German Kim

German Nikolaevich Kim (Russian: Герман Николаевич Ким) is Head of the Department of Korean Studies at Al-Farabi University, Kazakhstan and one of the leading internationally-recognised scholars of the Koryo-saram.

Biography

Early life

Kim was born 16 July 1953 in Ushtobe, Taldy-Kurgan Oblast, one of three sons of Nikolai Kim (also known by his Korean name Kim Dyunbin), a safety engineer and premises manager at the Korean Theatre of Kazakhstan. He jokingly refers to his hometown as the "Korean capital" of the former Soviet Union. He entered Kazakh National University (now known as Al-Farabi University) in 1971 as a student of world history and German language; after his graduation in 1977, he found work as a teacher of German, which he continued until the mid-eighties.

Decision to study Koryo-saram history

In 1985, with the onset of perestroika and glasnost, it became permitted for the first time to speak openly of the deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union and other tragedies which had afflicted the Koryo-saram. This piqued Kim's interest in the history of his ancestors, and in 1987, he returned to Kazakh National University as a doctoral candidate, writing his thesis on the topic of "Socio-Cultural Development of Koreans in Kazakhstan in 1946-1966"; after graduation up until today, he has continued his work in the field of Koryo-saram studies.

Other activities

Aside from teaching and research, Kim also presently holds the position of Chairman of the Association of Koreans in Kazakhstan. He additionally was a historical consultant for the documentary film Koryo-saram: The Unreliable People.^[1]

Publications

• "The Koryo Saram: Koreans in the Former USSR", German Nikolaevich Kim and Ross King. Korean and Korean American Studies Bulletin. Vol. 2/3, 2001.
• (1999) "The History of Korean Immigration", Book 1, Second half of 19th Century — 1945", Almaty, Dayk-Press

References

External links

• Confessions of a Koryo-saram, by Dr. German Kim
• Complete curriculum vitae