Only 8% of Koreans would accept immigrants as family: study

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While a growing proportion of Koreans say they would accept immigrants as members of society, few are willing to welcome them into their own families, according to a new report.

The report, released earlier this month by state-run think tank Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, shows that less than 8.4 percent of respondents said they would accept an immigrant as a spouse or family member.

In response to the question, “To what extent are you willing to accept immigrants?,” 38.7 percent of 3,011 respondents said they would accept immigrants as neighbors, followed by as colleagues (30.51 percent), close friends (18.35 percent), family members (8.37 percent) and not at all (4.07 percent).

This underscores a notable reluctance to embrace immigrants beyond public or professional spheres, with openness dramatically decreasing for closer relationships.

Younger Koreans (ages 19-34) demonstrated a greater willingness to befriend immigrants, with 30.2 percent open to close friendships ― exceeding the national average. However, only 8.6 percent said they would accept immigrants as family, suggesting generational shifts in openness still has clear boundaries.

In contrast, those aged 65 or older were most likely to accept immigrants only as neighbors (57.9 percent) and had the lowest rate for accepting them as family (5.05 percent). Also, 7.5 percent of seniors stated they could not accept immigrants at all.

“Old people accept immigrants at the level of everyday and limited interactions, but display an ambivalent attitude by rejecting closer relationships,” the report said.

Acceptance also varied depending on the type of immigrant. Even among those in the youngr age group, only 1.83 percent said they could accept refugees as family, while more than 15 percent said they would not even accept them as neighbors.

The researchers highlighted the importance of tailored policies grounded in generational attitudes and nuanced understanding of different immigrant groups.

“The study found that public acceptance varies depending on immigrants’ purpose of stay, ability to live independently and level of social contribution. Notably, negative perceptions of refugees were consistently high across all generations, whereas acceptance of marriage migrants and permanent residents was relatively higher,” the report said. “This suggests that designing policies based solely on the abstract category of ‘immigrants’ can undermine both policy effectiveness and public acceptance.”