The number of Vietnamese nationals living in South Korea has surpassed Americans for the second consecutive month.

According to the immigration office under South Korea’s justice ministry, people from China still represent the largest share of the foreign population, at 50.2 percent – an equivalent to more than one million people in total as of the end of November.

The government data shows Vietnamese nationals make up the second largest group, with 147,000 residing in the country – the equivalent to 7.4 percent of the foreign population.

Americans made up the third largest group, comprising of 143,000 or 7 percent of all foreign residents in the country.

The ministry has attributed the growth of the Vietnamese population to rising number of migrant workers and women married to South Korean men.

– TiVi Tuan-san