Korean people

The Korean people are one of the main East Asian ethnic groups. Most Koreans live in the Korean Peninsula and speak the Korean language.

North Koreans call Koreans Chosŏn-in (; ) or Chosŏn saram (; ), while South Koreans call Koreans Hangugin (; ) or Hanguk saram (; ). See Names of Korea, Korean romanization, Hangul and Hanja.

Korea's population is highly homogeneous both ethnically and linguistically, with only small minorities, such as Chinese and Japanese, present in North and South Korea.

Origins

Koreans are generally believed to be of Tungusic-Altaic linguistic lineage ^*, linking them with Mongolians and other Central Asians, as well as with the Japanese. The peoples of North and Central Asia have relatively tall statures, well-defined features (such as longer noses, and higher cheekbones) and relatively hairy bodies and faces .

Though they have interbred with other East Asian ethnic groups over the ages, Koreans have retained much of the physicalities of their Northern Mongoloid migration group , including tall stature, long bridged noses, higher cheekbones, and the Mongolian spot (monggo-banjum), a genetic predisposition for a bluish birthmark on the lower body which remains until early childhood.

Culture

North Korea and South Korea share a common heritage, but the political division since 1945 has resulted in some divergence of modern culture.

Language

The language of the Korean people is the Korean language, which uses hangul as its main writing system. There are around 71 million speakers of the Korean language worldwide.

Koreans outside of Korea

Koreans in the United States

More than 1 million ethnic Koreans live in the U.S., mostly in metropolitan areas. A handful are descended from laborers who migrated to Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A significant number are descended from orphans of the Korean War, in which the U.S. was a major ally of South Korea. Thousands were adopted by American (mostly Caucasian) families in the years following the war, when their plight was covered on television. The vast majority, however, immigrated or are descended from those who immigrated after the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 abolished national immigration quotas.

The largest Korean-American community is in Los Angeles, California; Los Angeles' Koreatown district is extensive and recognized by the city. Many smaller Korean enclaves exist in surrounding communities of Southern California, notably in Orange County. Another significant Korean enclave is found in New York City, which includes Manhattan Koreatown, although the main concentration are found in the borough of Queens.

Other Korean enclaves can be found in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington]]; Houston, Texas; Bergen County, New Jersey; and Cook County, Illinois. As many Korean Americans have prospered economically and dispersed to live in suburban areas, ethnic enclaves in the traditional sense do not exist in many areas, although Korean churches and Korean-oriented commercial districts serving the distributed population can often be found. States with the largest Korean populations are California, New York, Washington, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, and Virginia.

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 during the late 19th century. These Koreans are also known as Goryeo saram.

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.

Probably as a consequence of these ethnic ties, South Korea was the second largest 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, Andizhan province, in Uzbekistan.

There is also a separate ethnic Korean community in the Russian island of Sakhalin, where Koreans relocated by Japan as labourers were stranded after the island became Soviet territory after World War II.

The 2002 census gave a population of 148,556 Koreans in Russia, of which 75,835 were male and 72,721 female.^*

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".

There are about 2 million ethnic Koreans in China, and they mostly occupy northeastern China, especially in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, where they numbered 854,000 in 1997.

Koreans in Japan

Koreans in Japan are called Zainichi Chōsenjin (, for North Koreans) or Zainichi Kankokujin (, for South Koreans) in Japanese and Jaeil Gyopo (; ) in Korean. There are 529,000 Koreans in Japan, amounting to 40.4% of the non-Japanese population of the country. Three-quarters of the Koreans living in Japan are Japanese-born, and most are legal aliens.

Koreans in other countries

Large Koreatowns can also be found in Australia and Canada. The largest Korean community in Europe is in Germany, and there is a Koreatown in London. There are also Koreatowns in Latin american countries such as Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

External links

Ethnic groups in Asia | Korean people | North Korean people | South Korean people

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