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Communities of Overseas Koreans

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  2. Information Center
  3. Understanding Overseas Koreans
  4. Communities of Overseas Koreans
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Learn the historical background to overseas Korean communities.
  • I. Joseon Dynasty / Korean Empire Mid 19th century–1910
    • Emigration to Jiandao and Primorsky Krai < Emigration to Jiandao and Primorsky Krai >
    • First emigration to Hawaii - 102 people moving to Hawaii on RMS Gaelic in 1903 < First emigration to Hawaii - 102 people moving to Hawaii on RMS Gaelic in 1903 >
    Relocation as a way out of poverty
    ▶ Crossed the border and moved to Jiandao and Primorsky Krai due to the lean years in the 1860s
    • Qing and Primorsky Krai handed over to Russia based on the Convention of Peking in 1860
    • First recorded overseas emigration of Korean people in May 1984 (the right to settlement given to 65 Korean people (14 households) by the Russian authorities of Primorsky Krai)
    ▶ Immigration to Hawaii during the Korean Empire period in 1903
    • Appr. 7,000 Korean people moved by 1905
    • Picture bridge marriage (1910–1924)
    • Appr. 2,000 Korean people moved to the American West
    ▶ 1,000 Korean people moved to the henequen plantations, Mexico in 1905
    • Appr. 300 Korea people moved to Cuba
  • II. Japanese colonial period 1910–1945
    • Korean people conscripted and forced to work in a coal mine < Korean people conscripted and forced to work in a coal mine >
    • Forced relocation route of Korean people: 6,000km < Forced relocation route of Korean people: 6,000km >
    Forced relocation for exploitation and conscription during the Japanese colonial era
    ▶ Forced relocation by Japan
    • Relocation to Japan as part of colonial policies after the loss of sovereignty in 1910
    • Workers conscripted to Manchuria, Sakhalin, Japan, etc. in 1939
    ▶ Forced relocation by Stalin (appr. 6,000 km)
    • Appr. 180,000 Korean people moved from Primorsky Krai to Central Asia in 1937
    • Korean race’s suffering including prohibited use of the Korean language
  • III. Post-Liberation of Korea 1945–1962
    • Korean orphans adopted abroad
    • Korean orphans adopted abroad
    • < Korean orphans adopted abroad >
    Special types of relocation in the middle of social chaos such as the Korean War
    ▶ After the liberation of Korea
    • Stowaways in severe social chaos (Japan)
    ▶ After the Korean War
    • Special types of relocation such as international marriage, war orphans, and international adoptions
    ▶ Korean people who failed to return to Korea due to various circumstances
  • IV. Post-Emigration Act 1962–present
    • Nurses dispatched to Germany < Nurses dispatched to Germany >
    • Miners dispatched to Germany < Miners dispatched to Germany >
    Various types of relocation after the enactment of the Emigration Act
    ▶ After the enactment of the Emigration Act in 1962
    • Immigrants such as miners and nurses dispatched to Germany, agricultural immigration to South America, and people dispatched to Vietnam
    • Immigrants’ children and grandchildren born in a foreign country with the country’s nationality
    ▶ After the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991
    • The Communist block began to embrace Korean people’s communities (relocation to Primorsky Krai, distributed relocation in the CIS, return to Korea)
    ▶ Various types of immigrants such as international students and overseas employment