Difference between revisions of "Korean diaspora" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Koreanname|hangul=교포/동포|hanja=僑胞/同胞|mr=kyopo/dongpo|rr=gyopo/dongpo}}
 
{{Koreanname|hangul=교포/동포|hanja=僑胞/同胞|mr=kyopo/dongpo|rr=gyopo/dongpo}}
  
The terms '''gyopo''' or '''dongpo''' in [[Korean language|Korean]] refer to persons of [[Koreans|Korean ethnic descent]] who have lived the majority of their lives outside [[Korea]] or, simply, any Korean who lives outside Korea.<ref>National Institute of the Korean Language. accessdate 2007-02-23 [http://korean.go.kr/|title=표준 국어 대사전 (Standard National Language Dictionary)]. </ref>
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The terms '''gyopo''' or '''dongpo''' in [[Korean language|Korean]] refer to persons of [[Koreans|Korean ethnic descent]] who have lived the majority of their lives outside [[Korea]] or, simply, any Korean who lives outside Korea.
 
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As with most, if not all, ancient empires, [[History of Korea|Korea's history]] has been one of constantly fluctuating borders. For approximately 3200 years, from 2333 B.C.E. to 926 C.E., the northern regions of [[Korea]] (today's [[Manchuria]] and [[Mongolia]]) had been inhabited by Koreans. With the fall of [[Balhae]] in 926 C.E., many Koreans absorbed into the northern nomadic tribes, [[China]] and [[Russia]]. That diaspora has been difficult to document. During the [[Joseon]] dynasty, many poor Korean farmers migrated to China and Russia in the late nineteenth century. During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonization of Korea]], Japan forced many Koreas to migrate while in the post-Korean War era many Koreans migrated to the [[United States]]. All total, approximately 6.5 million Korean live in diaspora. Although economic and political conditions have been improving in [[South Korea]] during the past 20 years, the vast majority of Koreans in diaspora have chosen to remain in their adopted nations.
As with most, if not all, ancient empires, [[History of Korea|Korea's history]] has been one of constantly fluctuating borders. For approximately 3200 years, from 2333 B.C.E. to 926 C.E., the northern regions of [[Korea]] (today's [[Manchuria]] and [[Mongolia]]) had been inhabited by Koreans. With the fall of [[Balhae]] in 926 C.E., many Koreans absorbed into the northern tribes, [[China]] and [[Russia]]. That diaspora has been difficult to document. During the [[Joseon]] dynasty, many poor Korean farmers migrated to China and Russia in the late 19th century. During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonization of Korea]], Japan forced many Koreas to migrate while in the post-Korean War era many Koreans migrated to the [[United States]]. All total, approximately 6.5 million Korean live in diaspora. Although economic and political conditions have been improving in [[South Korea]] during the past 20 years, the vast majority of Koreans in diaspora have chosen to remain in their adopted nations.
 
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
 
===Origins===
 
===Origins===
Large-scale emigration from Korea began as early as the mid-1860s, mainly into the [[Russian Far East]] and [[Northeast China]]; those emigrants became the ancestors of the two million [[Koreans in China]] and several hundred thousand [[ethnic Koreans in Central Asia]].<ref name="LeeKK">Kwang-kyu Lee. ''Overseas Koreans.'' (Seoul: Jimoondang, 2000. ISBN 89-88095189)
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Large-scale emigration from Korea began as early as the mid-1860s, mainly into the [[Russian Far East]] and [[Northeast China]]; those emigrants became the ancestors of the two million [[Koreans in China]] and several hundred thousand [[ethnic Koreans in Central Asia]].<ref>Kwang-kyu Lee, ''Overseas Koreans.'' (Seoul: Jimoondang, 2000. ISBN 89-88095189)</ref><ref name="SJKim">Si-joong Kim, [https://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/365/6iie3586.pdf The Economic Status and Role of Ethnic Koreans in China] ''The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy'' (Institute for International Economics, 2003), Ch. 6: 101-131. Retrieved April 14, 2023.</ref>   
</ref><ref name="SJKim">Si-joong Kim. The Economic Status and Role of Ethnic Koreans in China. ''The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy.'' Ch. 6: 101-131. (Institute for International Economics). [http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/365/6iie3586.pdf]. 2003</ref>   
 
  
 
===Korea under Japanese rule===
 
===Korea under Japanese rule===
[[Image:HiroshimaMonumentKoreanVictims7075.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Monument for Korean Victims of A-Bomb, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan]]
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[[File:Japan 030416 Hiroshima 04.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Monument for Korean Victims of A-Bomb, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan]]
During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonial period]] of 1910-1945, Japanese often recruited or forced Koreans into labour service to work in mainland [[Japan]], [[Karafuto Prefecture]], and [[Manchukuo]], especially in the 1930s and early 1940s. The ones who chose to remain in Japan at the end of the war became known as [[Zainichi Koreans]], while the approximately forty thousand forced to stay in [[Karafuto]] after the Soviet invasion typically go by the name [[Sakhalin Koreans]].<ref name=Byong>Byung-yool Ban, Koreans in Russia: Historical Perspective [http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200409/kt2004092218583111950.htm]. ''Korea Times'' 2004-09-22 accessdate 2006-11-20</ref><ref>Yoshiki NOZAKI, Hiromitsu INOKUCHI, Tae-Young KIM, [http://www.japanfocus.org/products/details/2220 Legal Categories, Demographic Change and Japan’s Korean Residents in the Long Twentieth Century]. ''Japan Focus'' </ref> According to the statistics at Immigration Bureau of Japan, 901,284 Koreans resident in Japan [[as of 2005]], 515,570 permanent residents, and 284,840 naturalized citizens.<ref>[http://www.moj.go.jp/PRESS/040611-1/040611-1.html 平成15年末現在における外国人登録者統計について] (Japanese).</ref><ref>[http://www.korea.net/korea/attach/D/03/123_en.pdf Koreans in Japan 2005]. Retrieved February 13, 2009.</ref> Koreans account for 40.4 percent of the non-Japanese [[Demographics of Japan|population of the country]]. Japanese-born Koreans make up three-quarters of that number, the majority having legal [[alien (law)|alien]] status.
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During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonial period]] of 1910-1945, Japanese often recruited or forced Koreans into labor service to work in mainland [[Japan]], [[Karafuto Prefecture]], and [[Manchukuo]], especially in the 1930s and early 1940s. The ones who chose to remain in Japan at the end of the war became known as [[Zainichi Koreans]], while the approximately forty thousand forced to stay in [[Karafuto]] after the Soviet invasion typically go by the name [[Sakhalin Koreans]].<ref name=Sakhalin>Anton Troianovski, [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/world/europe/korea-sakhalin-japan-russia.html What’s in a Name? For the Koreans of Sakhalin, an Anguished History] ''The New York Times'', November 7, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2023.</ref>  
  
 
Aside from migration within the [[Empire of Japan]] or its puppet state of [[Manchukuo]], some Koreans escaped Japanese-ruled territory entirely, traveling to [[Shanghai]], a major center of the [[Korean independence movement]], or to the already-established Korean communities of the Russian Far East although the Soviet Union [[Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union|deported]] the latter to Central Asia in 1938.
 
Aside from migration within the [[Empire of Japan]] or its puppet state of [[Manchukuo]], some Koreans escaped Japanese-ruled territory entirely, traveling to [[Shanghai]], a major center of the [[Korean independence movement]], or to the already-established Korean communities of the Russian Far East although the Soviet Union [[Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union|deported]] the latter to Central Asia in 1938.
  
===After Korea independence===
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===After Korean independence===
After the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]], Ethnic Koreans in China ''(Chaoxianzu)'' became one of the officially recognized as one of the [[Chinese nationalities|56 ethnic groups]] of the country. Chinese consider them one of the "major minorities" in China. Their population grew to about two million ethnic Koreans; they reside mostly in northeastern China, where their ancestors had initially settled. Their largest population concentrated in the [[Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture]] in [[Jilin Province]], numbering 854,000 in 1997.<ref name="SJKim">Kim, 2003, Ch. 6: 101-131, ''Institute for International Economics'' [http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/365/6iie3586.pdf]. </ref><ref>Zhang Tianlu [http://www.chinapop.gov.cn/rklt/rkyjhsyyj/t20040326_1504.htm|title=中国少数民族人口问题研究 (Research on the topic of Chinese minority ethnic group populations) ''National Population and Family Planning Commission of China.'' 2004-03-26, accessdate 2007-01-16. See section "民族人口生活质量问题研究". </ref>
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After the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]], Ethnic Koreans in China ''(Chaoxianzu)'' became one of the officially recognized as one of the [[Chinese nationalities|56 ethnic groups]] of the country. Chinese consider them one of the "major minorities" in China. Their population grew to about two million ethnic Koreans; they reside mostly in northeastern China, where their ancestors had initially settled. Their largest population concentrated in the [[Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture]] in [[Jilin Province]], numbering 854,000 in 1997.<ref name="SJKim"/>
  
Korean emigration to America began as early as 1903, although the [[Korean American]] community significant increase took place after the passage of the [[Immigration Reform Act of 1965]]; now, approximately 1.4 million Koreans live in the United States.—><ref name="USCensus">[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:042&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-format= Korean alone or in combination in 2005]. ''United States Census Bureau 2005'' accessdate 2006-12-16.</ref> More than two million ethnic Koreans live in the U.S., mostly in metropolitan areas. A handful descended from laborers who migrated to [[Hawaii]] in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A significant number descended from orphans of the [[Korean War]], the United States standing as a major ally of [[South Korea]]. Americans adopted thousands [[Korean adoptee|adopted]] in the years following the war when major media covered their plight. The vast majority, immigrated or descended from those who immigrated after the [[Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965|Hart-Cellar Act]] of 1965 permitted unrestricted immigration for family members of naturalized Americans.
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Korean emigration to America began as early as 1903, although the [[Korean American]] community significant increase took place after the passage of the [[Immigration Reform Act of 1965]]. More than two million ethnic Koreans live in the U.S., mostly in metropolitan areas. A handful descended from laborers who migrated to [[Hawaii]] in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A significant number descended from orphans of the [[Korean War]], the United States standing as a major ally of [[South Korea]]. Americans adopted thousands [[Korean adoptee|adopted]] in the years following the war when major media covered their plight. The vast majority, immigrated or descended from those who immigrated after the [[Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965|Hart-Cellar Act]] of 1965 permitted unrestricted immigration for family members of naturalized Americans.
[[Image:Koreans in China.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Korean father and daughter in China]]
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Europe and Latin America constituted minor destinations for post-war Korean emigration. [[Germany]] represents the largest Korean community in [[Europe]] while [[London]] has the largest European Koreatown. Documented Korean immigration to Latin America began in the 1950s; North Korean [[prisoners of war]] migrated to [[Chile]] in 1953 and [[Argentina]] in 1956 under the auspices of the International [[Red Cross]]. The majority of Korean settlement occurred in the late 1960s. When the South Korean economy expanded dramatically in the 1980s, investors from South Korea came to [[Latin America]] and established small businesses in the [[textile]]s industry.<ref>Kate H. Choi, "Who is Hispanic? Hispanic ethnic identity among African Americans, Asian Americans, and whites." Department of Sociology, University of Texas [http://www.prc.utexas.edu/working_papers/wp_pdf/04-05-07.pdf]. 2004. accessdate 2007-01-12</ref> [[Brazil]] has [[Latin America]]'s largest [[Koreatown]] while Koreatowns also exist [[Argentina]] and [[Guatemala]]. [[Mexico City]] estimates the Korean population at around 30,000. In the 1970s, though, Japan and the United States remained the top two destinations for South Korean emigrants, with each receiving more than a quarter of all emigration. The [[Middle East]] became the third most popular destination with more than 800,000 [[Koreans in Saudi Arabia|Koreans going to Saudi Arabia]] between 1975 and 1985, another 26,000 [[Koreans in Iran|Koreans immigrating to Iran]]. In contrast, only Germany (1.7 percent of all South Korean emigration in 1977) and Paraguay (1.0 percent) among European or Latin American destinations rated in the top ten for emigrants.<ref>''Korea Statistical Yearbooks'' for 1972, 1976, 1978. Quoted in Edna Bonacich and Ivan Light. ''Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Koreans in Los Angeles, 1965-1982.'' (University of California Press, 1991. ISBN 0520076567), 105-106 </ref>
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Europe and Latin America constituted minor destinations for post-war Korean emigration. [[Germany]] represents the largest Korean community in [[Europe]] while [[London]] has the largest European Koreatown. Documented Korean immigration to Latin America began in the 1950s; North Korean [[prisoners of war]] migrated to [[Chile]] in 1953 and [[Argentina]] in 1956 under the auspices of the International [[Red Cross]]. The majority of Korean settlement occurred in the late 1960s. When the South Korean economy expanded dramatically in the 1980s, investors from South Korea came to [[Latin America]] and established small businesses in the [[textile]]s industry.<ref>Kate H. Choi, "Who is Hispanic? Hispanic ethnic identity among African Americans, Asian Americans, and whites." Department of Sociology, University of Texas, 2004.</ref> [[Brazil]] has [[Latin America]]'s largest [[Koreatown]] while Koreatowns also exist [[Argentina]] and [[Guatemala]]. [[Mexico City]] estimates the Korean population at around 30,000. In the 1970s, though, Japan and the United States remained the top two destinations for South Korean emigrants, with each receiving more than a quarter of all emigration. The [[Middle East]] became the third most popular destination with more than 800,000 [[Koreans in Saudi Arabia|Koreans going to Saudi Arabia]] between 1975 and 1985, another 26,000 [[Koreans in Iran|Koreans immigrating to Iran]]. In contrast, only Germany (1.7 percent of all South Korean emigration in 1977) and Paraguay (1.0 percent) among European or Latin American destinations rated in the top ten for emigrants.<ref>Ivan Light and Edna Bonacich, ''Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Koreans in Los Angeles, 1965-1982'' (University of California Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0520076563), 105-106. </ref>
  
 
=== Shifting focus of emigration ===
 
=== Shifting focus of emigration ===
Emigration to America became less attractive as a result of the [[1992 Los Angeles riots|Rodney King riots]], when many Korean American immigrants in Los Angeles witnessed their businesses destroyed by [[riot]]ers. South Korean media reports on the riots increased public consciousness of the long working hours immigrants faced the United States.<ref>Abelmann, John Lie. ''Blue Dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles Riots.'' (Harvard University Press, 1997)</ref> With South Korea's developing economy, the focus of emigration from Korea began a shift from developed nations to developing nations. With the 1992 normalisation of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, many citizens of South Korea started to settle in China, attracted by business opportunities generated by reforms, the opening of China to Korean immigrants, and the low cost of living. Large new communities of South Koreans have formed in [[Beijing]], [[Shanghai]], and [[Qingdao]]. As of 2006, the Korean population in those cities has been estimated between 300,000 and 400,000.<ref name=WenhuaRibao>Wenhua Ribao, [http://www.skykiwi.com/news/200604/hotnet21011.shtml 到了中国就不想回国 在华韩国人激增 (After arriving in China, they don't want to go home; number of South Koreans in China increasing sharply)]. 2006-04-01 accessdate 2007-03-18 </ref> A small community of Koreans, mostly expatriate businessmen and their families, live in Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong's 2001 census, Koreans numbered approximated 5200, making them the 12th-largest ethnic minority group in Hong Kong<ref>"Population Census Thematic Report – Ethnic Minorities." ''Census and Statistics Department 2001''. Hong Kong. 2001-12-17. accessdate 2006-12-21. [http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_41/ethnic.pdf|filetype=PDF]. </ref> Southeast Asia has also seen an influx of South Koreans. [[Koreans in Vietnam]] have grown from around 30,000 since the 1992 normalization of diplomatic relations, making them [[Vietnam]]'s second-largest foreign community after the [[Taiwan]]ese.<ref name=Forbes>Tim Kelly,  http://members.forbes.com/global/2006/0918/028.html Ho Chi Minh Money Trail]. ''Forbes'' 2006-09-18. accessdate 2007-03-27</ref> [[Koreans in the Philippines|Korean migration to the Philippines]] has also increased due to the attraction of the tropical climate and the relatively low cost of living. 370,000 Koreans visited the country in 2004, while roughly 46,000 Korean expatriates reside permanently.<ref name=Meinardus>Ronaldo Meinardus, [http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200512/kt2005121517211054280.htm "Korean Wave" in Philippines]. ''The Korea Times'', 2005-12-15. accessdate 2007-02-16</ref>
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Emigration to America became less attractive as a result of the [[1992 Los Angeles riots|Rodney King riots]], when many Korean American immigrants in Los Angeles witnessed their businesses destroyed by [[riot]]ers. South Korean media reports on the riots increased public consciousness of the long working hours immigrants faced the United States.<ref> Nancy Abelmann and John Lie, ''Blue Dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles Riots'' (Harvard University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0674077058).</ref> With South Korea's developing economy, the focus of emigration from Korea began a shift from developed nations to developing nations. With the 1992 normalisation of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, many citizens of South Korea started to settle in China, attracted by business opportunities generated by reforms, the opening of China to Korean immigrants, and the low cost of living. Large new communities of South Koreans have formed in [[Beijing]], [[Shanghai]], and [[Qingdao]]. A small community of Koreans, mostly expatriate businessmen and their families, live in [[Hong Kong]]. Southeast Asia has also seen an influx of South Koreans. [[Koreans in Vietnam]] have grown from around 30,000 since the 1992 normalization of diplomatic relations. [[Koreans in the Philippines|Korean migration to the Philippines]] has also increased due to the attraction of the tropical climate and the relatively low cost of living.  
  
 
== Return migration ==
 
== Return migration ==
[[Image:Koreans in London.jpg|thumb|right|250px|South Koreans with flags celebrating at the foot of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London]]
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Koreans born or settled overseas have been migrating back to both [[North Korea|North]] and [[South Korea]] since the restoration of [[Korean independence]]. [[Kim Jong-Il]], born in [[Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai]], where his father [[Kim Il-sung]], had served in the [[Red Army]], numbers among the most famous.<ref>Lawrence Sheets, [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1671983 A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace] ''NPR'', February 12, 2004. Retrieved April 14, 2023.</ref> The largest-scale repatriation activities took place in Japan, where [[Chongryon]] sponsored the return of [[Zainichi Korean]] residents to North Korea. Starting from late 1950s and early 1960s with a trickle of repatriates continuing until as late as 1984, nearly 90,000 [[Zainichi]] Koreans resettled in the reclusive communist state, although their ancestors lived in southern Korea. Word of the difficult economic and political conditions filtered back to Japan, decreasing the popularity of that option. Around one hundred repatriates [[North Korean defectors|escaped from North Korea]], [[Kang Chol-Hwan]] the most famous, who published a book about his experience, ''[[The Aquariums of Pyongyang]]''.<ref>Chol-Hwan Kang and Pierre Rigoulot, ''The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag'' (Basic Books, 2005, ISBN 978-0465011056).</ref>
Koreans born or settled overseas have been migrating back to both [[North Korea|North]] and [[South Korea]] since the restoration of [[Korean independence]]. [[Kim Jong-Il]], born in [[Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai]], where his father [[Kim Il-sung]], had served in the [[Red Army]], numbers among the most famous.<ref>Byoung-sun Chung, [http://nk.chosun.com/english/news/news.html?ACT=detail&res_id=7283 Sergeyevna Remembers Kim Jong Il] ''The Chosun Ilbo''2002-08-22 accessdate 2007-02-19 </ref><ref>Lawrence Sheets, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1671983 A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace]. ''National Public Radio'', 2004-02-12. accessdate 2007-02-19</ref> The largest-scale repatriation activities took place in Japan, where [[Chongryon]] sponsored the return of [[Zainichi Korean]] residents to North Korea. Starting from late 1950s and early 1960s with a trickle of repatriates continuing until as late as 1984, nearly 90,000 [[Zainichi]] Koreans resettled in the reclusive communist state, although their ancestors lived in southern Korea. Word of the difficult economic and political conditions filtered back to Japan, decreasing the popularity of that option. Around one hundred repatriates [[North Korean defectors|escaped from North Korea]], [[Kang Chol-Hwan]] the most famous, who published a book about his experience, ''[[The Aquariums of Pyongyang]]''.<ref>Tessa Morris-Suzuki, [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=7194 Japan's Hidden Role In The 'Return' Of Zainichi Koreans To North Korea]. 2005-02-07 ''ZNet''. accessdate 2007-02-14 </ref><ref>Morris-Suzuki, ''Nautilus Institute'' "The Forgotten Victims of the North Korean Crisis" [http://www.nautilus.org/fora/security/07022MorrisSuzuki.html]. 2007-03-13. accessdate 2007-03-15</ref> South Korea remains a popular destination for Koreans who had settled in [[Manchukuo]] during the colonial period. Returnees from Manchukuo such as [[Park Chung-hee]] and [[Chun Doo-hwan]] had a major influence on the process of nation-building in South Korea.<ref>Suk-jung Han, [http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=8272§ionID=1 Imitating the colonizers: The Legacy of the Disciplining State from Manchukuo to South Korea]. ''ZNet''. 2005-07-10. accessdate 2007-03-02 </ref>
 
  
An estimated 1000 [[Sakhalin Koreans]] have independently repatriated to [[North Korea]] in the decades following the end of [[World War II]]. The Soviets prohibited returning to their ancestral homes in the South since the Soviet's supported North Korea's war against the South, and Japan refused to grant Sakhalin Koreans transit privileges. In 1985, Japan funded the return of Sakhalin Koreans to South Korea although only an 1500 accepted the offer while the vast majority decided to remain on [[Sakhalin]] or move to the [[Russian Far East]].<ref name="JeanyoungLee">Jeanyoung Lee, Kyunghee University,  [http://gsti.miis.edu/CEAS-PUB/200108Lee.pdf Ethnic Korean Migration in Northeast Asia]. accessdate 2006-11-27 PDF.</ref>
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South Korea remains a popular destination for Koreans who had settled in [[Manchukuo]] during the colonial period. Returnees from Manchukuo such as [[Park Chung-hee]] and [[Chun Doo-hwan]] had a major influence on the process of nation-building in South Korea.
  
With the steady improve of the standard of living in South Korea during the 1980s, the numbers of overseas Koreans repatriating to South Korea rose dramatically. 356,790 [[Ethnic Chinese in Korea|Chinese citizens have migrated to South Korea]] since the [[reform and opening up]] of China, almost two-thirds are estimated to be ''[[Ethnic Koreans in China|Chaoxianzu]]''. Similarly, some [[Koryo-saram]] from [[Central Asia]] have also moved to [[South Korea]] as guest workers to take advantage of the high wages offered by the growing economy. Remittances from South Korea to [[Uzbekistan]], for example, have been estimated to exceed USD100 million in 2005.<ref name="Baek">Il-hyun Baek, 2005-09-14 ''Joongang Daily'' accessdate 2006-11-27 [http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200509/14/200509142129404979900091009101.html Scattered Koreans turn homeward] </ref> Return migration through arranged marriage represents another option, portrayed in the 2005 [[Cinema of Korea|South Korean film]] ''[[Wedding Campaign]],'' directed by Hwang Byung-kook.<ref>Tae-jong Kim, ''The Korea Times'' 2005-08-21 [http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200508/kt2005082120230411710.htm Farmer Looks for Love in Upcoming 'Wedding Campaign'] accessdate 2006-10-16</ref> ''Koryo-saram'' often face the most difficulty integrating into Korean society due to their poor command of the [[Korean language]] as well as their dialect, [[Koryo-mar]], differing significantly from the [[Seoul dialect]] considered the standard in the South.<ref name="Baek"/>
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[[Sakhalin Koreans]] independently repatriated to [[North Korea]] in the decades following the end of [[World War II]]. The Soviets prohibited returning to their ancestral homes in the South since the Soviet's supported North Korea's war against the South, and Japan refused to grant Sakhalin Koreans transit privileges. In 1985, Japan funded the return of Sakhalin Koreans to South Korea although only an 1500 accepted the offer while the vast majority decided to remain on [[Sakhalin]] or move to the [[Russian Far East]].<ref name=Sakhalin/>
  
Until recently, return migration from the West has been much less common than from Japan or the [[Post-Soviet states|former Soviet Union]]. The economic enticement has been far less than in 1960s Japan or post-Soviet collapse [[Central Asia]]. An increasing number of aspiring [[Korean Americans]] singers and actors, frustrated by their inability to break through stereotypes in [[Hollywood]], choose instead to go to South Korea through talent and modeling agencies. Prominent examples include singer [[Brian Joo]] (of [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] duo [[Fly to the Sky]]) and actor [[Daniel Henney]] (who initially spoke no Korean).<ref>Jason Song, [http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-et-idol1jan01,1,5321296.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true Called to star in Asia]. ''Los Angeles Times'', 2007-01-01. accessdate 2007-02-14 </ref><ref>Robert Ito, 2007-02-11 ''The New York Times'', [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/movies/11ito.html?ex=1328850000&en=de3179a2c903f74b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Stuck in Asia, dreaming of Hollywood.]. accessdate 2007-02-14</ref>
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With the steady improve of the standard of living in South Korea during the 1980s, the numbers of overseas Koreans repatriating to South Korea rose dramatically. 356,790 [[Ethnic Chinese in Korea|Chinese citizens have migrated to South Korea]] since the [[reform and opening up]] of China, almost two-thirds are estimated to be ''[[Ethnic Koreans in China|Chaoxianzu]]''. Similarly, some [[Koryo-saram]] from [[Central Asia]] have also moved to [[South Korea]] as guest workers to take advantage of the high wages offered by the growing economy. Return migration through [[arranged marriage]] represents another option, portrayed in the 2005 [[Cinema of Korea|South Korean film]] ''[[Wedding Campaign]],'' directed by Hwang Byung-kook.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492702/ Naui gyeolhon wonjeonggi (Wedding Campaign)], 2005. ''IMDb''. Retrieved April 14, 2023. </ref>  
  
==Current numbers==
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Until recently, return migration from the West has been much less common than from Japan or the [[Post-Soviet states|former Soviet Union]]. The economic enticement has been far less than in 1960s Japan or post-Soviet collapse [[Central Asia]]. An increasing number of aspiring [[Korean Americans]] singers and actors, frustrated by their inability to break through stereotypes in [[Hollywood]], choose instead to go to South Korea through talent and modeling agencies. Prominent examples include singer [[Brian Joo]] (of [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] duo [[Fly to the Sky]]) and actor [[Daniel Henney]] (who initially spoke no Korean).<ref>Jason Song, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-01-et-idol1-story.html Called to star in Asia] ''Los Angeles Times'', January 1, 2007. Retrievevd April 14, 2023.</ref><ref>Robert Ito, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/movies/11ito.html?ex=1328850000&en=de3179a2c903f74b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Stuck in Asia, dreaming of Hollywood] ''The New York Times'', February 11, 2007. Retrieved April 14, 2023.</ref>
 
 
===Statistics===
 
 
 
{|class="wikitable"
 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
 
!Continent / Country||Articles related Korean population  ||Overseas Korean <br/>Population||Year||% of local<br/>population||% of Global Overseas<br/> Korean population
 
|-bgcolor="yellow"
 
|[[Asia]]|| ||3,591,369||NA||0.09||56
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|China}}||[[Koreans_in_China]]||2,043,578||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Hong Kong}}||[[Koreans_in_Hong_Kong]]||5,200||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Indonesia}}||[[Koreans_in_Indonesia]]||23,205 ||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Iran}}||[[Koreans_in_Iran]]||540 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF>{{cite web|title=중동/아프리카 재외동포현황 (Middle East/Africa Overseas Compatriots Present Status)|url=http://www.korean.net/directory/directory_sub.jsp?dCode=0107&nCode=010703&dName=%EC%A4%91%EB%8F%99/%EC%95%84%ED%94%84%EB%A6%AC%EC%B9%B4%C2%A0(Middle%20East/Africa)|publisher=Overseas Korean Foundation|date=2005|accessdate=2007-05-13}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Japan}}||[[Zainichi Koreans]]||901,284 ||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-  
 
|{{flagcountry|Kazakhstan}}||[[Korean_people_in_Kazakhstan|Koryo-saram]]||105,000||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="KSKi">{{cite conference|last=Ki|first=Kwangseo|title=구소련 한인사회의 역사적 변천과 현실 [Korean society in the former Soviet Union: historical development and realities]|booktitle = Proceedings of 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans (ASOK)|publisher=Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans|date=2002-12-15|location=Seoul}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Kyrgyzstan}}||[[Korean_people_in_Kazakhstan|Koryo-saram]]||19,000||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="KSKi">{{cite conference|last=Ki|first=Kwangseo|title=구소련 한인사회의 역사적 변천과 현실 [Korean society in the former Soviet Union: historical development and realities]|booktitle = Proceedings of 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans (ASOK)|publisher=Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans|date=2002-12-15|location=Seoul}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Malaysia}}||[[Koreans in Malaysia]]||5,000||2006||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Philippines}}||[[Koreans in the Philippines]]||92,608 ||2007||NA%||NA%
 
|-  
 
|{{flagcountry|Russia}}||[[Sakhalin_Koreans]]||125,000||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="KSKi">{{cite conference|last=Ki|first=Kwangseo|title=구소련 한인사회의 역사적 변천과 현실 [Korean society in the former Soviet Union: historical development and realities]|booktitle = Proceedings of 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans (ASOK)|publisher=Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans|date=2002-12-15|location=Seoul}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Singapore}}||[[Koreans_in_Singapore]]||8,000 ||2006||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Taiwan}}||[[Koreans_in_Taiwan]]||3,454||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Tajikistan}}||[[Korean_people_in_Kazakhstan|Koryo-saram]]||6,000 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="KSKi">{{cite conference|last=Ki|first=Kwangseo|title=구소련 한인사회의 역사적 변천과 현실 [Korean society in the former Soviet Union: historical development and realities]|booktitle = Proceedings of 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans (ASOK)|publisher=Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans|date=2002-12-15|location=Seoul}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Thailand}}||[[NA]]||19,500||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Turkmenistan}}||[[Korean_people_in_Kazakhstan|Koryo-saram]]||3,000 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="KSKi">{{cite conference|last=Ki|first=Kwangseo|title=구소련 한인사회의 역사적 변천과 현실 [Korean society in the former Soviet Union: historical development and realities]|booktitle = Proceedings of 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans (ASOK)|publisher=Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans|date=2002-12-15|location=Seoul}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Uzbekistan}}||[[Korean_people_in_Kazakhstan|Koryo-saram]]||198,000 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="KSKi">{{cite conference|last=Ki|first=Kwangseo|title=구소련 한인사회의 역사적 변천과 현실 [Korean society in the former Soviet Union: historical development and realities]|booktitle = Proceedings of 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans (ASOK)|publisher=Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans|date=2002-12-15|location=Seoul}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Vietnam}}||[[Korean_people_in_Vietnam]]||33,000||2006||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|-bgcolor="yellow"
 
|[[Americas]]|| ||2,516,617 ||NA||0.28||39.2
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Argentina}}||[[Asian Argentine]]||35,000||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Brazil}}||[[Asian_Brazilian]]||250,000 ||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Canada}}||[[Koreatown%2C_Toronto]]||110,000||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Dominican Republic}}||[[Asian_Latin_American]]||500||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Chile}}||[[NA]]||NA ||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Guatemala}}||[[NA]]||49,000||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Mexico}}||[[NA]]||14,571||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|United States}}||[[Korean American]]||2,057,546||2005||0.5%||NA% <ref name="USCensus">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:042&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=|title=Korean alone or in combination in 2005|accessdate=2006-12-16|date=2005|publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-bgcolor="yellow"
 
|[[Europe]]|| ||99,972 ||NA||0||0.02
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|France}}||[[Koreans in France]]||13,162 ||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Germany}}||[[Koreans in Germany]]||34,000||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Ukraine }}||[[Korean_people_in_Kazakhstan|Koryo-saram]]||12,000 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="KSKi">{{cite conference|last=Ki|first=Kwangseo|title=구소련 한인사회의 역사적 변천과 현실 [Korean society in the former Soviet Union: historical development and realities]|booktitle = Proceedings of 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans (ASOK)|publisher=Association for the Study of Overseas Koreans|date=2002-12-15|location=Seoul}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}||[[British Korean]]||40,810||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|-bgcolor="yellow"
 
|[[Oceania]]|| ||74,545 ||NA||0.51||2.8
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Australia}}||[[Korean_Australian]]||43,753||NA||NA%||NA%
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|New Zealand}}||[[NA]]||30,792||NA||NA%||NA% [http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-census-data/quickstats-about-culture-identity/quickstats-about-culture-and-identity.htm?page=para015Master]
 
|-
 
|-bgcolor="yellow"
 
|[[Middle East]]|| ||10,303 ||NA||0||0.2
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Kuwait }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||5,000||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="CheongwadaeSaudi">Cheongwadae (Kuwait) 2007. Excludes military servicemembers on active duty.</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Qatar  }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||1,800 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="CheongwadaeQatar">Cheongwadae (Qatar) 2007</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|United Arab Emirates }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||1,600||NA||0||NA% <ref name="CheongwadaeUAE">Cheongwadae (UAE) 2006. Figure includes only Dubai.</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Saudi Arabia }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||1,200 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="CheongwadaeKuwait">Cheongwadae (Saudi Arabia) 2007</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Jordan }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||290 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Oman }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||105 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Iraq  }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||100 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name="PeoplesDaily">''People's Daily'' 2004-04-09. Excludes military servicemembers on active duty.</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Bahrain }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||99 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Yemen }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||49 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Syria }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||34 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Lebanon }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||26 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|-bgcolor="yellow"
 
|[[Africa]]||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||8,912||2005||0||0.1 <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Algeria }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||54 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Botswana}}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||200||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Côte d'Ivoire }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||180||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Egypt }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||685 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Ethiopia}}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||174||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Ghana }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||614||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Kenya }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||726 ||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Libya}}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||964||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Morocco}}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||310 ||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Nigeria }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||800||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Senegal }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||164 ||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|South Africa }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||3,452||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Sudan }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||86 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Tanzania }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||238 ||2005||NA%||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Tunisia }}||[[Koreans_in_the_Arab_world]]||69 ||NA||NA%||NA% <ref name=OKF/>
 
|-
 
|{{flagcountry|Uganda }}||[[Koreans_in_Africa]]||196 ||2005||0||NA% <ref name="AfricaTotal">Overseas Korean Foundation (2005)</ref>
 
|-
 
|-bgcolor="yellow"
 
|Total||—||6,408,673||NA||0.1||100
 
|}
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Korean adoptee]]
 
* [[Koreans]]
 
  
 
== Notes ==
 
== Notes ==
Line 197: Line 41:
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
* Abelmann, Nancy, and John Lie. 1995. ''Blue dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles riots.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674077041.
+
* Abelmann, Nancy, and John Lie. ''Blue dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles riots.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0674077058
* Baxter, James C. 2006. ''Japanese studies around the world 2005: the Korean diaspora and strategies for global networks.'' Kyōto: International Research Center for Japanese studies. OCLC: 150421845
+
* Bergsten, C. Fred, and In-bŏm Chʻoe. ''Korean diaspora in the world economy.'' Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, 2003. ISBN 9780881323580
* Bergsten, C. Fred, and In-bŏm Chʻoe. 2003. ''Korean diaspora in the world economy.'' Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics. ISBN 9780881323580.
+
* Chaliand, Gérard, and Jean-Pierre Rageau. ''The Penguin Atlas of diasporas.'' New York: Viking, 1995. ISBN 9780670854394
* Chaliand, Gérard, and Jean-Pierre Rageau. 1995. ''The Penguin Atlas of diasporas.'' New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670854394.
+
* Kang, Chol-Hwan, and Pierre Rigoulot. ''The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag''. Basic Books, 2005. ISBN 978-0465011056
* Chang, Edward Taehan. 2001. ''The Korean diaspora in China: ethnicity, identity and change.'' New Haven: East Rock Institute. OCLC: 63132649
+
* Kim, Hyung-chan. ''The Korean diaspora: historical and sociological studies of Korean immigration and assimilation in North America.'' Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1977. ISBN 9780874362503
* Kim, Hyung-chan. 1977. ''The Korean diaspora: historical and sociological studies of Korean immigration and assimilation in North America.'' Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio. ISBN 9780874362503.
+
* Lee, Kwang-kyu. ''Overseas Koreans''. Seoul: Jimoondang, 2000. ISBN 89-88095189
* Kim, Julie. 2000. ''The Korean diaspora of the former Soviet Union: the cultural revitalization movement, 1980s-1990s.'' Thesis (Ph. D.)—University of California, Los Angeles, 2000. OCLC: 46926548
+
* Light, Ivan, and Edna Bonacich. ''Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Koreans in Los Angeles, 1965-1982''. University of California Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0520076563
* Miralao, Virginia A. 2004. ''Understanding the Korean diaspora to the Philippines.'' OCLC: 67228467
 
 
 
==External Links==
 
* [http://uza.uz/en/society/46/ Korean Diaspora marks 70 years in Uzbekistan]. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
 
* Paik Nak-chung, 1996, English version of speech, [http://www.changbi.com/english/related/related17.asp The Possibility and Significance of a Korean Ethnic Community]. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
 
* [http://www.chonnam.ac.kr/~cnutoday/v9/en/news.html?action=&cnunews=news_main&lang=en&page=10&mode=&search=&key= Research Center for Overseas Korean Economic Network Released a Series of 11 Books on Overseas Koreans]. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
 
* [http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/~jchang/KoreanDiasporas/ University of California: Berkeley, East Asian Library: Bibliography for Korean Diasporas]. Library search facility, online, Retrieved October 6, 2007.
 
* [http://apmrn.anu.edu.au/regional_members/KMRN%20report.doc "The Korean Diaspora: Migration, Adaptation, and Identity of Overseas Koreans.” February 4, 2005]. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
 
  
 
{{Ethnic Koreans}}
 
{{Ethnic Koreans}}

Latest revision as of 15:38, 14 April 2023

Korean diaspora
Hangul 교포/동포
Hanja 僑胞/同胞
Revised Romanization gyopo/dongpo
McCune-Reischauer kyopo/dongpo


The terms gyopo or dongpo in Korean refer to persons of Korean ethnic descent who have lived the majority of their lives outside Korea or, simply, any Korean who lives outside Korea.

As with most, if not all, ancient empires, Korea's history has been one of constantly fluctuating borders. For approximately 3200 years, from 2333 B.C.E. to 926 C.E., the northern regions of Korea (today's Manchuria and Mongolia) had been inhabited by Koreans. With the fall of Balhae in 926 C.E., many Koreans absorbed into the northern nomadic tribes, China and Russia. That diaspora has been difficult to document. During the Joseon dynasty, many poor Korean farmers migrated to China and Russia in the late nineteenth century. During the Japanese colonization of Korea, Japan forced many Koreas to migrate while in the post-Korean War era many Koreans migrated to the United States. All total, approximately 6.5 million Korean live in diaspora. Although economic and political conditions have been improving in South Korea during the past 20 years, the vast majority of Koreans in diaspora have chosen to remain in their adopted nations.

History

Origins

Large-scale emigration from Korea began as early as the mid-1860s, mainly into the Russian Far East and Northeast China; those emigrants became the ancestors of the two million Koreans in China and several hundred thousand ethnic Koreans in Central Asia.[1][2]

Korea under Japanese rule

Monument for Korean Victims of A-Bomb, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan

During the Japanese colonial period of 1910-1945, Japanese often recruited or forced Koreans into labor service to work in mainland Japan, Karafuto Prefecture, and Manchukuo, especially in the 1930s and early 1940s. The ones who chose to remain in Japan at the end of the war became known as Zainichi Koreans, while the approximately forty thousand forced to stay in Karafuto after the Soviet invasion typically go by the name Sakhalin Koreans.[3]

Aside from migration within the Empire of Japan or its puppet state of Manchukuo, some Koreans escaped Japanese-ruled territory entirely, traveling to Shanghai, a major center of the Korean independence movement, or to the already-established Korean communities of the Russian Far East although the Soviet Union deported the latter to Central Asia in 1938.

After Korean independence

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Ethnic Koreans in China (Chaoxianzu) became one of the officially recognized as one of the 56 ethnic groups of the country. Chinese consider them one of the "major minorities" in China. Their population grew to about two million ethnic Koreans; they reside mostly in northeastern China, where their ancestors had initially settled. Their largest population concentrated in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, numbering 854,000 in 1997.[2]

Korean emigration to America began as early as 1903, although the Korean American community significant increase took place after the passage of the Immigration Reform Act of 1965. More than two million ethnic Koreans live in the U.S., mostly in metropolitan areas. A handful descended from laborers who migrated to Hawaii in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A significant number descended from orphans of the Korean War, the United States standing as a major ally of South Korea. Americans adopted thousands adopted in the years following the war when major media covered their plight. The vast majority, immigrated or descended from those who immigrated after the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 permitted unrestricted immigration for family members of naturalized Americans.

Europe and Latin America constituted minor destinations for post-war Korean emigration. Germany represents the largest Korean community in Europe while London has the largest European Koreatown. Documented Korean immigration to Latin America began in the 1950s; North Korean prisoners of war migrated to Chile in 1953 and Argentina in 1956 under the auspices of the International Red Cross. The majority of Korean settlement occurred in the late 1960s. When the South Korean economy expanded dramatically in the 1980s, investors from South Korea came to Latin America and established small businesses in the textiles industry.[4] Brazil has Latin America's largest Koreatown while Koreatowns also exist Argentina and Guatemala. Mexico City estimates the Korean population at around 30,000. In the 1970s, though, Japan and the United States remained the top two destinations for South Korean emigrants, with each receiving more than a quarter of all emigration. The Middle East became the third most popular destination with more than 800,000 Koreans going to Saudi Arabia between 1975 and 1985, another 26,000 Koreans immigrating to Iran. In contrast, only Germany (1.7 percent of all South Korean emigration in 1977) and Paraguay (1.0 percent) among European or Latin American destinations rated in the top ten for emigrants.[5]

Shifting focus of emigration

Emigration to America became less attractive as a result of the Rodney King riots, when many Korean American immigrants in Los Angeles witnessed their businesses destroyed by rioters. South Korean media reports on the riots increased public consciousness of the long working hours immigrants faced the United States.[6] With South Korea's developing economy, the focus of emigration from Korea began a shift from developed nations to developing nations. With the 1992 normalisation of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, many citizens of South Korea started to settle in China, attracted by business opportunities generated by reforms, the opening of China to Korean immigrants, and the low cost of living. Large new communities of South Koreans have formed in Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao. A small community of Koreans, mostly expatriate businessmen and their families, live in Hong Kong. Southeast Asia has also seen an influx of South Koreans. Koreans in Vietnam have grown from around 30,000 since the 1992 normalization of diplomatic relations. Korean migration to the Philippines has also increased due to the attraction of the tropical climate and the relatively low cost of living.

Return migration

Koreans born or settled overseas have been migrating back to both North and South Korea since the restoration of Korean independence. Kim Jong-Il, born in Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai, where his father Kim Il-sung, had served in the Red Army, numbers among the most famous.[7] The largest-scale repatriation activities took place in Japan, where Chongryon sponsored the return of Zainichi Korean residents to North Korea. Starting from late 1950s and early 1960s with a trickle of repatriates continuing until as late as 1984, nearly 90,000 Zainichi Koreans resettled in the reclusive communist state, although their ancestors lived in southern Korea. Word of the difficult economic and political conditions filtered back to Japan, decreasing the popularity of that option. Around one hundred repatriates escaped from North Korea, Kang Chol-Hwan the most famous, who published a book about his experience, The Aquariums of Pyongyang.[8]

South Korea remains a popular destination for Koreans who had settled in Manchukuo during the colonial period. Returnees from Manchukuo such as Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan had a major influence on the process of nation-building in South Korea.

Sakhalin Koreans independently repatriated to North Korea in the decades following the end of World War II. The Soviets prohibited returning to their ancestral homes in the South since the Soviet's supported North Korea's war against the South, and Japan refused to grant Sakhalin Koreans transit privileges. In 1985, Japan funded the return of Sakhalin Koreans to South Korea although only an 1500 accepted the offer while the vast majority decided to remain on Sakhalin or move to the Russian Far East.[3]

With the steady improve of the standard of living in South Korea during the 1980s, the numbers of overseas Koreans repatriating to South Korea rose dramatically. 356,790 Chinese citizens have migrated to South Korea since the reform and opening up of China, almost two-thirds are estimated to be Chaoxianzu. Similarly, some Koryo-saram from Central Asia have also moved to South Korea as guest workers to take advantage of the high wages offered by the growing economy. Return migration through arranged marriage represents another option, portrayed in the 2005 South Korean film Wedding Campaign, directed by Hwang Byung-kook.[9]

Until recently, return migration from the West has been much less common than from Japan or the former Soviet Union. The economic enticement has been far less than in 1960s Japan or post-Soviet collapse Central Asia. An increasing number of aspiring Korean Americans singers and actors, frustrated by their inability to break through stereotypes in Hollywood, choose instead to go to South Korea through talent and modeling agencies. Prominent examples include singer Brian Joo (of R&B duo Fly to the Sky) and actor Daniel Henney (who initially spoke no Korean).[10][11]

Notes

  1. Kwang-kyu Lee, Overseas Koreans. (Seoul: Jimoondang, 2000. ISBN 89-88095189)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Si-joong Kim, The Economic Status and Role of Ethnic Koreans in China The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy (Institute for International Economics, 2003), Ch. 6: 101-131. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Anton Troianovski, What’s in a Name? For the Koreans of Sakhalin, an Anguished History The New York Times, November 7, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. Kate H. Choi, "Who is Hispanic? Hispanic ethnic identity among African Americans, Asian Americans, and whites." Department of Sociology, University of Texas, 2004.
  5. Ivan Light and Edna Bonacich, Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Koreans in Los Angeles, 1965-1982 (University of California Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0520076563), 105-106.
  6. Nancy Abelmann and John Lie, Blue Dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles Riots (Harvard University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0674077058).
  7. Lawrence Sheets, A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace NPR, February 12, 2004. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. Chol-Hwan Kang and Pierre Rigoulot, The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag (Basic Books, 2005, ISBN 978-0465011056).
  9. Naui gyeolhon wonjeonggi (Wedding Campaign), 2005. IMDb. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  10. Jason Song, Called to star in Asia Los Angeles Times, January 1, 2007. Retrievevd April 14, 2023.
  11. Robert Ito, Stuck in Asia, dreaming of Hollywood The New York Times, February 11, 2007. Retrieved April 14, 2023.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Abelmann, Nancy, and John Lie. Blue dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles riots. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0674077058
  • Bergsten, C. Fred, and In-bŏm Chʻoe. Korean diaspora in the world economy. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, 2003. ISBN 9780881323580
  • Chaliand, Gérard, and Jean-Pierre Rageau. The Penguin Atlas of diasporas. New York: Viking, 1995. ISBN 9780670854394
  • Kang, Chol-Hwan, and Pierre Rigoulot. The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag. Basic Books, 2005. ISBN 978-0465011056
  • Kim, Hyung-chan. The Korean diaspora: historical and sociological studies of Korean immigration and assimilation in North America. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1977. ISBN 9780874362503
  • Lee, Kwang-kyu. Overseas Koreans. Seoul: Jimoondang, 2000. ISBN 89-88095189
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