The 2011 social index report compiled by Statistics Korea showed there were 982,461 foreigners who have been legally registered as long-term residents, compared with just 49,507 people tallied in 1990. Of the total, 231,000 were in the country on nonprofessional employment visas, with 68,000 enrolled in South Korean schools.
Others were in the country after having acquired permanent residence status through marriages and such.
In addition, more and more young people who studied abroad are coming back to Korea, mainly because of the tougher job markets overseas due to the global recession.
A study-abroad agency analyzed the profile of transfer applicants to eight universities in the Seoul metropolitan area between 2010 and 2012 and found that the number of applicants who attended or graduated from universities abroad increased from 840 in 2010 to 1,607 this year.
Chung-Ang University got 132 applications in 2010 and 282 in 2012. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies saw numbers jump from 68 to 282 over the same period; Sogang University from 114 to 223; Inha University from 28 to 106; and Hanyang University from 150 to 247.
(아주경제 앤드류 이 기자)
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