Foreign nationals, based on registration, account for 2.4 percent of the total population in Seoul, according to a recent survey by the Seoul City government.
The survey shows that foreigners numbered some 255,000, or 2.4 percent of the Seoul's total population of 10.45 million. The figure represents about 10-fold increase from the 51,000 registered in 1998.
Chinese took the largest share of 75.5 percent of the foreign population in Seoul with 192,618 people, followed by Americans with 5 percent (12,821) and Taiwan(8,818) with 3.5 percent. Japan stood at 2.7 percent with 6,840 and Vietnam 1.8 percent with 4,652..
Sixty of the 152 countries whose nationals are living in Seoul have less than 10 people in Seoul and only one person from 12 countries.
Chinese nationals mainly live in Yeongdeungpo-gu and Guro-gu, Americans in Gangnam-gu and Yongsan-gu, Taiwanese mainly in Sedaemun-gu and Mapo-gu, and Japanese in Yongsan-gu and Gangnam-gu.
Migrant manual workers account for 58.5 percent with 149,000, married immigrants 11.6 percent (29,560), students 7.8 percent (19,866) and professionals 4.1 percent (1,503)