Vietnam leads surge as Korea’s foreign resident population hits record high

Korea’s foreign resident population has climbed to an all-time high, driven by a sharp rise in young migrants and a particularly strong influx from Vietnam, according to new data. The 2025 Immigrant Residence and Employment Survey, published Thursday, shows that as of May, the number of foreign residents aged 15 or older exceeded 1.69 million, up from 1.56 million a year earlier. This marks the second-fastest annual increase since 2017. The growth is mainly concentrated among younger age groups. The population of foreigners aged 15 to 29 expanded by 12.8 percent (59,000 people), while those in their 30s grew by 7.8 percent (34,000). In contrast, the number of foreign residents in their 50s fell slightly, by 0.4 percent (1,000). By nationality, ethnic Korean Chinese nationals remain the largest foreign resident group, with 506,000 residents. Vietnamese rank second at 270,000, but they are growing far faster than any other major ethnic group. The survey shows that the Vietnamese population in Korea jumped by 15.5 percent (36,000), compared with Chinese nationals, which increased by 3.3 p