Korean Migration Research Articles

Правовое регулирование деятельности трудовых иммигрантов-корейцев российским императорским правительством в годы Первой мировой войны (на английском)

The article analyzes the conditions of labor migration of ethnic Koreans from Manchuria and China to the Urals of the Russian Empire in 1915—1916, and their experience of interaction with the local Russian authorities. The research is based on the archival materials of the State Archive of the Sverdlovsk region (GASO). This article focuses on the legal and social status of the Korean laborers, their living conditions, habitat, and local conflicts. The study draws on theoretical insights from a range of works on immigration, and the political and economic integration of immigrants. With the onset of World War I, conscription into the Russian Imperial Army drained the manpower reserves, especially in the industries in the Urals. Some industries were under threat of permanent closure. The local tsarist administration petitioned the Foreign Ministry to employ Chinese and Korean laborers in these regions. The results of the research show that the Imperial government did not have a coherent structural plan for the accommodation of Eastern immigrant workers. The government largely improvised, regulating the migration process by issuing various decrees aimed at creating a legal basis for the immigrants. The findings also contradict the earlier Soviet historiography hypothesis about the widespread oppression of ethnic minorities in the Russian Empire. Unlike the Chinese workers who eventually left Russia for Manchuria, the Korean workers chose to stay in Russia after their contractual obligations expired and enjoyed the same rights and privileges as local Russian workers. The research reveals evidence of mistreatment of Korean workers; however, the wrongdoers were local Russian Korean merchants who acted as intermediaries between the local administration and the hired Korean immigrant workers.

Exiled Aliens: Christianity and Korean Migrant Nationalism, 1903–1945

The merger of Christianity and migrant nationalism during the first wave of Korean migration created a synergy that provided a sense of liberation and belonging to Korean migrant religious communities. In this article, I argue that Christianity played a pivotal role in fostering nationalist sensibilities away from home. Conversely, migrant nationalism propelled the spread of a contextualized Christianity based on Korean migrant ethnic identity that was distinct from the dominant White American Christianity during the early 1900s. Korean migrant churches functioned as repositories of national pride as Koreans negotiated their sense of belonging, identity, and agency in a foreign land.

Introduction: Gender, (In)Securities, and North Korean Migration

Introduction: Gender, (In)Securities, and North Korean Migration

The End of Feminized Migration?: Gendering Violent Borders and Geographies of North Korean Migration from the Arduous March to the COVID-19 Era

The End of Feminized Migration?: Gendering Violent Borders and Geographies of North Korean Migration from the Arduous March to the COVID-19 Era

Корейцы на Урале в 1920–1930-е гг.: мобильность, социальный облик и структуры

This article is devoted to the migration of Koreans to the Urals in the 1920s and 1930s. It focuses on migration, socio-demographic appearance, and the social structures of Korean migrants. The study is based on archival documents, the censuses of 1926 and 1939, and books in memory of the victims of political repression in the regions of Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, and Perm. The territorial framework was chosen as the overwhelming majority of Koreans in the Urals lived within these three regions that. The theoretical and methodological framework was the theory of mobility. Koreans moved to the Urals from the Far East to receive education and employment in large industrial and cultural centers. The military-political situation in the Russian-Chinese border area was heating up and the Koreans began to be perceived by the authorities as an undesirable social element. There was a shortage of fertile land and ideas about the gradual resettlement of Koreans were floated. These all served as push factors for citizens of Korean nationality and contributed to their move to the interior of the country, including the Urals. The deportation of Koreans and repression against them led to the fact that Koreans actually “dissolved” into the local population for a long time, and they became known only after several decades.

Migraciya korejcev na Yuzhnyj Ural iz Srednej Azii: obshchestvennye ob"edineniya i seti podderzhki

The article discusses the migration of Koreans to the South Urals after the collapse of the USSR, the emergence of Korean public associations and structures designed to promote the settlement of migrants. In particular, the author touches upon the activities of educational and economic structures created for Koreans who came from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Chelyabinsk, shows the biographical trajectories of entrepreneurs who opened outlets for the production of “Korean” salads.

Language shift and maintenance of the Korean community in Australia

Abstract This study is a follow-up study of Shin and Jung’s (2016, 2018) research that has examined language shift and maintenance of the Korean community in Australia reflected in the previous Australian Censuses from 2006 to 2016. The present study analysed the 2021 Census and updated the Korean community’s language shift and maintenance with the latest census data. It examined the community’s language shift by various sociodemographic factors such as generation, age, gender, education, and religion and compared the results of the analyses with the previous studies’ findings. The results of this study revealed that in the 2021 Census, the shift to English in the first generation increased from the 2016 Census, possibly due to the restricted migration of Koreans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results confirmed that the inter-generational language shift (i.e., the increase in language shift by generation) is taking place in the Korean community in Australia, and that it is progressing further. The results showed similar patterns and trends in the extent of language shift by different sociodemographic factors and variable that had been observed in the previous censuses. Language shift was higher in females than in males in the first generation, but the pattern was reverse in age groups younger than 35 years old. Those with certain educational qualifications (e.g., a graduate diploma or certificate) had a higher shift rate. On the other hand, lower shift was observed among those affiliated with the religions/denominations with a strong presence of Korean immigrants in the community. These findings provide valuable insights to the community’s language shift to English and its maintenance of the Korean language regarding its unique temporal and locational circumstances such as the temporary stop of the influx of South Koreans in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic and its language practice.

The Operation Method of Disaster Management Funds and Korean Migration Policies by Imperial Japan in the First Half of the 1930s - Focusing on the Response to the Great Flood in the Nakdonggang River Basin in 1934 -

The Operation Method of Disaster Management Funds and Korean Migration Policies by Imperial Japan in the First Half of the 1930s - Focusing on the Response to the Great Flood in the Nakdonggang River Basin in 1934 -

일본외교사료관 소장 자료로 본 신흥무관학교

The materials related to Shinheung Military Academy, owned by the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, along with materials left by independence activists, such as Seokju’s posthumous death, Baekha Diary, and Won Byeongsang’s memoirs, must be very important for the study of Shinheung Military School. Among the materials used in the study of Shinheung Military Academy, the most mentioned are the materials left by independence activists. However, in order to more clearly reveal the reality of Shinheung Military Academy, it is urgent to utilize the materials owned by the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Although it contains a lot of incomplete information such as spying, it is of high usefulness as it provides relatively extensive information on the current status of Korean migration in the West Gando region and of organizations directly or indirectly related to Shinheung Military Academy, such as Gyeonghaksa, Bumindan, and Jasakgye. The materials possessed by the Japanese Diplomatic Archives are reports of consuls and vice-consuls of consulates dispatched to the country, and secret agents, and are essential data for research on the history of the Korean independence movement. In particular, the reports of the spies were evidence that revealed the ‘inner life of the independence movement’ of those who had deeply infiltrated the Korean independence movement world.
 Sinheung Military Academy was the organization that the Japanese paid the most attention to in the West Gando region. It was because it was an organization that encompassed both the aspect of cultivating the independence army and the aspect of being the center of Korean society. Therefore, among the materials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Shinheung Education Association, Livelihood Association, and Shingye, etc, which have not been revealed so far, are considered to be data that will reveal more abundantly the reality of the independence movement of Shinheung Military School and outlying organizations and the situation related to bomb production and importation into Korea in the future. In addition, there is an aspect in which research on the Bumindan and the Han Chinese Association has not been relatively progressed compared to the known status so far.

The path to inclusion for undocumented migrant children in South Korea

This study focuses on undocumented migrant children in South Korea. The Korean migration policies are centered on marriage migrants and their children until recently, while the issue of undocumented migrant children of migrant workers has long been overlooked. Undocumented migrant children are placed in an extremely unstable situation both legally and practically. This study shows why their basic rights should be protected from the perspective of constitutional and international law. It examines the comprehensive legal and policy frameworks of migration and the newly introduced measures to protect these children in Korea. It concludes with a discussion of the shortcomings of the current system and recommendations for improvement.

Gradual, Diverse, Complex—and Unnoticed: Korean Migration in Europe

Gradual, Diverse, Complex—and Unnoticed: Korean Migration in Europe

한민족 생활공간의 외연 확장과 성격: 1920-30년대 카자흐스탄 ‘카즈리스’ 농업조합을 중심으로

This study aims to examine that the living space of the Korean people had already expanded to Central Asia, Europe, Russia, and Ukraine before the incident of ’forced migration of Koreans in the Far East’ in 1937, focused on the ‘Kazris (Kazakhstan rice cooperative, later Kolkhoz)’. This paper reveals through documentary data that Koreans had been living in the region for a long time before they were forcibly moved to Central Asia in 1937. Therefore, I would like to argue that Koreans have been active in the Eurasian region, specifically in the Soviet Union, for a long time, and this needs to be viewed from the perspective of the expansion of the Korean people’s living space.BR ‘Kazris’ was organized in 1928 by Koreans living in the Far East of the Soviet Union after migrating to the Kazakh Autonomous Republic at the time, with about 300 members. At that time, the natural environment of the Kyzyl-Orda region was different from today, and the land was relatively fertile and the water quantity was abundant, so it was judged that it was possible to experiment with rice farming.BR About half of the members of ‘Kazris’ went to the Taldy-Kurgan region adjacent to Ushtobe in 1930 to form the ‘International’ kolkhoz and cultivated rice, because rice farming was possible due to the abundance of agricultural water in that area. Rice farming in the areas of Kyzyl-Orda and Taldy-Kurgan was considered successful. However, the Koreans people of Taldy-Kurgan had to return to Kyzyl-Orda because many of them were sacrificed because of malaria. BR In addition, the formation of ‘Kazris’ realized the possibility of rice cultivation in the Central Asian region, and showed that the Korean people were suitable for this process. This fact also possibly influenced the policy of Korean people’s deportation on a large scale from the Far East in 1937.

20세기 전반 한인들의 프랑스령 인도차이나 이주: 어느 전씨(田氏) 일가의 사례를 중심으로

그동안 재외 동포의 역사는 해외의 독립운동과 연계된 민족 운동사의 관점에서 정리되었거나 한국 민주화 운동사의 중요한 부분으로 다루어져 왔다. 이제는 한국의 민족 운동과 민주화 운동의 측면에서 바라보았던 해외 동포의 역사를 독립적인 이민 자체의 역사로 인식하여 있었던 사실을 사실 그대로 정리하고 평가해야 한다. 이 연구는 20세기 전반 한인들의 프랑스령 인도차이나 이주 상황을 전성화 일가의 사례를 중심으로 살펴보고자 한다. 특히, 그의 차남 전영상의 회고록을 통해 개인의 생애사와 가족사를 재구성하여 20세기 전반 인도차이나에 이주한 한인들의 정착 과정과 현지의 삶을 이해한다. 이 과정에서 베트남 한인 이주의 기원과 성격을 동북아와 동남아를 관통(貫通)하는 지역사적(regional history) 관점에서 추적하여 이민의 배경이나 국경을 넘어 이동하는 과정, 그리고 현지 이민 사회에서 나타난 다양한 양상을 이주 지역의 구체적인 정치적•경제적•사회적•문화적 상황을 고려하며 접근해 본다.

Transnational Migration of Koreans and the Ethnic Space in Greater London, UK: Perspectives on Residential Selection and Educational Behavior

Transnational Migration of Koreans and the Ethnic Space in Greater London, UK: Perspectives on Residential Selection and Educational Behavior

Informal and Reliable: Bolivian Immigrants in Korean Sewing Workshops in the Argentine Garment Industry*

At the beginning of Korean migration to Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s, most Korean immigrants in Argentina were intensively involved in garment sewing and knitting jobs, working as employees at or owners of Korean workshops subcontracted by Jewish manufacturers. However, due to the substantial upward mobility of the Korean business community, eventually Korean workshop owners, out of necessity, started recruiting workers from outside of their co‐ethnic networks. Based on ethnographic research in Argentina, this study aims to explore why and how Korean employers have created labor relationships exclusively with Bolivian immigrants in their workshops in the Argentine garment industry with a particular focus on informality. For Korean workshop owners who are managing their businesses extremely informally, it is strategic to turn to the group they feel is most trustworthy. Bolivian seamstresses prefer to work for Korean workshop owners as Korean employers are deemed more dependable, pay on time and in full, and provide relatively better working conditions in comparison to Bolivian employers. This research further proves that it is particularly crucial for linkages of bounded solidarity and tacit trust to be established among all actors involved when employment and business practices are managed in a highly informal environment.

『俄國輿地圖』에 나타난 1880년대초 러시아 관방정보 및 월경이주민 현황

초록·키워드 목차 오류제보하기 Aguk-yeojido, Map of Russia is a set of colored manuscript maps depicting Russia"s Primorsky region. This paper argues that Aguk-yeojido was made in 1883 or 1884. It means the Map precedes the establishment of diplomatic relations between Joseon and Russia. Information provided by its text concerns mainly security situation and Korean migrants in the Primorsky region. The military information is rich in quantity and of high quality. Map makers seem to have had relatively realistic and modern viewpoint on international relations. Their perception towards Russia is ambivalent and complex: Russia is described as an aggressive state as well as a modern one with advanced civilization. The information on Korean migration indicates there were 29 Korean villages and 20,313 Koreans in the region. It also tells their migration history and lifestyle. Aguk-yeojido has several historical meanings. First, it deserves a special place in Korean cartographic history. It was produced by a small number of people surveying the foreign region despite difficult conditions. Second, it demonstrates Joseon Government"s preemptive efforts to collect first-hand information on Russia before the establishment of diplomatic relations. Third, Aguk-yeojido is based on facts and not on negative perception of Russia at an early stage of relations. Fourth, Aguk-yeojido showing a tolerant view of emigration can be labeled as the first historical map on Korean diaspora. #『俄國輿地圖』 #關防地圖 #在外同胞地圖 #沿海州地圖 #越境移住 #디아스포라 #A guk-yeojido #Map on National Defense #Map on Overseas Koreans #Map on Russia’s Primorsky Region #Korean Emigrants into Russia’s Primorsky Region #Korean Diaspora I. 머리말II. 제작시기III. 러시아 관방정보IV. 越境移住民 현황V. 맺음말[참고문헌][Abstract]

Korean and Japanese Migration to Mexico - A Comparison of International Contract Migrations in the early 20th Century -

Korean and Japanese Migration to Mexico - A Comparison of International Contract Migrations in the early 20th Century -

Introduction to the Special Section Unsettling Korean Migration: Multiple Trajectories and Experiences

Introduction to the Special Section This introduction outlines some of the key ideas about migration and identity that the multidisciplinary works in Korean studies in this special issue delve into, focusing on a few of the great many Korean migrations that have taken place over the last century and continue to do today. After contextualizing Korean migration historically and in contemporary times, it explores concepts and approaches that should be considered in framing human migration and introduces the articles in this special issue. All articles in this issue present multiple trajectories of Korean migrations while demonstrating how migrants in each group have established and reestablished themselves by embedding and connecting themselves both in their (ancestral) homeland and in the diaspora. By presenting a range of interdisciplinary works focusing on Korean migration and identity, this special issue seeks to highlight how migration fosters a variety of identities and agencies among those who live in (between) multiple homes and residency statuses. In so doing, it aims to spark discussion on the social and experiential plurality of Koreans at home and in the diaspora that mutually reinforces the ethnic complexity of Koreans, deserving as future topics of investigation in Korean studies.

Ephemeral Nations: Between History and Diaspora in Kim Young-ha's <em>Black Flower</em>

This article examines the challenges of representing diasporic history via an analysis of Kim Young-ha's novel Geomeun Kkot (Black Flower), a historical fiction novel that depicts the early twentieth century migration of Koreans to Mexico. I argue that Black Flower critiques the ethnonational basis of Korean sovereignty in the homeland and the diaspora in order to contest how the South Korean state increasingly claims diasporic history as its own. Yet the novel also denies the existence of Korean descendants in Mexico who continue to assert their Koreanness—an erasure that encodes the very hierarchies between homeland and diaspora that the novel proports to disrupt, reflecting the stratifications of authenticity embedded in contemporary South Korean literary attempts to represent Korean diasporic communities.

Оформление правового положения корейских мигрантов в России в XIX в.

After the start of Korean migration to Russia in 1864, the Russian authorities began to make attempts to formalize the legal status of the arrived migrants in order to protect them from persecution by the Korean government and its patron China. Areas of compact residence of Korean immigrants were separated into a separate administrative-territorial unit – Suifun District, where the post of “head of Koreans” was established. Separate elements of local self-government were introduced in the Korean settlements. After the establishment of official diplomatic relations with Korea in 1884, the problem of the legal status of Korean migrants in Russia became one of the important topics on the agenda of Russian-Korean negotiations. Due to its decision, Petersburg wanted to stop the uncontrolled transfer of the population from Korea to the Russian Far East and prevent the unauthorized seizure of state lands by Korean settlers. In 1888, the Russian authorities managed to partially resolve the issue of citizenship of the Korean settlers who settled in Russia. From now on, measures to formalize their legal status were carried out on the basis of the norms of the Russian-Korean convention on border relations of 1888, as well as an oral (gentleman's) agreement between K.I. Weber and Kim Yun Sik. An agreement was reached that the Koreans who settled in Russia before the establishment of Russian-Korean diplomatic relations were recognized as equal with Russian subjects. Migrants who settled in the region after the conclusion of this agreement were to liquidate their farms and return to their homeland. The issue of the status of Korean immigrants was finally settled only in 1900. Russian citizenship was granted to all migrants, including those who resettled after 1884. The author comes to the conclusion that the Far Eastern authorities initially perceived the Korean settlers who settled in the South Ussuriysk Territory as subjects of Russia, but could not provide them with all the benefits in accordance with Russian law, since such a step could cause protests from Korea and China.