How many foreign founders and future founders live in Korea, and where do they come from? Korea does not publish a separate count of startup visa holders by nationality, but the Ministry of Justice does publish monthly counts of every visa type by nationality. This page uses the June 2026 figures (as of 30 June 2026) for the three visas that matter most to founders.
Key numbers at a glance
| Item | People (30 June 2026) |
|---|---|
| All foreign residents in Korea | 2,874,278 |
| D-8 corporate investment visa (includes the D-8-4 startup visa) | 8,558 |
| D-10 job-seeking visa (includes the D-10-2 startup preparation visa) | 26,917 |
| D-2 student visa | 236,366 |
How to read these numbers
- D-8 covers several kinds of investors. The D-8-4 startup visa is one of them, but the figure also includes people who invested in an existing company or opened a trading business. Treat it as an upper limit for startup founders, not an exact count.
- D-10 is mostly people looking for a job after graduating. The D-10-2 startup preparation visa, the usual first step toward D-8-4, is a small part of it.
- D-2 students are the largest pool of future founders. Many D-8-4 holders first came to Korea as students; see our student-to-founder guide.
Investor visa (D-8): top nationalities
China and Japan together account for more than 40% of D-8 holders, mostly through company investment. Among the countries we cover, Vietnam, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and India have the largest D-8 communities. Libya, Jordan and Egypt have high D-8 numbers compared with their total population in Korea.
| # | Nationality | People | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 2,119 | 24.8% |
| 2 | Japan | 1,541 | 18.0% |
| 3 | Vietnam | 494 | 5.8% |
| 4 | Pakistan | 427 | 5.0% |
| 5 | Kyrgyzstan | 300 | 3.5% |
| 6 | United States | 295 | 3.4% |
| 7 | India | 208 | 2.4% |
| 8 | France | 194 | 2.3% |
| 9 | Mongolia | 180 | 2.1% |
| 10 | Libya | 176 | 2.1% |
| 11 | Russia | 167 | 2.0% |
| 12 | Thailand | 157 | 1.8% |
| 13 | Jordan | 148 | 1.7% |
| 14 | Egypt | 129 | 1.5% |
Investor visa (D-8) by region
| # | Region | People | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asia | 6,776 | 79.2% |
| 2 | Europe | 836 | 9.8% |
| 3 | Africa | 515 | 6.0% |
| 4 | North America | 338 | 3.9% |
| 5 | Oceania | 51 | 0.6% |
| 6 | South America | 42 | 0.5% |
Africa now accounts for about 6% of D-8 holders. Nigeria alone has 111 D-8 holders. See our new country guides for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Job-seeking visa (D-10): top nationalities
Almost half of all D-10 holders are from Vietnam. Uzbekistan and Mongolia follow China, which reflects their large student communities.
| # | Nationality | People | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnam | 12,462 | 46.3% |
| 2 | China | 3,969 | 14.7% |
| 3 | Uzbekistan | 2,458 | 9.1% |
| 4 | Mongolia | 2,321 | 8.6% |
| 5 | Myanmar | 645 | 2.4% |
| 6 | Nepal | 494 | 1.8% |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 392 | 1.5% |
| 8 | Indonesia | 314 | 1.2% |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 288 | 1.1% |
| 10 | Japan | 280 | 1.0% |
Student visa (D-2): top nationalities
Students from China and Vietnam make up more than half of the D-2 total. Uzbekistan, Nepal and Mongolia each have more than 14,000 students in Korea.
| # | Nationality | People | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 69,367 | 29.3% |
| 2 | Vietnam | 65,545 | 27.7% |
| 3 | Uzbekistan | 20,277 | 8.6% |
| 4 | Nepal | 19,473 | 8.2% |
| 5 | Mongolia | 14,213 | 6.0% |
| 6 | Myanmar | 7,233 | 3.1% |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 5,577 | 2.4% |
| 8 | Japan | 3,145 | 1.3% |
| 9 | Pakistan | 2,394 | 1.0% |
| 10 | Indonesia | 2,259 | 1.0% |
What this means if you are planning to start a company
- If you are a student now, the D-2 → D-10-2 → D-8-4 path is the most common route. Start collecting OASIS points while you study: see the D-8-4 and OASIS guide.
- If you are applying from abroad, the K-Startup Grand Challenge is the main program that brings founders to Korea with visa support.
- Find official contacts and treaty information for your country in our 34 country guides.
Sources
We update this page when new monthly figures are published.