A recent survey revealed that nearly 96 percent of South Koreans are open to accepting immigrants as part of their society to some degree. However, only 8 percent expressed willingness to welcome immigrants as family members.
The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) conducted a survey asking Koreans aged 19 to 74 about their attitudes towards immigrants, defined as individuals from other countries residing in Korea on long-term visas. The KIHASA report showed that 38.7 percent of respondents would accept immigrants as neighbors. Additionally, 30.51 percent were comfortable with having immigrants as colleagues, while 18.35 percent said immigrants could become their close friends. However, a mere 8.37 percent were open to the idea of an immigrant becoming their spouse or a family member.
This survey was part of KIHASA’s broader report examining generational differences in attitudes toward immigrant acceptance and the implications for related policies. The study collected responses from a total of 3,011 participants.
Young adults (ages 19-34) generally showed less opposition to immigrants compared to other age groups. Only 2.59 percent of them stated they could not accept immigrants under any circumstances. This figure was significantly lower than other age groups, including 7.49 percent among senior citizens (65 and older), with an overall average of 4.07 percent.
Despite this, the vast majority of even younger respondents expressed reservations about marrying an immigrant or having one join their family. Only 8.61 percent were open to the idea. Middle-aged Koreans (ages 35-64) were slightly more receptive, with 9.13 percent expressing willingness to marry immigrants. Interestingly, over half of senior citizens (57.89 percent) were comfortable having an immigrant neighbor.
However, only 5.05 percent of seniors were willing to accept immigrants as family members.
The researchers noted that the senior group displayed a dual attitude toward immigrants. They showed openness to immigrants in everyday life with limited contact but resisted close relationships or emotional bonds.
The survey also revealed that Koreans were significantly more accepting of immigrants on ordinary long-term visas compared to refugees. For immigrants with permanent residency, less than 2 percent of respondents across all age groups—ranging from 0.23 percent of young adults to 1.65 percent of seniors—said they could not accept them. However, opposition increased substantially when the same question was posed about refugees.
Approximately 29.57 percent of senior citizens stated they were unwilling to accept refugees at all, followed by 19.27 percent of middle-aged individuals and 15.86 percent of young adults.
The percentage of those willing to have a refugee as a family member or spouse remained under 3 percent across all age groups. However, 10.88 percent of young adults indicated they could accept a refugee as a close friend—the highest percentage among the three age groups.
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