Abu Dhabi: The South Korean expatriate population in the UAE has risen 90 per cent in the past two years thanks to increased industry-level cooperation between the two countries.
Observing this trend, Kwon Tae-kyun, South Korean Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News that the South Korean population in the UAE increased to 9,500 by June 2012 from about 5,000 in 2010.
About 4,000 Koreans live in Abu Dhabi, 4,500 in Dubai, and the rest live in other emirates, the envoy said.
Almost all South Korean expatriates are professionals in industries such as nuclear power, oil and gas and construction. About 100 project sites in the UAE have the presence of Korean professionals, he said.
Most of these expatriates arrived in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi in the past two years, where major projects, including the nuclear power project, are under way in partnership with South Korea, Kwon said.
The UAE signed a $20 billion (Dh73.45 billion) deal with South Korea’s Kepco three years ago for the development of four nuclear plants in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. The first plant is scheduled to go online by 2017.
The flight connectivity between both nations has also improved considerable in recent years with 19 flights a week being operated by Etihad Airways, Emirates airlines and Korean Airlines. “It is just an eight-hour flight; the geographical distance is less, but psychological distance is more,” the envoy said.
The South Korean president has visited the UAE four times in four-and-a-half years. “It is unusual for a head of state to visit a foreign nation in such a short intervals. That shows the UAE’s importance to South Korea,” the envoy said.
The number of South Korean tourists visiting the UAE has also increased by more than 100 per cent in the past three years. About 50,000 South Korean tourists visited the UAE in 2009, which increased to 80,000 in 2010, and to 120,000 in 2011, Kwon said.
