The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people’s cross-border movements, data showed.

The number of multicultural marriages came to 16,177 last year, down 34.6 percent, or 8,544, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

It marked the lowest reading since 2008 when the statistics agency started to compile the related data.

The number of international marriages sharply fell last year after it grew for the third straight year in 2019. The number also declined below the 20,000 mark for the first time in 2020.

The pandemic hit international exchanges and cross-border movements, which drove down the number of multicultural marriages, according to the agency. (Yonhap)