By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff reporter
The number of foreign nationals staying here legally totaled 1.21 million as of June 30, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier. This is the first time that the figure has topped 1.2 million.
Foreigners staying for fewer than 90 days for leisure or business rose 13 percent from the previous year, with those living here for more than 90 days inched up 0.4 percent, the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday.
The number of foreign nationals marrying Koreans increased 8.2 percent to 136,556 in the January to June period, with Chinese and Vietnamese women accounting for 47.7 percent and 23.8 percent of the total, respectively.
Those studying at local universities and other educational institutions came to 82,100, up 8.4 percent, with Chinese citizens accounting for nearly 77 percent of the total.
The number of foreign visitors totaled 4.14 million in the first half of the year, an 8 percent year-on-year growth.
The majority of them came from Asian countries, with Japanese travelers topping the list at 1.45 million. China came in second as the increasingly wealthy Chinese, totaling 755,000, come to Korea for shopping and leisure-related services, followed by the United States at 340,000, Taiwan at 216,000 and Thailand at 108,000.
"Among foreign nationals, we expect more Chinese travelers to come here in the second half of the year as Korea's visa restrictions for them will be relaxed in the coming days. We will soon issue more one-year multiple entry visas to the Chinese, as well as allow air transit passengers to enter the country to encourage them to spend money here," a ministry official said. The number of Chinese tourists for the first six months of this year surged 38.3 percent from a year earlier.
Foreigners overstaying their visas fell 7 percent to 174,000 in the first six months of the year from the same period in 2009.
Meanwhile, Koreans who headed overseas and came home from January through June totaled 23.63 million, up 21 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.
"With the global economic downturn, the flu epidemic and other unfavorable conditions, Koreans refrained from going abroad in 2009. But this year, many individuals have and will head overseas on the back of improved economic conditions and the strengthening of the Korean won against the dollar," the official said.
China was Koreans' most popular destination, with 1.37 million visiting Beijing, Shanghai and other cities in the world's fastest growing economy during the January to June period. Japan was the second most visited country at 1.03 million, followed by the United States and Thailand.
The official said a larger number of Koreans will go abroad during the summer vacation season in July and August, projecting this year's outbound travelers will soar to a record high.