10 years of changes in Korea's foreign community
Various foreign condiments, including guacamole, once rare in Korea, are on the shelves at a supermarket in Seoul, Dec. 29. / Korea Times photo by Jon DunbarBy Jon DunbarKorea may no longer be a developing country, but change still happens fast here. Foreign residents who have been here over 10 years have felt those changes acutely. And in many ways, our presence has been a catalyst for changes in Korean society. Notably, the foreign population of Korea has grown considerably. It has also stabilized as it is no longer the norm for Westerners to teach English for only a year and disappear. A recent news article claimed Korea has 2.09 million “immigrants,” meaning foreign residents and naturalized citizens, accounting for 4.1 percent of the total population. Of them, more than 100,000 had voting rights in the 2018 June elections. We all know about the big societal changes happening in Korea ― mobile apps, smoking bans, air pollution, popularity of cycling, tattoos going mainstream, etc. ― that can be saved for any other article. But what are the ways life has especially cha
Dec 31, 2019By Jon Dunbar
