Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture
The Koreans of China are virtually the same, culturally and linguistically, as the Koreans of Korea. Their architecture, female clothing and diet remain basically the same as in Korea, despite changes brought about by Han and modernization influences.
Immigration began in the seventeenth century, but the first major wave was in the 1860s, with others following later. Although there was major emigration also back to Korea, especially after the victory against Japan in 1945, the PRC censuses show numbers rising from 1,120,405 in 1953 to 1,920,597 in 1990. The overwhelming majority live in the northeastern provinces, especially Jilin, which borders Korea and is the site of the most important of Korean autonomous places, the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, established in September 1952.
The Koreans are the most literate and educated of China’s nationalities. In 1998, 99.97 per cent of school-age children in Yanbian were in primary schools, with 99.98 per cent of them entering a higher grade.
Not only is Korean-language education widespread at primary level, but it also exists at secondary level, complete with the appropriate textbooks at both levels. In Yanbian public life, Korean is used alongside Chinese. Buddhism was never as strong in Yanbian as in Korea and is now all but dead. Christian missionaries were once influential, and there are still both Protestant and Catholic Christians among Chinese Koreans, although the Catholics are not in communion with Rome.
The Korean arts feature elegant dancing, females dominating. Korean musical instruments like the zither-like kayagum are popular among the Chinese Koreans. There is a tradition of drama and novels. Since the late 1970s, Korean writers have produced good plays and novels in Korean, illustrating contemporary life, including the new family, gender and generation relations. The novels have attracted interest among Koreans outside China.
COLIN MACKERRAS
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