Int'l student population in Korea rises 14.8% in 2023 to 226,507

Students attend an event for international students at Korea University in February last year. There were 226,507 foreign nationals residing in Korea with student visas as of December last year. [NEWS1]

There were 226,507 people residing in Korea with student visas as of December last year, according to Ministry of Justice data announced Tuesday.

The figure is up 14.8 percent on-year.

Vietnamese nationals made up the largest international student population, with 80,343 in Korea with a student visa.

China came second with 70,888, followed by Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Myanmar. Japan came sixth, followed by Nepal, Indonesia, Russia, Bangladesh and India.

Of the total student visa holders, 152,094 had the D-2 visa, up 13.45 percent on-year. There were 74,361 D-4 visa holders, up 17.76 percent on-year.

Overall, there were 2.5 million foreign nationals living in Korea as of December last year. That's up 11.7 percent on year.

Of them, 917,182 were on visas without employment restrictions, which are residency and marriage visas such as the F-2, F-4, F-5 and F-6.

There were 526,376 foreign nationals with a visa that allows them to work in Korea, which includes the E-1 to E-10 visas, the H-2 working holiday visa and the C-4 short-term employment visa.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]