Koreans
|
|
The Korean people are one of the main East Asian ethnic groups. Most Koreans live in Korea (the Korean peninsula) and speak the Korean language. Korea's population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous in the world, with the only minorities being very small Chinese communities in South and North Korea, and a very small Japanese one in North Korea. Template:Infobox ethnic group According to recent estimates, the population of ethnic Koreans worldwide is:
- South Korea: 47,470,969
- North Korea: 21,687,550
- United States: 2,057,546
- China: 2,043,578
- Japan: 660,214
- Russia and former Soviet republics: 486,857
- Canada : 110,000
- Latin America (Brazil in particular): 100,000
- Total: 74,616,714
| Contents |
Culture
Main article: Culture of Korea
Koreans in both South Korea and North Korea share many cultural aspects, but the political distinctions between the two countries result in regional differences in culture between the North and South.
There are around 71 million speakers of the Korean language worldwide.
Koreans in the United States
More than 2 million ethnic Koreans live in the U.S. The majority of Koreans in the U.S reside in the cities. They live and work in communities in cities such as: New York City, New York; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Houston, Texas.
Koreans in the former Soviet Union
Approximately 450,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the former USSR, primarily in the newly independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in southern Russia (around Volgograd), the Caucasus, and southern Ukraine. These communities can be traced back to the Koreans who were living in the Russian Far East. In 1937, Stalin deported approximately 200,000 ethnic Koreans to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, on the official premise that the Koreans might act as spies for Japan. There is also a separate ethnic Korean community in the Russian island of Sakhalin, where Koreans brought/kidnapped by Japanese as labourers to the island and were stranded after the island came into Soviet hands after World War II.
Probably as a consequence of these ethnic ties, South Korea was the second import partner of Uzbekistan, after Russia, and one of its largest foreign investors. The car manufacturer Daewoo set up a joint venture (August 1992) and a factory in Asaka city, Andizhan province, in Uzbekistan.
See also: Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Koreans in China
Koreans form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. It is considered one of the "major minorities".
They mostly occupy the north of China, especially in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, where they numbered 854,000 in 1997.
|
Chinese ethnic groups (classification by PRC government) |
|
Achang - Bai - Blang - Bonan - Buyei - Chosen - Dai - Daur - De'ang - Derung - Dong - Dongxiang - Ewenki - Gaoshan - Gelao - Gin - Han - Hani - Hezhen - Hui - Jingpo - Jino - Kazak - Kirgiz - Lahu - Lhoba - Li - Lisu - Man - Maonan - Miao - Monba - Mongol - Mulao - Naxi - Nu - Oroqen - Pumi - Qiang - Russ - Salar - She - Sui - Tajik - Tatar - Tu - Tujia - Uygur - Uzbek - Va - Xibe - Yao - Yi - Yugur - Zang - Zhuang |
Koreans in Japan
Koreans in Japan are also referred to as Zainichi. There are 528,904 Koreans in Japan, amounting to 40.4% of the non-Japanese population of the country. 75% of the Japanese Koreans are Japanese-born, but most are legal aliens nevertheless.
See also: Ethnic issues in Japan
Koreans in other countries
Large Koreatowns can be found in the United States, Japan, Canada and China with signs in Korean. There is also a Koreatown in London (the largest Korean community in Europe is in Germany).
See also
External links
- Koryo Saram - The Koreans of Central Asia (http://www.koryosaram.freenet.kz/)
- Sources - Koreans of Central Asia (http://www.sslee.freenet.kz/projectinformation.htm)ja:朝鮮民族