S. Korea's multicultural marriages log double-digit growth in 2022

South Korea's multicultural marriages logged a double-digit growth last year due to the eased COVID-19 pandemic, statistical office data showed Wednesday.

The number of multicultural marriages jumped 25.1 percent over the year to 17,428 in 2022, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest increase since relevant data began to be compiled in 2008.

A multicultural marriage refers to a marriage where either the husband or the wife is a foreigner or a naturalized person and a marriage where both the husband and the wife are naturalized.

The double-digit expansion came as the weakened pandemic increased cross-border movements. International marriages tumbled 34.6 percent in 2020 and 13.9 percent in 2021.

The proportion of multicultural marriages to the country's total marriages advanced 1.9 percentage points over the year to 9.1 percent in 2022.

Of all foreign and naturalized wives, Vietnamese women accounted for the largest share of 23.0 percent, trailed by Chinese with 17.8 percent and Thai with 11.1 percent.

Men from the United States made up the highest share of all foreign and naturalized husbands with 8.0 percent, followed by Chinese with 6.5 percent and Vietnamese with 3.4 percent.

The number of divorces among multicultural couples declined 6.8 percent to 7,853 last year.

The number of babies born to multicultural married couples dipped 12.5 percent to 12,526 in 2022 as marriages tumbled in double digits in 2020 and 2021.