NEW YEAR POLL Foreign residents say Korea feels like ‘temporary home’

International students pack a job fair held for non-Korean students at BEXCO in Busan, Aug. 19. Newsis

Many foreign residents here do not see Korea as a place where they can realistically build a long-term life, a poll showed, highlighting deep uncertainties over whether they can secure permanent status, stable jobs or a genuine sense of belonging.

In an online poll of 258 foreign residents and naturalized Koreans conducted by Hankook Research for The Korea Times from Dec. 18 to 24, respondents across different age and visa brackets reported struggling to obtain stable careers and long-term status in spite of years spent studying or working here. Many said Korea still treats them more as temporary guests than as members of society.

They call for more inclusive immigration rules, easier paths to permanent residency and citizenship, as well as formal channels for foreign residents to have their views reflected in policy. Experts say that without such reforms, foreign residents will remain stuck in a holding pattern ― useful to the economy, but never fully accepted as part of Korean society.

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

When it comes to people’s general attitudes toward cultural diversity, however, the picture is more mixed. While 60 percent said the country is open to cultural diversity and different ways of life, only 24 percent disagreed, suggesting that many foreign residents see everyday Korean society as more welcoming than the country’s institutions and visa system.

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

Asked about Korea’s shortcomings as a place for foreigners to live, 45 percent picked visa and employment systems that make it difficult for noncitizens to build long-term careers, when up to two answers were allowed.

That response was followed by complicated administrative systems at 43 percent, a lack of institutional foundations and public awareness of diversity and inclusion at 41 percent, and limits in housing, education and welfare support for foreign residents at 33 percent. Limited use of English in everyday life came last at 18 percent among five given options.

A similar sentiment appeared in responses to another question about what would be required for Korea to become truly global.

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

Simplifying visa, permanent residency and naturalization systems came first with 39 percent when up to two answers were allowed, followed by setting up communication channels through which foreigners’ opinions can be reflected in policy at 35 percent and tackling institutional discrimination in employment, housing and health care at 34 percent.

The demand for changes to the visa system was higher among people in their 20s at 43 percent and, by visa status, among those on work visas at 48 percent.

While 33 percent called for stronger legal measures against discrimination, support for such measures was particularly high among those most rooted in Korea. Naturalized Korean citizens and respondents who have lived in the country for more than 10 years expressed strong support for tougher responses to hate speech and discriminatory behavior, at 67 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

Behind the poll numbers is Korea’s visa regime, which is considered unusually restrictive by the standards of advanced countries, especially for those hoping to settle. For most people without Korean ethnicity or a Korean spouse, it is regarded as one of the hardest developed economies in which to secure permanent residency, according to experts.

Kim Joon‑sik, honorary chairman of the Seoul‑based nongovernmental organization Asian Friends, says the poll results are a snapshot of a deeper structural problem. Institutionally, Korea remains “very closed,” he said, noting that foreign workers struggle to stay beyond five years and foreign students find it extremely difficult to plan their lives here in the long run.

“Just as many Koreans who go to the U.S. to study end up thinking, ‘I’d rather live in the U.S. than in Korea,’ Korea should also allow international students and talented foreigners to live here with that kind of realistic hope. In other words, the country needs to open pathways for them to obtain Korean permanent residency and, if they wish, Korean citizenship,” Kim said.

Korea brings in large numbers of foreigners on temporary schemes such as the Employment Permit System, but under these systems, few can accumulate the continuous five‑year stay usually needed to qualify for long‑term status. General and points‑based F‑5 permanent residency categories, including F‑5‑1 and F‑5‑16, now require annual income at least twice Korea’s per capita GNI ― roughly 100 million won ($70,000) ― putting the bar far above what ordinary workers and many mid‑career professionals earn here.

The system is difficult even for highly skilled professionals, said Kim Sa‑gang, a researcher at the Busan‑based Migration and Human Rights Institute.

“People who come in professional capacities, like professors, may actually not speak Korean very well, so when they’re required to take Korean language proficiency tests or complete social integration programs, they often find them very challenging,” she said. “This helps explain why, among foreign students, the proportion who manage to find a job and really ‘survive’ in Korea is not very high ― I understand it is under 10 percent ― which shows just how hard it is to get a proper, stable position here.”

By contrast, the U.S. and many EU countries explicitly frame immigration around permanent settlement, with multiple green card or long‑term residence routes based on family ties and a range of employment levels, often using “sufficient” income standards instead of very high thresholds.

All of this is unfolding against the backdrop of Korea’s demographic shift driven by its world-record low birthrate, which many economists warn will strain growth, welfare systems and local communities.

“Given Korea’s birthrate level, I think that for the nation to remain sustainable and continue developing, it must break away from old ideas of homogeneity and instead open its heart wide to the world,” Kim Joon‑sik said.