Immigration to South Korea

South Korea has relatively low immigration rates due to its restrictive policies, though in recent years, with more relaxed laws, the influx of immigrants into South Korea has been rising, with foreign residents accounting for 5.3% of the total population in 2025. Nevertheless, a number of them are ethnic Koreans with a foreign citizenship. Many residents from China, post-Soviet states, the United States and Japan are, in fact, repatriated ethnic Koreans (labelled "Overseas Koreans") who may meet criteria for expedited acquisition of South Korean citizenship. In 2025, among the 2.73 million foreign citizens who live in South Korea, 848,724 of them are ethnic Koreans and 625,663 are short-term residents. Between 1990 and 2020, South Korea's migrant population has grown 3.9%, the second-highest level of growth in the world. By nationality, Chinese nationals account for 34.4%, Vietnamese nationals 12.5%, United States nationals 6.9%, and Thai nationals 6%.

According to the United Nations, in 2024 foreign born residents represented 3.5% of the total population, which is slightly below the world average of 3.7%.