Koreans in Hong Kong formed a population of 13,288 individuals as of 2011, a mid-range size compared to Korean diaspora populations in other cities in China and Southeast Asia.
Migration history
Some Koreans came to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
with the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...
during the
Japanese occupation; after the
Japanese surrender
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...
,
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
records show that the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
government
repatriate
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
d 287 Korean soldiers to Korea. Some
Koreans from China came to Hong Kong to settle soon after the war as well.
Demography
Based on 2011 data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department, the
Consulate General of South Korea in Hong Kong
The Consulate General of South Korea in Hong Kong ( ko, 주 홍콩 대한민국 총영사관; ) is a consular mission of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to Hong Kong and Macau. It is located at 5-6F, Far East Finance Center 16, Harcourt Road, Admira ...
reported to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade that there were 13,288 South Korean nationals in Hong Kong. Unlike in Mainland China, their population features a larger number of women than men: 7,613 women (57%) vs. 5,675 men (43%), a sex ratio of 1.34 to 1. 4,005 (30%) have the
right of abode in Hong Kong
Right of abode in Hong Kong entitles a person to live and work in the territory without any restrictions or conditions of stay. Someone who has that right is a Hong Kong permanent resident. Foreign nationals may acquire the right of abode afte ...
, while the remaining 9,483 (70%) hold
other types of visas.
South Koreans in Hong Kong belong mostly to the upper-middle class of Hong Kong society.
According to census statistics, they are wealthier than the average Hong Kong resident; 42.6% of all South Koreans employed in Hong Kong as of 2006 had a monthly salary of
HK$30,000 or greater, as compared to just 10.8% of the whole population.
However, despite their higher wages, South Koreans complain that they face far higher living costs in Hong Kong, including medical fees 20–30% higher than those in South Korea.
Virtually all Koreans in Hong Kong are South Korean; however, a few North Korean businesses and diplomats are known to operate in the territory as well. In addition, a minority of North Korean refugees attempt to sneak across the border into the territory to obtain
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...
and transport to South Korea; the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants claims that the
Hong Kong Police
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...
were instructed to keep no record of their arrest or registration.
Employment
Approximately 23.1% of Koreans in Hong Kong work in the finance, insurance, real estate, or business services field; one of the highest proportions out of all ethnic minorities.
Among those 23.1% are an estimated 300 who work in the Hong Kong offices of major
investment bank
Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort.
In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
s; most studied at universities in the United States before returning to Asia to take their present positions. One of the more notable examples is
Chi-Won Yoon, who was appointed country head and CEO of
UBS AG
UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swis ...
's Hong Kong branch in March 2008 after two decades of industry experience. The South Korean consulate's report to MOFAT stated that the number of South Koreans in the financial industry was negatively affected by the
financial crisis beginning in 2008, but numbers employed in other sectors have actually increased since that time.
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsi ...
's
Kimberley Street
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a c ...
, a side street off of
Kimberley Road
Kimberley Road () is a road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Location
Starting at Nathan Road in the west, it runs eastwards until Observatory Road and continues northeastwards. The Road runs parallel to and north of Kimberley Street, Came ...
, also boasts a small concentration of Korean restaurants and grocery stores owned by long-term Korean residents of Hong Kong, and has been dubbed
Hong Kong's "Little Korea" as a result.
Education
![KoreanSchHK 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/KoreanSchHK_02.jpg)
Hong Kong lacks a Korean-medium kindergarten, and so parents often send their children to English-medium kindergartens instead; some continue on to English-medium primary and secondary schools, such as those run by the
English Schools Foundation
The English Schools Foundation (ESF) is an organisation that runs 22 international schools in Hong Kong. It is Hong Kong's largest English-medium organisation of international schools. It was founded in 1967 with the passage of the English Sc ...
, and as a result speak English better than Korean. Koreans in Hong Kong have also set up Korean-language educational institutions for their children. The Korean Saturday School (한국토요학원) was established in 1960 by the Association of Korean Residents.
The territory's one Korean school, the
Korean International School, is located in
Sai Wan Ho
Sai Wan Ho is a primarily residential area on the northeastern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, between Quarry Bay and Shau Kei Wan. It is part of the Eastern District, and is administered together with surrounding areas under the Easte ...
. Founded in 1994, it enrolled 402 students as of 2006. However, they suffered a loss of community confidence due to a bribery scandal which triggered an investigation by the
Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The number of South Korean students in Hong Kong universities has shown significant growth.
In 2008, there were only about 40 South Koreans enrolled in Hong Kong universities, primarily the English-medium
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...
; they formed just 1% of the 4,000 or so tertiary-level
international student
International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying.
In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...
s in the territory at the time. However, along with China's economic rise, South Korean international students are becoming increasingly interested in studying in the country, and Hong Kong universities have taken advantage of this trend to promote the internationalisation of their student bodies. By 2011, there were 595 South Koreans in Hong Kong on student visas, an increase of 644% since MOFAT's 2009 survey.
Among respondents to the 2011 Census who self-identified as Korean, 19.1% stated that they spoke English as their usual language, 6.8% Cantonese, 2.2% Japanese, 1.3% Mandarin, and 70.6% some other language (e.g. Korean). With regards to additional spoken languages other than their usual language, 71.5% stated that they spoke English, 14.6% Cantonese, 24.0% Mandarin, and 9.7% Japanese. (Multiple responses were permitted to the latter question, hence the responses are non-exclusive and the sum is greater than 100%.) 9.4% did not speak English either as their usual language nor an additional language, while the respective figures for Cantonese and Mandarin were 78.5% and 74.7%.
Media
Hong Kong has two Korean-language newspapers, the Wednesday Journal and the Weekly Hong Kong. Also there is online news media Daily Hong Kong which maintains a business directory page including contact information of Koreans who are engaged in various business industry in Hong Kong.
Religion
There are about 260 Korean Catholic families in Hong Kong; a parish chapel devoted to them was consecrated in mid-2005.
A directory published by the ''Wednesday Journal'' lists two Korean Buddhist congregations and fourteen Korean Christian churches.
International relations
Consulate General of South Korea in Hong Kong
The Consulate General of South Korea in Hong Kong ( ko, 주 홍콩 대한민국 총영사관; ) is a consular mission of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to Hong Kong and Macau. It is located at 5-6F, Far East Finance Center 16, Harcourt Road, Admira ...
serves South Korean citizens.
Notable people
![Hyelim 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Hyelim_2012.jpg)
This is a list of Korean migrants in Hong Kong and Hong Kong people of Korean descent.
* (), TVB actor; born in Hong Kong to a Korean father and Chinese mother
* (宋芝齡), TVB actor; born to a Korean mother and Shanghainese father and grew up in Hong Kong
*
Woo Hye-lim
Woo Hye-rim (born September 1, 1992), known professionally as Hyerim or Lim, is a South Korean singer, rapper, and songwriter known for her work as a former member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls.
Early life
Woo Hye-rim was born on Se ...
, member of South Korean pop group
Wonder Girls
Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single " Irony" and 5 members: Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna and Sohee. After Hyuna's departure in July, Yubin was added int ...
; lived in Hong Kong during her childhood
See also
*
Koreans in China
Koreans in China (), Korean Chinese (), Joseonjok, Chosŏnjok (), or Chaoxianzu (), are Chinese by nationality and are Koreans by ethnicity (with either full or partial Korean ancestry). A majority of the chaoxianzu are descendants of immigran ...
**
Korean Christians in Hong Kong
*
Hong Kong–North Korea relations
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Weekly Hong KongWednesday JournalDaily Hong Kong
{{Korean diaspora
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
Hong Kong, Koreans in
Asian diaspora in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...