One in Ten Newlyweds Are Multicultural... Noticeable Changes in Honam and Jeju

Honam Regional Statistics Office Releases Multicultural Statistics
Multicultural Households in Gwangju Increase to 8,700
Gwangsan, Jinan, and Jeju Lead in Multicultural Marriage Proportion
Births Rise in Jeonbuk and Gwangju, Decline in Jeonnam and Jeju
Gwangju Ranks Highest Nationwide for Elementary-Aged Children Proportion
Education and Care Policies More Urgent in Gwangju

The boundaries of Korean families are expanding. In Honam and Jeju, statistics show an increase in multicultural marriages and births.

According to the report "A Society Living Together: Multicultural Changes in Statistics" released by the Honam Regional Statistics Office on the 15th, both multicultural marriages and births have increased in the Honam and Jeju regions, which include Gwangju, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, and Jeju. In 2023, the total number of multicultural marriages in these four regions reached 2,313, showing a clear upward trend compared to the previous year.

Image of multicultural family generated by ChatGPT.

In Gwangju, 475 cases were recorded, a 33.8% increase from the previous year. Jeonbuk had 694 cases (up 22.2%), Jeonnam 782 cases (up 19.6%), and Jeju 362 cases (up 21.9%), all exceeding the national average growth rate of 17.2%.

At the city, county, and district level, Jeju-si in Jeju had the highest number with 246 cases, followed by Gwangsan-gu in Gwangju (195 cases) and Jeonju-si in Jeonbuk (186 cases). In Jinan-gun, Jeonbuk, the proportion of multicultural marriages among all marriages was the highest at 32.6%, followed by Jindo-gun in Jeonnam (28.9%), Gokseong-gun (25.5%), and Haenam-gun (25.4%).

The increase in marriages has led to a rise in the number of multicultural households. As of 2023, the number of multicultural households was 8,700 in Gwangju, 14,693 in Jeonbuk, 16,325 in Jeonnam, and 6,164 in Jeju, representing increases of 18.4%, 17.0%, 16.0%, and 21.5% respectively compared to 2019.

In Gwangju, Gwangsan-gu had the highest proportion of multicultural households at 2.2% (3,750 households), while the proportion of multicultural households among all households in Gwangju was 1.4%.

Statistics Indicators from "A Society Living Together, Multicultural Changes Seen Through Statistics" Announced by Honam Regional Statistics Office on the 15th. Provided by Honam Regional Statistics Office

The number of multicultural births also increased in some regions. In Jeonbuk, there were 436 multicultural births, an increase of 50 from 2022, and in Gwangju, there were 323, up by 9. Gwangsan-gu in Gwangju (142 births), Jeju-si in Jeju (135 births), and Jeonju-si in Jeonbuk (124 births) recorded the highest numbers of multicultural births among cities, counties, and districts.

The proportion of multicultural births among total births was 5.2% in Gwangju, 6.6% in Jeonbuk, 6.3% in Jeonnam, and 6.1% in Jeju, all higher than or similar to the national average of 5.3%. In Sinan-gun, Jeonnam, 20.6% of newborns were from multicultural families, the highest rate nationwide.

Meanwhile, the total number of multicultural births nationwide was 12,150, a 3% decrease from the previous year, but the decline was relatively smaller in the Honam and Jeju regions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.