Koreans in Thailand consist mainly of

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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n refugees and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n expatriates, along with a tiny number of South Korean immigrants who have naturalised as citizens of

Thailand 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 ...

and their descendants. According to 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 ...

, in 2013 there were about 20,000 Koreans living in the country.

Overview

North Korean refugees

's Chiang Rai province is a popular entry point for

North Korean defectors Since the division of Korea after the end of World War II, North Koreans have fled from the country in spite of legal punishment for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. Such North Koreans are re ...

into the country. Most of these defectors have escaped economic hardship in North Korea and traveled to Thailand for temporary refuge in the hope of being able to resettle in third countries, usually South Korea. Thailand is the easiest route to access and the most accommodating, compared to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, where border security is tighter and in some cases, those fleeing have been sent back to North Korea to face harsh punishment.

South Korean expatriates

A variety of factors have drawn

n expatriates to Thailand including the country's golf courses, as well as the cuisine, the weather, and business opportunities. There were an estimated 20,000 South Korean nationals or former nationals in Thailand as of 2011. Among them, 53 had obtained Thai nationality, 114 were permanent residents, 2,735 were

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, and the remaining 16,000-odd South Korean residents had other kinds of visas. Their population fell by about 13 percent from 20,200 since 2009. 14,900 live in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, 2,000 in

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

, 1,800 in

Phuket Province Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

, and 1,300 in

Chonburi Province Chonburi (, , ) is a province of Thailand (''changwat'') located in eastern Thailand. Its capital is also named Chonburi. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise from north) Chachoengsao, Chanthaburi, and Rayong, while the Bay of Bangkok is to ...

. Their community exhibits a significantly lopsided

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...

, with 11,843 men as compared to just 8,657 women, a ratio of about 1.4:1.

has a

Koreatown A Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...

in the Sukhumvit Plaza area near

Sukhumvit Sukhumvit Road ( th, ถนนสุขุมวิท, , ), or Highway 3 ( th, ทางหลวงแผ่นดินหมายเลข 3), is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities. It follows ...

Soi 12.

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

also has a Koreatown and numerous Korean restaurants. There has been controversy over South Koreans working as tour guides without holding proper employment visas. The

Tourism Authority of Thailand The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) ( th, การท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย) is an organization of Thailand under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Its mandate is to promote Thailand's tourism in ...

, the Korean Association in Phuket, and the South Korean consulate in Phuket signed an agreement in 2007 to promote the hiring of Thai tour guides instead. Korean culture is popular throughout the country thanks to the Korean Wave.

Education and language

There is also a South Korean school in Bangkok, the

Korean International School of Bangkok Korean International School of Bangkok (, , ) is a Korean international school in Nongchok, Bangkok, Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located ...

. South Korean children born in Thailand to South Korean expatriates show little

language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceiv ...

towards Thai.

Religion

There were two

Korean Buddhist Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, the ...

temples and thirteen Korean Christian churches in Bangkok as of 2008. The Korean Union Church at

Ratchadaphisek Road Ratchadaphisek Road ( th, ถนนรัชดาภิเษก, ) is a major road in Bangkok, Thailand. Conceived in 1971 and opened in 1976, it connects earlier portions including Asok Montri, Wong Sawang and Charan Sanitwong Roads to for ...

is the most popular. The average Korean church in Bangkok has an attendance of about one to two hundred worshippers.

In popular culture

Thai martial arts film '' The Kick'' follows a family of South Korean Taekwondo experts who move to Thailand.

Notable people

Aree Song Aree Song ( ko, 송아리), (born Aree Wongluekiet 1 May 1986) is a Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. Her father is South Korean and her mother is Thai. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She is a South Korean citizen, and h ...

, South Korean professional golfer *

Naree Song Naree Song ( ko, 송나리, (born Naree Wongluekiet 1 May 1986) is a Korean professional golfer of Thai descent. Song's birth name was Naree Wongluekiet, and she and her identical twin sister were born in Bangkok, Thailand. Her father is South ...

, South Korean professional golfer * Park Jongbae, South Korean singer. He is a member of Thai boyband, K-Otic (Originally from

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 ...

, South Korea)

References

External links

방콕 한국 국제학교 – Korean International School of Bangkok
{{Ethnic groups in Thailand

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 ** ...