Foreign nationals make up 2.4 pct of Seoul population: report

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- Registered foreign nationals living in Seoul accounted
for 2.4 percent of the entire population of the nation's capital, a recent poll
showed Sunday, with the rate climbing more than 10-fold in the past decade.
The number of registered foreign nationals in Seoul stood at some 255,000, or 2.4
percent of the South Korean capital's population of 10.45 million, according to
the survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The latest figure represents an approximate 10-fold increase compared to the 1998
tally of 51,000.
The number of Chinese residents amounted to 192,618, accounting for an
overwhelming 75.5 percent of all foreigners, followed by those from the U.S. and
Taiwan, with 5 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. The number of Japanese
stood at 2.7 percent.
Slightly over half of all foreigners in the capital were females. About
one-fourth of foreign residents were in their 40s, trailed by those in their 50s
and 60s, with 20.9 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Some 14 percent of foreigners, mostly Chinese laborers, resided in Seoul's
southwestern manufacturing district of Yeongdeungpo.
A little over 10 percent of nationals arrived here after marrying a Korean
spouse, and the rate of foreign students stood at 7.8 percent.
Seoul officials also said a survey of 1,000 foreigners held in October of last
year showed that an average of 62.4 percent of them were satisfied with living in
Seoul, higher than the satisfaction rate of Korean nationals living in the
capital, which stood at 53.6 percent.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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