In 2023, one in ten newlyweds in Korea was part of an international couple, with international marriages making up 10.6 percent (20,431) of all unions. This marks an increase of 9.1 percent (17,428) in 2022.

Of these, 69.8 percent were between foreign national wives and Korean national husbands, 17.9 percent between foreign husbands and Korean wives, and 12.3 percent were comprised of two or at least one naturalized Korean citizen. Married couples where both partners are of foreign nationality are excluded from this category, according to Statistics Korea.

The largest share of foreign wives came from Vietnam (27.9 percent ), followed by China and Thailand, while most foreign husbands came from China (6.9 percent), followed by the US and Vietnam.

As of Nov. 1, 2023, 2.46 million foreign nationals were living in Korea for more than three months, making up 5 percent of the population, driven by increased numbers of workers and students from overseas.