A street in Wongok-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi, is seen on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOON[About Town Global]: Ansan, Gyeonggi
Korea is no longer the homogeneous nation it once was. The country saw a record high 2.16 million foreign residents as of 2025, accounting for more than four percent of the population. Many of them have found comfort in settling near one another, creating various ethnic enclaves in Korea that preserve culture and language from afar. In this "Global" edition, a spinoff of Korea JoongAng Daily's long-running ‘About Town’ series, we talk to residents, business owners and passersby to explore the beginnings of these communities, their evolution and the ways they navigate life in modern Korea.
ANSAN, Gyeonggi — Just 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Seoul, in a neighborhood ringed by industrial complexes, the Korean language quickly fades from street conversations. Foreign tongues fill the air, shop signs are written in exotic scripts and even simple exchanges become a challenge for monolingual Koreans.
This is Wongok-dong in Ansan, Gyeonggi.
Buses running through Wongok-dong announce stops in Korean and Chinese, rather than the Korean-and-English combination more common in the capital — a nod to Ansan’s sizable Chinese population.
However, Chinese residents are just one slice of the international community, which comprises many other nationalities residing in Ansan. Former Soviet states, India, Nepal and more are also represented in the neighborhood’s restaurants, markets and mobile carrier stores.
The number of international residents in Ansan totaled 100,681 as of June this year, a 13 percent jump from 2023. That gives it the largest international population of any Korean city at the municipal level.
Ansan’s international residents come from around 110 countries, according to the local government.
Chinese nationals, including Korean Chinese, totaled 62,314, accounting for 61.9 percent of Ansan’s international residents. The figure comprises 50,530 Korean Chinese and 11,784 other Chinese nationals. Uzbeks were the third largest at 9,809.
In 2009, the neighborhood was designated as the Ansan Multicultural-Village Special Zone by the Ansan government to provide a better living environment and infrastructure for international residents.
Even a Hana Bank branch in the neighborhood is open on Sundays, offering services tailored for international residents, as most workers in Ansan don’t have time to go to the bank on weekdays.
State-driven formation
The transformation of Ansan into the heart of one of Korea’s most diverse regions began with industry.
Ansan’s Banwon Industrial Complex was built in the 1970s as part of a state push to disperse factories outside Seoul. Soon after, a residential area for factory workers emerged in Wongok-dong.
Initially, it was a predominantly Korean working-class neighborhood. However, Koreans began leaving the area in the 1990s after the development of new residential areas elsewhere in Ansan.
The neighborhood’s demographic shift accelerated after Korea introduced an industrial trainee system in 1993 to address labor shortages. International workers began settling in Wongok-dong, drawn by its proximity to the Banwol and Sihwa industrial complexes and relatively low housing costs. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Wongok-dong had developed into a concentrated residential area for migrants from across Asia and beyond.
A Chinese butcher shop in Wongok-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17 PARK SANG-MOONChinese and other Asian restaurants, grocery stores selling imported ingredients, banks, travel agencies and migrant support organizations clustered around the neighborhood against this backdrop.
This foreigner-friendly infrastructure has since become a magnet drawing more international residents to the area.
Jin, a Chinese cafe owner who has lived in Korea for 20 years, settled in Wongok-dong and built a life around the community.
“There are many facilities here now for foreigners,” he said. “There is a local administrative office and Ansan Migrant’s Counseling Support Center here, where they provide many services in Chinese, which makes things more convenient than they were in the past.”
Jin settled in Wongok-dong after his father, who had moved to Korea before him, suggested that he come to the country to work so that they could live together. He opened his cafe five years ago after working several jobs in Ansan, including at a restaurant.
The convenience Jin described is visible throughout the neighborhood. Various services, including mobile carriers and travel agencies, are available in Chinese.
“It’s convenient that travel agencies and the Ansan Migrant’s Counseling Support Center are in this neighborhood,” Jin said. “Travel agencies sell travel tickets and provide various other services. They also help Chinese residents organize group trips, such as trips to Jeju.”
Ansan’s appeal goes beyond just convenient infrastructure. The local culture, which has developed over several decades, helps Chinese residents settle in and feel less homesick.
Residents of Wongok-dong dance at Wongok Park in Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOONChinese nationals and naturalized Korean citizens of Chinese descent also gather in the evening for a dance event at Wongok Park.
“We come here to dance for exercise between 7 and 8 p.m.,” said a naturalized Korean citizen from China, surnamed Kim. “There are many different kinds of dances, and people just choose whichever one they want to dance. Many of the participants are older people, including those in their 60s and above.”
Near Jin’s cafe, there isn’t a single restaurant serving Korean dishes. The eateries instead offer typical Chinese cuisine such as beef noodle soup, Dongpo Pork or Peking duck.
Even the snacks on the nearby streets are Chinese, with stacks of fried dough twists, also known as mahua, sitting outside a Chinese restaurant window.
A person browses fried dough twists, also known as mahua, at a Chinese restaurant in Wongok-dong in Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOONOwners of Wongok-dong restaurants and cafes needn’t worry about securing authentic ingredients from mainland China, as they can simply buy what they need from the neighborhood’s Ansan Multicultural Food Street.
Streets of international flavors
A few blocks away from Jin’s cafe lies the neighborhood’s iconic Ansan Multicultural Food Street, filled with various international supermarkets selling foods not commonly found in Korea, such as duck feet and durian.
It’s home to some 90 restaurants serving cuisine from China, Russia, Vietnam, India, Uzbekistan and more.
In the center of the street, the flags of many countries — including China, Uzbekistan and Nepal — flutter around a sculpture, a symbol of the neighborhood’s multiculturalism.
Durians are displayed at a market in Wongok-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOON“This place has everything I want to eat,” said Angela Karki, a naturalized Korean citizen of Nepali origin and co-owner of Indian-Nepali restaurant Aagan Restaurant.
Flags of multiple countries fly at a park in Wongok-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOON“If I lived somewhere other than Ansan, I would think about my hometown a lot. But I don’t feel that way in Ansan because whenever I go outside, I can find everything I need. That includes food and people from my country.”
Karki has worked many jobs since coming to Korea in 1995 but opted to run the restaurant with her Nepali husband in 2021 while also working as an insurance consultant for Nepalese people in Korea.
“I ended up feeling more comfortable living in Korea than in Nepal, and there are few job opportunities back home,” Karki said. “My husband and I decided to start something here, which led us to open this restaurant.”
Running a restaurant in Ansan allows Karki to make new connections and stay connected with fellow Nepalese residents, as the city was home to 1,221 Nepalese people as of June.
Angela Karki, a naturalized Korean citizen of Nepali origin and co-owner of Indian-Nepali restaurant Aagan Restaurant, poses for a photo at her restaurant in Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOON“So many Nepalese live in Ansan now,” Karki said. “Many of them bring their children here and live together.”
Foreigner-friendly services
The Ansan Multicultural Food Street itself represents multiculturalism in Wongok-dong, but it is only a fraction of the heterogeneous town, where 70 percent of residents come from international backgrounds.
Besides restaurants and markets that provide necessities for international residents, Wongok-dong has a host of other businesses that help international residents who are not yet fluent in Korean.
Just down the street from the Ansan Migrant’s Counseling Support Center is a privately owned Russian Korean translation service center, “Russia,” offering services for people from the former Soviet Union.
Russian-speaking residents in Ansan number nearly 20,000, including 9,809 Uzbeks, 7,245 Koryoin (ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union), 3,542 Kazakhs, 1,230 Russians, 785 Ukrainians and 605 Kyrgyz, according to city data.
The center therefore provides translation services for those workers who need to fill out paperwork in Korean and helps Russian-speaking customers activate their cell phones.
Park Klara of Kyrgyzstan has been doing this for three years with her Korean husband, whom she married in her home country.
“We provide translation services for immigration-related documents,” Park said. “We also assist customers with cell phone activation through Russian interpretation, including explaining how to make payments and how many months they are required to sign a contract for.”
Park Klara of Kyrgyzstan poses for a photo at a privately-owned Russian Korean translation service center in Wongok-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOONPark herself is an immigrant in Korea, but she finds living in Ansan not as difficult as Suncheon, South Jeolla, where she lived for about a year in 2004.
“When I lived in Suncheon, I felt so lonely,” Park said. “I really wanted to speak with someone in Russian. There were no Russians there but here, wherever I go, I can speak Russian and eat Russian food as well.”
Similar businesses are available in other languages, including Nepali, as mobile carrier stores with international employees are found throughout Wongok-dong.
Residents’ views on Ansan
Ansan may be convenient for international residents, but locals have identified several areas for improvement, including public safety.
Crimes in Ansan have declined in recent years, but the city was once viewed as dangerous due to several high-profile violent crimes in the past, including murders involving international residents. That perception survives among some locals.
“I hope that safety here will improve as well,” Nepali restaurant co-owner Karki said. “I hope authorities can do more about areas where crimes occur.”
People walk past Ansan Migrant’s Counseling Support Center in Wongok-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17. PARK SANG-MOONAnsan saw 58 crimes referred to prosecutors in 2020, according to data from the Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police, but the number declined to 32 in 2025.
Analysis of 2024 crime data by the Ansan Research Institute also suggests that Ansan has a relatively low crime rate. The city’s crime rate ranked 23rd out of 31 Gyeonggi cities and counties — the eighth-lowest in the province.
Some residents say Wongok-dong’s sanitation could also improve.
“Other parts of Ansan are fine, but here on Ansan Multicultural Food Street in Wongok-dong, some international residents throw their trash on the street,” Karki said. “I hope we can address this issue. I think companies and other workplaces should educate their employees about proper waste disposal.”
Park pointed to the same problem.
“I wish people would keep this street cleaner,” Park said. “It has improved a lot, but because people from different backgrounds live together here, I want to put up signs in Korean, Chinese and Russian and ask people not to litter.”
A painting a park in Wongok-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 17 PARK SANG-MOONSome inconveniences and complaints may arise in Ansan as people from diverse backgrounds live together, but the city’s established international community makes it a convenient option for those who have already settled in Korea and look to stay long-term.