longer than 90 days in the country.

The U.K. saw the highest increase in the number of immigrants last year with 52.9%, going from 488,400 in 2022 to 746,900 last year. Korea was second with 50.9%, with 57,800 to 87,100 over the period. 

Other countries with high immigration growth last year included Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Greece.

The OECD noted the rise of seasonal temporary workers in fueling the record increase in immigrants last year. It cited the case of the U.S., which saw a 6% increase last year in the number of such laborers to 446,000, and that of Korea, whose figure skyrocketed 212% to 25,500.

Major domestic news media including The Chosun Ilbo said the growth in the number of foreign students in Korea due to the global boom of Hallyu (Korean Wave) was a major factor in higher immigration to Korea.

The Korea Tourism Data Lab of the Korea Tourism Organization in August said the number of foreign nationals in the country studying or undergoing training in the first half of this year broke 200,000 for the first time. The figure had plummeted from 191,000 in the second half of 2019, or right before the COVID-19 outbreak, to 88,000 in the second half of 2020. 

Thanks to the growing popularity of Hallyu such as K-pop and K-dramas, however, global interest in the Korean language and Hallyu overall fueled a rebound in immigration, with the number of such expats in the second half of last year surging to 178,000. 

arete@korea.kr