|
South Korea Koreans Living Overseas
Large-scale emigration from Korea began around 1904 and
continued until the end of World War II. During the Japanese
colonial occupation, many Koreans emigrated to Manchuria
(present-day China's northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin,
and Heilongjiang), other parts of China, the Soviet Union,
Hawaii, and the continental United States. Most emigrated for
economic reasons; employment opportunities were scarce, and many
Korean farmers lost their land after the Japanese introduced a
system of land registration and private land tenure, imposed
higher land taxes, and promoted the growth of an absentee
landlord class charging exorbitant rents. Koreans from the
northern provinces of Korea went mainly to Manchuria, China, and
Siberia. Many people from the southern provinces went to Japan.
Koreans were conscripted into Japanese labor battalions or the
Japanese army, especially during World War II. In the 1940-44
period, nearly 2 million Koreans lived in Japan, 1.4 million in
Manchuria, 600,000 in Siberia, and 130,000 in China. An estimated
40,000 Koreans were scattered among other countries. At the end
of World War II, approximately 2 million Koreans were repatriated
from Japan and Manchuria.
More than 4 million ethnic Koreans lived outside the
peninsula during the early 1980s. The largest group, about 1.7
million people, lived in China. Most had assumed Chinese
citizenship. The Soviet Union had about 430,000 ethnic Koreans.
One observer noted that Koreans had been so successful in running
collective farms in Soviet Central Asia that being Korean was
often associated by other Soviets with being rich.
By contrast, many of Japan's approximately 700,000 Koreans
had below-average standards of living. This situation occurred
partly because of discrimination by the Japanese majority and
partly because of the fact that a large number of resident
Koreans, loyal to the North Korean regime of Kim Il Sung,
preferred to remain separate from and hostile to the Japanese
mainstream. The pro-North Korea Chosen soren (General Association
of Korean Residents in Japan) initially was more successful than
the pro-South Korea Mindan (Association for Korean Residents in
Japan) in attracting adherents among residents in Japan. Since
diplomatic relations were established between Seoul and Tokyo in
1965, however, the South Korean government has taken an active
role in promoting the interests of their residents in Japan in
negotiations with the Japanese government
(see Relations with Japan
, ch. 4). It also has provided subsidies to Korean schools
in Japan and other community activities.
By the end of 1988 there were over 2 million South Korean
overseas residents. North America was the preferred destination,
as the choice of over 1.2 million. Korean immigrants in the
United States and Canada gained a reputation for hard work and
economic success. South Koreans also were overseas residents of
Japan (at least 680,000), Central America and South America
(85,000), the Middle East (62,000), Western Europe (40,000),
other Asian countries (27,000), and Africa (25,000). A limited
number of South Korean government-sponsored migrants settled in
Chile, Argentina, and other Latin American countries. Because of
South Korea's rapid economic expansion, an increasing number of
its citizens reside abroad on a temporary basis as business
executives, technical personnel, foreign students, and
construction workers. A small number of overseas South Koreans
had migrated back to South Korea primarily because of the much
improved economic conditions and the difficulties in adjusting to
living abroad.
Data as of June 1990
|
