ONE in 14 South Koreans will be classified as a foreigner or a naturalised citizen by the year 2040, according to a report from Statistics Korea.
This prediction comes as the nation has a rapidly aging population brought on by a record breaking low birth-rate over the past few years.
Faced with this situation, experts say South Korea needs to become more accommodating with people from foreign backgrounds.
They say it is a task that requires continued nationwide advertising and education campaigns to end discrimination.
According to a report in the Korea Times, social cohesion will be best achieved through consistency in education and awareness-raising programs, backed by sensitivity training of not only children but also their parents and educators early on to fundamentally change discriminating behaviour.
"It is a work in progress," Migration Research and Training Centre head Kang Dong-kwan said.
He said a growing number of people have become more open to the concept of foreigners being part of Korean society, and efforts from both the government and civic society should continue to ensure that being different should never justify discrimination.
"The social perception was that foreigners were not and would never be a part of Korean society a couple of decades ago, but a lot has changed since then."
Kang said that fully embracing a group of people who look different from most Koreans even from a passing glance takes time, and how they feel depends largely on how they are treated.
"We need to constantly remind ourselves that they are just like us, and should not let them feel isolated. This is why education is crucial."
Jeonbuk National University professor of sociology Seol Dong-hoon agreed with this, saying overemphasizing the negligible differences of a minority group breeds ill will.
"It must be abandoned through better parenting and teaching," he said.
The Korean statistics agency data show that the population will drop to 48.57 million in 2040 after peaking at 50.02 million in 2021.
The number of people with foreign backgrounds will also reach 3.52 million, or 6.9 per cent of the population, up 62 per cent from the 2.22 million in 2020.
The number of children from immigrants will soar to 700,000 by 2040, 2.5 times higher than 280,000 in 2020.
Those aged over 65 will double to 16.66 million that year, from 8.03 million in 2020.
The seniors account for 16.1 per cent of the population this year but the figure will climb to 25.5 per cent in 2030.
Over one in three will be aged over 65 in 2040, as the figure will further rise to 34.3 per cent.
About 55 per cent will be Koreans aged between 15 and 64 - statistically considered the economically active workforce - with no foreign background in 2040, down from the current 71.5 per cent.