Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Stats agency to carry out foreigner-friendly survey for 2025 census
Foreign visitors take shelter from the sun under Mojon Bridge at Seoul's Cheonggye Stream, June 23. Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
Korea will conduct a more foreigner-friendly survey for the 2025 census to cope with the country’s accelerated transition to a multicultural society, Statistics Korea said Thursday.
Taken every five years, the census will be carried out from October to November. The number of foreign residents hit a record 2.65 million as of 2024, accounting for more than 5 percent of Korea’s population of 51.2 million.
A total of 20 foreign languages will be available, up from 10 in 2020, in a planned survey on a sample group of 5 million households across the country.
“These households will certainly include foreign residents, making it more crucial to have multiple languages ready,” the agency said. “We expect more people with various nationalities could participate in the survey without the language barrier.”
The newly added 10 languages are Bengali, Burmese, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Lao, Malay, Sinhala, Ukrainian, Urdu and Uzbek.
The existing 10 are English, Chinese, Japanese, Bahasa Indonesian, Khmer, Mongolian, Nepali, Russian, Thai and Vietnamese.
The survey will consist of 55 categories, which will newly include languages spoken at home and proficiency in Korean, along with hours spent with families, tendency toward marriage and home ownership.
“Some of these categories are aimed at better understanding foreign nationals, naturalized Koreans and others who have different life backgrounds,” Statistics Korea said.
In line with a growing preference for online communication, the questionnaire is designed to fit various screen sizes on different digital devices, such as smartphones and tablets.
In-person visits for the survey will be minimized.
Meanwhile, the agency underlined that the census will mark its centennial in 2025, and that the relevant survey will be the largest in its scale.
“Since its inception in 1925, the census has tracked Korea’s journey of development and we want to provide insights into various social and economic changes in our country through this year’s research,” it said. “We kindly ask for the public’s active participation and accurate responses, with a full understanding of the survey’s purpose and significance.”