Koreans in Taiwan

Ethnic group
|group=Koreans in Taiwan
population=3,454
regions=Taipei, Kaohsiung
langs=Korean, Chinese
rels=Christianity, Korean Buddhism
related-c=Koreans

Koreans in Taiwan numbered 3,454 individuals as of 2005, making them the 25th-largest population of overseas Koreans, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.cite web|url=http://www.mofat.go.kr/mofat/mk_a006/mk_b037/1189818_634.html|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea|date=2005|accessdate=2007-05-14|title=2005년도 재외동포현황 (2005 Present Status of Overseas Compatriots)]

History

Though a few Korean fishermen lost at sea during the Joseon Dynasty settled in Taiwan, they never formed a significant population. Even with the 1910 onset of Japanese rule in Korea, Korean migration to Taiwan was minimal; it was only in the aftermath of the March 1st Movement and the associated economic difficulties it caused that Korean migration to Taiwan became a mass phenomenon. Most settled in Keelung and other port cities, where they made a living by fishing.cite journal|last=Kim|first=Seung-il|title=臺灣 韓僑의 역사적 遷移 상황과 귀환문제 (Expatriate Koreans in Taiwan and Issues and related to Returning to Korea)|journal=한국근현대사연구 (Research on Modern and Contemporary Korean History)|date=March 2004|issue=28|pages=pp. 283–311] After the end of Japanese rule in Taiwan, an estimated 1,300 Korean soldiers serving with the Imperial Japanese Army and 2,000 civilians organised their own repatriation to the Korean peninsula, and by 1946, only 400-500 Koreans were recorded as living in Taiwan.cite journal|last=Hwang|first=Sun-ik|journal=한국근현대사연구 (Research on Modern and Contemporary Korean History)|date=September 2005|pages=pp. 195–220|issue=34|title=해방 후 대만지역 한인사회와 귀환 (A study on the Korean Society and Korean Repatriation in Taiwan after the Liberation)]

The incoming Kuomintang government established comparatively rigid requirements for residence in Taiwan, and so the only Koreans who were able to obtain residence cards were officials and those with skills that would be useful in the postwar reconstruction, such as engineers. Those who remained founded the Korea Association in Taiwan in 1947.cite journal|title=해방 후 대만한교협회 설립과 한인의 미귀환 (Foundation of The Korea Association in Taiwan and In-repatriation of Korean after the Liberation|journal=한국근현대사연구 (Research on Modern and Contemporary Korean History)|date=September 2006|issue=38|pages=pp. 135–159|last=Hwang|first=Sun-ik] [Korea Association in Taiwan - Hangul: 대만한교협회; Hanja: 臺灣韓僑協會; RR: Daeman Han'gyo Hyeophoe] Due to the government's policy of discrimination in favour of native fishermen, most Koreans were forced out of the fishing industry, and in to agriculture and commerce; they slowly moved away from Keelung, towards other major urban areas such as Taipei and Kaohsiung.

Taiwan's first school for South Korean nationals, the Kaohsiung Korean School, was founded on 25 January, 1961, while the Taipei Korean School was founded a year later, on 1 February, 1962. As of 2007, the schools enrolled 22 and 50 students, respectively. [cite web|url=http://www.interedu.go.kr/edu_net/overseas/sch_formal_inform.htm?no=11&page=3&key=|title=Overseas Korean Educational Institutions: 고웅한국학교|publisher=National Institute for International Education Development, Republic of Korea|date=2007|accessdate=2007-05-15] [cite web|url=http://www.interedu.go.kr/edu_net/overseas/sch_formal_inform.htm?no=10&page=3&key=|title=Overseas Korean Educational Institutions: 타이빼이한국학|publisher=National Institute for International Education Development, Republic of Korea|date=2007|accessdate=2007-05-15]

ee also

*Ethnic Chinese in Korea, many of whom held Republic of China citizenship and came to Taiwan for further studies
*Mongolians in Taiwan
*Vietnamese people in Taiwan

References

External links

* [http://www.taipeikoes.com/ Taipei Korean Elementary School]