Koreans, Overseas | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Some 5 million Koreans—more than 7 percent of the peninsula's population—live outside Korea. They are scattered among 140 nations, with about 93 percent living in China, the United States, Russia, and Japan. These overseas Koreans fall into two categories: first-generation emigrants, who were born in Korea and are culturally and linguistically Korean; and their descendants, who are ethnically Korean but who have adapted culturally and linguistically to their local environment and often can't speak Korean.

The first wave of overseas migration started in the second half of the nineteenth century and lasted until 1910. It was a large-scale movement, primarily to avoid famine and poverty. Koreans moved to Manchuria and the Russian Far East, where they pioneered wet rice farming. Another group, some seven thousand strong, went to North America as indentured laborers. Most worked on sugarcane farms in Hawaii, and some later migrated to the U.S. mainland and to Mexico and Cuba.

A second wave of several hundred Koreans left between 1910 and 1945, during Japan's colonial rule of Korea. Fleeing Japanese oppression, most moved to Manchuria and the Russian Far East. A number migrated to Japan in the hope of finding better employment, but during World War II the Japanese government conscripted laborers in Korea to work under quasi-military conditions in Japanese military industries to support the war effort.

By 1945, there were 2.4 million Koreans in Japan and more than 2 million in Manchuria. After Korea became independent, most Koreans in Japan went home, but 700,000 remain in Japan today.

The 1945–1970 period may have been the most difficult in Korea's history. The country split into North and South, and the Korean War raged from 1950 to 1953. The period from the 1950s to 1965 saw an attempt to rebuild the country, and there was little emigration. External migration was very difficult until 1965, when the U.S. immigration law was changed and many Koreans moved to America for better economic prospects. During this period Koreans had little contact with foreigners except Americans and did not consider emigration as an option.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Korea was industrializing fast, its economy was growing rapidly, and many Koreans were working overseas for Korean companies. Some decided to stay abroad to establish themselves in the developed world, particularly in the United States. A number of Korean students studying abroad also opted to stay, which caused a "brain drain" to the United States and other Western countries.

Since the early 1990s, immigration patterns have changed yet again. Korea's economy had peaked, andcountries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand attempted to attract immigrants with money or useful skills. The resulting emigration of well-educated, prosperous Koreans contrasts sharply with that of forced laborers or citizens fleeing political persecution.

The largest number of overseas Koreans—2 million, or 39 percent—live in China. They are mainly concentrated near the Korean–Manchurian border, and most live in the Yenbien Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jirin Province. Pioneer rice farmers and their descendants, they have formed communities with well-established education systems in which Korean is spoken and accepted as an official language.

The second-largest number of overseas Koreans— 1.5 million, or 31 percent—live in the United States. Some are descended from of the early sugarcane laborers, but most are post-1965 immigrants and their families. Many were highly educated, with professional careers in Korea, but were unable to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers in America and wound up running small businesses such as grocery stores and laundries. California is home to most Koreans living in the United States—Los Angeles has a sizable Koreatown—followed by New York.

With 700,000, Japan has the third-largest number of overseas Koreans—about 14 percent. Most are descendants of the immigrants who were drafted as laborers for the war industry or who came to Japan seeking better jobs. They are concentrated in the industrial Osaka area and many no longer speak Korean, although they are ethnically and culturally Korean and identify themselves as such.

The fourth-largest number of overseas Koreans— 460,000, or 9 percent—are in the former Soviet Union. They are mainly the descendants of immigrants who moved to Russia's maritime province before or during the Japanese takeover of Korea. Under Stalin, these Koreans were forcibly moved to Central Asia. In an area inhabited by Turkic nomads who raised livestock, the Korean immigrants introduced wet rice farming, as they had in Manchuria. The largest number of Koreans in the former Soviet Union, about 200,000, live in Uzbekistan. The Russian Republic and Kazakhstan have 100,000 each, and the other Central Asian republics have the remaining 60,000.

The remaining 340,000 overseas Koreans—about 7 percent—are scattered among Canada (70,000), Australia (40,000), Europe (60,000), Southeast Asia (25,000), and New Zealand (almost 10,000). Koreans are generally known as hardworking people and have established themselves quickly. Their communities have introduced aspects of Korean life such as kimchi (Korea's spicy vegetable pickle) and the martial art tae kwon do to their host countries and brought foreign culture back to Korea.

Vasil, Raj, and Hong-key Yoon. (1996) New Zealanders of Asian Origin. Wellington, New Zealand: Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington.

National Council of Sport for All. (1994) Segae hanminjok pyollam (Koreans in the World). Seoul: National Council of Sport for All.

Yi, Kwang-kyu. (1997) Kukjehwa Sidaeui Hanminjokui Chillo (The Future of Korea in the Age of Internationalization). Seoul: Seoul National University Press.

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