The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses rose by the greatest number last year as the stable COVID-19 situation promoted people’s cross-border movements, the statistics agency said.

The number of “multicultural marriages” jumped 25.1 percent on-year to reach 17,428 in 2022, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

It marked the sharpest growth since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 2008.

The number of international marriages fell 34.6 percent in 2020 and 13.9 percent the following year due to the pandemic.

Of the total marriages in the country last year, multicultural marriages accounted for 9.1 percent, up from the previous year's 7.2 percent, the data showed. (Yonhap)