Following the
division of Korea
The division of Korea began with the defeat of Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be l ...
in the aftermath of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, the percent of foreigners in South Korea has risen to 3.4%, or about two million of the total population (half of them
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, with Americans and Vietnamese tied for second place over 150,000, or 6-7% of the total number of foreigners).
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
largely remains
ethnically homogeneous with a small
Chinese expatriate community and a few
Japanese people
The are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago."人類学上は,旧石器時代あるいは縄文時代以来,現在の北海道〜沖縄諸島(南西諸島)に住んだ集団を祖先にもつ人々。" () Jap ...
.
History
In 1882,
King Gojong called foreigners "uneducated louts", motivated by "lechery and sensuality".
The
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...
was widely referred to as a "
hermit kingdom" for sealing itself off from foreign influence.
Joseon diplomacy Joseon diplomacy was the foreign policy of the Joseon dynasty of Korea from 1392 through 1910; and its theoretical and functional foundations were rooted in Neo-Confucian scholar-bureaucrats, institutions and philosophy.
Taejo of Joseon established ...
mainly involved the ''
Sadae
''Sadae'' (''lit.'' "serving-the-Great," Hangul: 사대 Hanja: ) is a Korean term which is used in pre-modern contexts.Armstrong, Charles K. (2007). ''Sadae'' is a Confucian concept, based on filial piety, that describes a reciprocal hierarchi ...
'' ("serving the great") policy toward
Imperial China. Concurrently maintained (and jointly referred to as "serving the great and relations with neighbor policy" ) was the ''
Gyorin
Gyorin (lit. "neighborly relations") was a neo-Confucian term developed in Joseon Korea. The term was intended to identify and characterize a diplomatic policy which establishes and maintains amicable relations with neighboring states. It was c ...
'' policy of amicable relations with
neighbouring countries; however this did not result in significant influx of foreign persons but rather sporadic trade delegations and diplomatic missions: envoys from the
Ryūkyū Kingdom
The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in t ...
were received by
Taejo of Joseon
Taejo of Joseon (4 November 1335 – 27 June 1408), born Yi Seong-gye (), was the founder and first ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After ascending to the throne, he changed his name to Yi Dan (), and reigned from 1392 to 1398. He was ...
in 1392, 1394 and 1397.
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
sent an envoy to Taejo's court in 1393.
[Goodrich, L. Carrington et al. (1976)]
''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644'' (明代名人傳), Vol. II, p. 1601.
The Joseon kingdom made every effort to maintain a friendly bilateral relationship with China for reasons having to do with both ''
realpolitik
''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...
'' and a more idealist
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
worldview
A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural ...
wherein China was seen as the center of a Confucian moral universe.
In the fifth through tenth centuries,
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
sailed the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
, and Arab merchants and sailors eventually landed in Korea during the
Silla dynasty
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of Ko ...
.
These contacts eventually broke off starting in the fifteenth century, resulting in the Arabs' eventual
assimilation into the Korean population.
North Korea
The
foreign relations of North Korea
The foreign relations of North Korea – officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) – have been shaped by its conflict with South Korea and its historical ties with world communism. Both the government of North Korea and th ...
are often tense and unpredictable. The number of foreign residents is correspondingly very small, and is essentially limited to
Japanese spouses of "repatriating" Zainichi Koreans,
expatriates from the People's Republic of China, foreign diplomats, and a few
defectors
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
such as
James Joseph Dresnok
James Joseph Dresnok ( ko, 제임스 조새프 드레스녹, November 24, 1941 – November 2016) was an American defection, defector to North Korea, one of six U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War.
After defecting, Dresnok worked as an ...
and
Joseph T. White
Joseph T. White (November 5, 1961 August 17, 1985) was a United States Army soldier who defected to North Korea on August 28, 1982.
Life and career
Born to Norval and Kathleen White, he had four siblings and volunteered for the 1980 Reagan p ...
.
South Korea
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
is among the world's most ethnically homogeneous nations, i.e. those with majority of the population of one ethnicity. Since the end of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
in 1953, South Korea has been far more open to foreign influence, especially
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.
There were 1,741,919 total foreign residents in Korea in 2015, compared to 1,576,034 in 2013. As of September 2015, according to the
Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS, ) is a branch of the Government of South Korea. The headquarters are in Sejong City. It is responsible for national administration, management of government organizations, and e-government. Furtherm ...
, the foreign population in South Korea, including migrant workers, increased to 1.8 million, accounting for 3.4% of the total population.
The biggest group of foreigners in Korea are the Chinese.
In 1970, an estimated 120,000 Chinese resided in South Korea. However, due to economic restrictions by the
South Korean government
The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is the ...
, the number may have fallen to as low as 21,000. In the 10-year period starting in the late 1990s, the number of Chinese in Korea exploded. In the mid 2000s it was estimated that there are at least 300,000 and possibly more than 1,000,000 In 2009 it was estimated there are about 450,000 Chinese Koreans.
[
Chinese citizens living in South Korea as permanent residents or illegal immigrants, including ''Joseonjok'' (, Chinese citizens of Korean descent) and ]Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
. There is a large Chinese community in Seoul's southwestern area ( Daerim/ Namguro) and a smaller but established a community in Seongnam
Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. Seongnam is a satellite city of Seoul. It is largely a residential ci ...
. Ethnic Chinese in Korea
A recognizable community of Chinese people in Korea has existed since the 1880s, and are often known as Hwagyo. Over 90% of early Chinese migrants came from Shandong province on the east coast of China. These ethnic Chinese residents in Korea oft ...
are known as Hwagyo () by the Koreans.
As of 2016, there were 710,000 Chinese nationals living in Korea, of which ethnic Koreans from China accounted for 500,000, Chinese 190,000 and Taiwanese 20,000. Together, they accounted for 51.6 percent of all foreigners in Korea.
The second-biggest group of foreigners in South Korea are migrant worker
A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant workers who work outsi ...
s from Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
[ and increasingly from ]Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
(notably Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
, mostly ethnic Koreans from there, and Mongolians
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
), and in the main cities, particularly Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
, there is a small but growing number of foreigners related to business and education.
The number of marriages between Koreans and foreigners has risen steadily in the past few years. In 2005, 14% of all marriages in South Korea were marriages to foreigners (about 26,000 marriages); most were rural Korean men marrying other Asian women from poor backgrounds. Korean men in age brackets up to their 40s outnumber slightly younger Korean women, both due to a high sex ratio and the drop in the birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
since the 1960s, leading to a huge demand for wives. Many Korean agencies encourage 'international' marriages to Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
, Filipina
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...
, Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
, and Thai women, adding a new degree of complexity to the issue of ethnicity.
The number of expatriate English teachers hailing from English-speaking nations
The following is a list of English-speaking population by country, including information on both native speakers and second-language speakers.
List
* The European Union is a supranational union composed of 27 member states. The total Eng ...
has increased from less than 1,000 in 1988 to over 20,000 in 2002, and stood at more than 22,000 in 2010. There are 28,500 United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
military personnel and civilian employees throughout the country, an increasing number of whom are also accompanied by family members.
Influence in entertainment and the arts
Korean media is widely influenced by expatriate entertainers. Performers, often residing with controversial E6 visas provide several assets: a desirable native English language factor - though many are famously bilingual, and contribution to Korea's desire for cultural diversity, image, and English proficiency. English media is available through major broadcasting entities. Though highly unregulated, the expat presence in Korea is encouraged by the prevalence of the Korean wave.
Korea is home to the headquarters of several major players in gaming and dub-overs. Due to the globalization of popular media, expats are the driving force behind many productions and the competition is described as being harsh due to the popularity of K-dramas. TV personalities such as Americans Carson Allen, Daniel Joey Albright, Khalid Tapia; South African Bronwyn Mullen and Australian actor Sam Hammington are well known to viewers, often appearing in popular variety shows.
Some performers have reached household name status. Veteran Isaac Durst, an American actor, is well known for his extensive work catering to kids, family friendly TV and radio. Broadcasters such as kyopo Lisa Kelley, Ghana-born Sam Okyere, Canadian sports commentator Jason Lee, and popular advertisement voice actor Richard Kim who hails from America have been formally recognized for their influence on the Korean media industry. So frequent are their contributions that their voices are considered staples in Korean media, particularly in TV and radio.
On the practical side of entertainment in Asia, a booming voice industry is lucrative. Recognized voiceover actors such as American born Jennifer Clyde, who has been dubbed "the voice of Korea in 'English' reach millions through commercials, games and dubbing. Multi-genre performers such as Canadian Jesse Day, Kelly Frances, Stephen Revere
Stephen Revere is a Korean language expert, magazine editor, and social media marketer living in Seoul, South Korea. Stephen's social media marketing company Intercultural Communications is the first social media marketing company to service bilin ...
, Belgian DJ-actor Julian Quintart, and French performer-model-MC Fabien Yoon contribute through content, voice and live performances. Singer-actress Samia Mounts is credited for her role in Pokémon and American-Korean voice acting, having spent her youth in Korea. In the classical music genre, Dr. Ryan Goessl has built the Camarata Music Company
Camarata Music Company, now known as Camarata Music, is an international non-profit music organization in Seoul, South Korea. It was created for both native Koreans and foreign expatriates. Camarata currently consists of five musical ensembles: th ...
, one of the world's most diverse music organizations, in Seoul. The organization, which boasts members from 101 different countries, can be seen in concert up to 40 times per year. Dr. Goessl can also be seen performing on Korea's national stages as both a choral/orchestral conductor, as well as a classical vocal soloist, in addition to coaching Korea's classical, rock, and KPOP singers, along with voice actors.
The foodie scene has its own prolific expat: Joe McPherson, author, resteraunteer and tour guide, whose work reached the New York times and landed him a consultant role during Anthony Bourdain's visit to Seoul. Additionally, Daniel Gray is an adoptee from the United States who made a brand for himself as a local foodie and author.
Joe McPherson also operates the Dark Side of Seoul dark tour with Shawn Morrissey. Both also co-host the Dark Side of Seoul podcast. Morrissey is a heritage researcher and folklorist who wrote a comic book based on the Dark Side of Seoul tour
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
.
Radio in English is considered essential for ESL learners, and one of Korea's best known hosts, veteran Stephen Hatherly, runs a long-standing show - named after himself at English station TBSeFM. American Dorothy Nam is a celebrated host and well known Korean-American personality.
The DJ scene is gaining global respect, and with it, expat professionals. Bellydancing is popular and led by expats such as Australian veteran Belynda Azhaar, PhD., often tying performance to social causes. British DJ Oli Fenn (DJ Fenner) is recognized as a local and multinational professional DJ.
As Seoul continues to develop its fashion presence, Expat models are common. Among them, Brazilian veteran Jane Aquino is known as a successful foreign model, posing alongside K-pop idols and working for the likes of high-profile fashion houses such as Hermes. Veteran (former military) designer and model Julian Woodhouse is famous for dominating the fashion scene in Seoul and making his way to prominence in the American fashion industry.
YouTube has gained popularity, with American veteran David Levene being the most recognizable for his success with half a million subscribers.
Statistics
Number of foreign residents in South Korea up to 2019.
Nationalities of legal foreign residents in South Korea as of 2019.[http://www.immigration.go.kr/bbs/immigration/228/412967/synapView.do ]
See also
* Demographics of South Korea
This is a demography of the population of South Korea including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
In June 2012, South Korea's popul ...
* Immigration to South Korea
Immigration to South Korea () is low due to restrictive immigration policies resulting from strong opposition to immigrants from the general Korean public. However, in recent years the influx of immigrants into South Korea has been rising rapidly, ...
* North Korean defectors
* South Korean defectors
South Korean defectors are South Korean citizens who have defected to North Korea. After the Korean War, 333 South Korean prisoners of war detained in North Korea chose to stay in the country. During subsequent decades of the Cold War, some p ...
* Multicultural family in South Korea
References
External links
Korean Statistical Information System
South Korea: Balancing Labor Demand with Strict Controls
Park Young-bum, Migration Information Source, December 2004.
{{Immigrants and expatriates in Korea