As of the end of last month, Vietnamese accounted for 27.5 percent of all interracial marriages in South Korea, ranking second only to the Chinese with 43 percent. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – The proportion of Vietnamese among foreigners residing in South Korea was higher than Americans for the second straight month in November due to an increase in the number of women from the Southeast Asian country getting married with South Korean men, government data showed Tuesday.
The immigration office under the Justice Ministry said the number of Vietnamese people amounted to 147,295, or about 7.4 percent, as of the end of November, trailing the 1 million Chinese residents, or 50.2 percent of the total, and topping the 140,337 Americans, or 7 percent.
The proportion of Vietnamese retained second place after it surpassed that of Americans for the first time in October. The office started to compile data on the number of foreign residents in 2000.
Immigration officials attributed the rise to an increase in the number of workers from the Southeast Asian country and Vietnamese women who get married with South Korean men.
As of the end of last month, Vietnamese accounted for 27.5 percent of all interracial marriages in South Korea, ranking second only to the Chinese with 43 percent.
Among foreign workers in South Korea, the Vietnamese also stood in second place, with their proportion recording 8 percent, compared with the 43 percent of the top-placed Chinese.
During the reported month, the number of foreign residents decreased 1.3 percent from a month ago to 1.99 million.
(Yonhap)
