Seoul Survey 2024: Key Findings
On May 9th, Seoul released the findings from the 2023 Seoul Survey, which examined various social indicators and aspects of the lives of Seoul’s citizens. The survey covered 20,000 households (35,881 individuals aged 15 and older), focusing on issues such as low birth rates, aging, and the digital era’s impact on the lives of Seoul’s residents and foreigners.
What Are Seoul’s Landmarks?
Seoul citizens most frequently cited the Han River (48.3%) as the city’s top landmark. In contrast, foreigners identified Gwanghwamun Square (45.9%) as their favorite. Preferences varied by nationality: Korean-Chinese chose Gwanghwamun Square, Americans and other English-speaking nationals preferred the royal palaces, Vietnamese selected the City Hall Plaza, and Europeans picked the Han River.
The landmarks chosen by Seoul’s citizens have shifted significantly over the years, reflecting changing times and tastes.
Where Do Foreigners in Seoul Live?
In 2022, there were 239,297 registered foreign residents in Seoul, accounting for 2.5% of the city’s population. The districts with the highest foreign populations were Guro-gu (23,103) and Yeongdeungpo-gu (22,410). Regarding visa types, students made up 21.3% (50,855), permanent residents 19.9% (47,555), visitors on working holidays 12.3% (29,506), and marriage immigrants 8.8% (20,986).
Living Arrangements of Foreigners in Seoul
The most common living arrangement among foreigners was residing with parents or family (54.4%), followed by living alone (27.3%) and living with foreign friends or colleagues (14.0%).
Korean-Chinese (62.4%), Japanese (65.3%), and Americans (60.9%) were more likely to live with family. In contrast, lower percentages were seen among Chinese (34.1%), Vietnamese (33.8%), and other Asians (48.2%).
A survey of foreigners who had lived in Seoul for at least three months revealed an overall life satisfaction score of 6.91 out of 10. Satisfaction with city safety (7.30) and welfare environment (7.06) was high, while social environment satisfaction was the lowest (6.59).
Are Foreigners in Seoul Happy?
The percentage of foreigners who would recommend living in Seoul dropped by 9.2 percentage points from the previous year, to 57.1%. Similarly, 56.3% expressed their intention to continue living in Seoul.
Examining experiences of discrimination, the workplace or job site was the most common location for discrimination (27.9%), followed by stores, restaurants, banks, landlords or real estate agents, public institutions, and neighborhoods. The rate of discrimination experienced by foreigners peaked at 28-50% in 2019 but significantly decreased to 8-28% by 2022.
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