Korean Brazilians ( pt, Coreano-brasileiro,
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
: 한국계 브라질인 or 韓國系 브라질人) are
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ians of full, partial or predominantly
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n ancestry or a Korean-born person residing in Brazil. The Korean population in Brazil, the largest in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, is about 50,000.
On 6 January 2010, per Municipal Law nº 15100, the São Paulo City Council officially recognised Bom Retiro as the Korean cultural neighbourhood.
In terms of religion, the vast majority of Korean Brazilians are Protestant, with a minority of Catholics.
There are more Korean churches than Korean restaurants in the Korean Brazilian community.
There are also three Buddhist temples located in Korean communities in Brazil, which also attract non-Korean worshippers.
History
There were cases of Koreans immigrating to Brazil during the Japanese occupation of Korea such as Kim Soo Jo. In 1961, the Korean-Brazilian association made a deal to take Korean immigrants and the Korean-Brazilian cultural diplomatic group surveyed possible locations that would fit the Koreans. Official agricultural immigration from South Korea to Brazil began in 1962, and the early Korean people who immigrated to Brazil were helped by anti-communist political prisoners.
Korean immigrants soon abandoned their agricultural projects and moved to
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, mainly to
Bom Retiro, which was originally a Jewish area but became one of the centres of Korean residents. Most of the Korean residents began to work in the clothing industry.
In 1976, the South Korean government built the "Cross saemaul farm" near
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
to solve the illegal Korean immigrants problem in Brazil. The Korean community was influenced by the 1994 economic policy
Plano Real
The Plano Real ("Real Plan",The word ''real'' in Portuguese could be translated either to ''real'' or ''royal'' in English. The name of the plan comes from the name of the currency which was chosen to give the idea of a stable and credible purc ...
.
Culture
Newspapers
Before 1985, daily newspapers existed such as the Hankook Daily or Chosun Daily, but these early newspapers ended up being a republishing of already existing Korean articles from South Korea.
In 1985, the first Korean tabloid magazine "Newsbrazil" (published until 2011) was founded by Kim Jong Nam. The magazine helped the Korean-Brazilians, who were often illiterate in Portuguese, understand
local economic policies ands ads were placed. It also played as a role as a communication space.
Education
Colégio Polilogos
Colégio Polilogos ( ko, 브라질한국학교) was a South Korean international school in Bom Retiro, São Paulo, Bom Retiro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was operated by Associação Brasileira de Educação Coreana (ABEC; ko, 한브교육협회) and w ...
(브라질한국학교), a South Korean international school, was located in
Bom Retiro,
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
.
[Korean School - 브라질한국학교]
" Overseas Korean Educational Institutions. October 2, 2006. Retrieved on September 21, 2015.
Notable persons
*
Angela Park
Angela Park ( ko, 박혜인, born August 25, 1988) is a Brazilian-American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She holds dual citizenship in Brazil and the United States.
Childhood and personal life
Park was born in Foz do Iguaçu ...
, LPGA golfer (
South Korean parents)
*
Francisco Hyun-sol Kim
Francisco Hyun-sol Kim (Korean: 김현솔; born 20 May 1993), commonly known as Chico, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Juventude.
Career
Chico was born in Cascavel, Paraná, but was raised in Ciudad del Est ...
, professional footballer (South Korean parents)
*
Chyung Eun-ju
Chyung Eun-ju (Hangul: 정은주; born August 9, 1993) is a South Korean beauty pageant titleholder, model and student. Eun-Ju competed in multiple pageants, the most recent being Miss World Korea, where she was the second runner up. Through her ...
, beauty pageant titleholder, model, student and TV presenter (Originally from
Seoul, South Korea
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 ...
)
*
Catharina Choi Nunes
Catharina Choi Nunes (born 24 January 1990), also known by her Korean name Choi Song-ee (; also romanised as Choi Song-yi), is a South Korean and Brazilian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned both Miss Earth Korea 2013 and Mi ...
, Miss Korea 2013 second runner-up, Miss Earth Fire 2013, Miss World Brazil 2015 (Korean Brazilian mother)
*
Iara Lee Iara Lee (Ponta Grossa, Brazil, 1966) is a Brazilian film producer, director and activist of Korean descent who works mainly in the Middle East and Africa. Her recent projects include ''From Trash to Treasure: Turning Negatives into Positives'' (20 ...
, filmmaker (Korean descent)
*
Jung Mo Sung
Jung Mo Sung (born 1957) is a Roman Catholic lay theologian trained in theology, ethics, and education.
He works within the paradigm of liberation theology and can be considered a "next generation" theologian-practitioner. He has served as a ...
, liberation theologian (Originally from
Seoul, South Korea
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 ...
)
*
Kim Yun-sik
Kim Yun-sik (Korean: 김윤식, born 1943) is a South Korean hapkido and taekwondo instructor. He was born in Seoul, Korea in 1943. He is one of the highest ranking hapkido and taekwondo ( 9th dan) instructors in the world and founder of Bum Mo ...
, South Korean
hapkido
Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other stri ...
and
taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
grandmaster, founder of Bum Moo Kwan Hapkido (Originally from
Seoul, South Korea
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 ...
)
*
Yoo Na Kim, journalist, writer (Originally from
Seoul, South Korea
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 ...
)
*
Pyong Lee, YouTuber, illusionist, hypnologist (South Korean father)
See also
*
Brazil–North Korea relations
*
Brazil–South Korea relations
*
Immigration to Brazil
Immigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign peoples to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the colonization of the country by the Portuguese, or with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves. Latin ...
*
Asian Brazilians
Asian Brazilians ( pt, brasileiros asiáticos) refers to Brazilian citizens or residents of Asian ancestry. The vast majority trace their origins to Western Asia, particularly Lebanon, or East Asia, namely Japan. The Brazilian census does not use ...
*
Koreans
Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula.
Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply refe ...
*
Chinese Brazilians
Chinese Brazilians ( pt, Sino-brasileiro, italic=yes or ''Chinês-brasileiro''; zh, c=巴西華人 / 巴西华人 or 巴西華裔 / 巴西华裔) are Brazilians of Chinese ancestry or birth. The Chinese Brazilian population was estimated to be ...
*
Japanese Brazilians
, , lead=yes are Brazilians, Brazilian citizens who are nationals or naturals of Japanese people, Japanese ancestry or Japanese immigrants living in Brazil or Japanese people of Brazilian ancestry.
The first group of Japanese immigrants arrived ...
References
{{Korean diaspora
Overseas Korean groups