Korean Uruguayans, numbering 130 individuals, formed the 19th-largest
Korean community in
Latin America as of 2005, according to the statistics of
South Korea's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade may refer to:
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (Jamaica)
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand)
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)
South Korea's Ministry of ...
.
Migration history
The first Korean immigrants to
Uruguay were ten families, totalling 45 persons, admitted in March 1975 to work in the agricultural sector. However, most of them later emigrated to
Argentina and
Paraguay.
Since 1980, a total of 140 Koreans have naturalised as Uruguayan citizens, although many are not resident in the country any longer. The population is transient and fluctuates in size; the peak months of Korean presence in Uruguay are June, July, November and December.
Employment
Most Koreans live in and around
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, where some work as fishermen, while others are involved in the textile industry.
The fishermen are almost all from
Busan; they earn between
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1,000 and US$1,500 a month, while the engineers on their boats receive US$3,000-4,000 and the captain may make as much as US$6,000.
The fishermen often work in dangerous conditions and face language barriers.
In February 2007, three Korean fishermen were killed in an explosion on board a fishing boat, along with their
Vietnamese colleague. There are several Korean-run restaurants and ''
noraebang'' (karaoke bars) in Montevideo.
As of 2013, there are 15 South Korean citizens registered in the Uruguayan social security.
Religion
South Korean missionaries of the
Church of the Brethren, a
Protestant denomination, have been evangelising among Korean fishermen in Uruguay for almost 20 years. One of their earliest converts from among the fishermen, Simon Lee, eventually left the fishing industry to devote himself to religious work; in 2004, he and ten others established a Korean church in Montevideo, which also aimed to serve fishermen from other Asian countries as well.
Notable people
See also
*
South Korea-Uruguay relations
References
Korea
*
Uruguay
South Korea–Uruguay relations
Uruguay
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