Seoulstart research

Annual data reports on foreign residents in Korea

Every figure in these reports traces to a primary Korean government source. We publish once a year in April, covering the prior full calendar year. Licensed for citation with attribution.

Methodology and editorial standards

Seoulstart reports are compiled from primary Korean government sources: Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service, KOSTAT, NHIS, Ministry of Employment & Labor, National Pension Service, Bank of Korea, and others. Every material figure is linked to the .go.kr or .or.kr page where it is published. Where a primary source is not available, we say so explicitly rather than cite secondary media.

We publish a new edition once a year each April, covering the prior full calendar year. The canonical URL for each edition stays live indefinitely. Revisions after publication are logged in a visible changelog at the bottom of each report.

Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite any figure with attribution to Seoulstart and a link to the source document we cite. Contact the editorial team at the address below for interviews, custom data pulls, or licensing discussions.

Data errors: if you spot a figure that does not match the cited source, email us and we will verify and correct within the same week.