89.8% of Foreign Residents in Korea Want to Stay, Spotlight on Everyday Financial Services That Help Them Settle
TECHWORLD ·
✦ AI Summary
Korea is emerging for foreigners as more than a short-term tourist destination, and instead as a place for settlement and long-term residence.
Between 2019 and 2025, 152,107 international students who completed studies in Korea graduated, and 34.3% of them secured jobs in Korea.
As of May 2025, there were 1.692 million foreign residents in Korea, and 89.8% wanted to continue staying in the country, while everyday financial services and settlement support services are also expanding.
As Korea emerges for foreigners as more than a short-term travel destination and instead as a new place to build a life, everyday financial services that help them settle are drawing attention. Analysts also say foreigners' lives in Korea are expanding from short-term stays to long-term settlement.
According to the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters, 152,107 international students who completed their studies in Korea graduated between 2019 and 2025. Of those, 34.3% succeeded in finding jobs in Korea, indicating that more foreigners who studied in Korea are settling here and taking part in economic activity.
According to the National Data Agency, as of May 2025, the number of foreign residents in Korea stood at 1.692 million. The foreign resident population increased 8.4% from a year earlier.
At the same time, 89.8% of foreign residents in Korea were found to want to continue staying in the country. Accordingly, the pattern of foreigners' lives in Korea is expanding beyond short-term stays into long-term settlement.
The direction of services for foreigners is changing. In the past, companies focused on travel and tourism services, targeting short-term visitors. Recently, as the scope has expanded to employment, telecommunications and finance, more services are being offered to help foreign residents adjust to life in Korea and support a stable daily life.
Even amid these changes, difficulties in the job-search process for foreigners continue. According to a National Data Agency survey, the biggest challenge in job hunting for foreigners was 'not enough job information.' Although more foreigners want to work in Korea, access to and use of the job information they want remains limited.
Kowork, a platform specializing in hiring for foreigners, aims to close this information gap. Kowork provides information on jobs in Korea ranging from professional positions to manufacturing work. Through this, it helps foreign job seekers easily check relevant information.
As of 2025, Kowork operates services for 183 countries and has secured more than 60,000 foreign job seekers and about 1,400 corporate members. Kowork operates in English and provides job information tailored to foreigners. Job postings on Kowork allow users to check preferred visa types and whether work visas are available.
Kowork also operates an 'AI resume diagnosis' service. The service provides resume reviews tailored to Korean companies' hiring standards and helps foreign job seekers convey their strengths and capabilities. Kowork also provides support for work visa issuance, work visa management and residency-related services.
Kowork has expanded its support range to include settlement in Korea, and that range covers not only the job-search process but also the period after employment. Chingu Mobile, a telecommunications company specializing in foreigners, operates its website in 6 languages: Korean, English, Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese and Russian. Chingu Mobile also runs its online customer center in 6 languages, easing language barriers for foreigners using its services.
In telecommunications, it provides a fast linkage service for foreign registration cards for foreigners who purchase SIM cards with passports, improving convenience after activation. By operating offline stores near major university districts, it is enhancing access to telecom services for international students at the beginning of their lives in Korea.
Internet service plans and information are mixed together, and the process of signing up for internet service can be complicated even for Korean nationals. In response, Chingu Mobile supports prepaid internet service sign-ups with just a passport, reducing the procedures and burden for foreigners using the internet and helping them easily establish the basic environment for daily life.
Financial services are essential for foreigners living their daily lives in Korea. Overseas remittances are a representative everyday financial service repeatedly used by foreigners settling in Korea, and according to the National Data Agency, more than 29% of foreigners sending money to family members living overseas remit funds at least 12 times a year.
Traditional overseas remittances through banks can be burdensome to keep using because of high fees and the time involved.
In response, SentBe operates mobile-based domestic and international remittances and wallet services, aiming to ease financial burdens and improve convenience for foreign residents in Korea using everyday financial services. SentBe offers a 24-hour remittance environment with no time or location restrictions, charges fees up to 90% lower than banks, and supports real-time transfers within 5 minutes to ease the burden of repeated remittances.
SentBe also offers professional consultation services in 15 languages, helping to improve financial access for foreign workers and enhance ease of use, so that remittance services are easier to use in foreigners' lives in Korea.
Source: TECHWORLD · Lee Gwang-jae
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=407187
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Source: TECHWORLD
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