Koreans in France

Koreans in France

Total population
14,738 (2009)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Paris, Villeurbanne, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Toulouse
Languages
Korean, French
Religion
Mahayana Buddhism[2]
Related ethnic groups
Koreans

Koreans in France numbered 14,738 individuals as of 2009^[update], making them the 19th-largest Korean diaspora community in the world, and the 3rd-largest in Europe, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.^[1]

Migration history

Korean migration to France began in 1919, when the government of France issued work permits to 35 Korean migrant labourers.^[3] From a community of just 3,310 in 1988, their numbers more than tripled by 2000, and then grew a further 30% by 2007.^[4][1] The vast majority live in Paris—nearly 80%, according to 2000 data— with the largest concentrations in the 15th arrondissement. There are nearly twice as many women as men.^[5] Unlike in the United States or Canada, with their large Korean American and Korean Canadian communities, few Koreans in France seek to naturalise as French citizens.^[6]

Aside from South Korean expatriates, children adopted from Korea into French families form another portion of France's Korean population; most were adopted at between ages three and nine.^[7] The number of North Korean refugees has also been on the rise.^[8]

Portrayals in popular culture of Koreans in France include the 2004 South Korean television series Lovers in Paris; its popularity has resulted in an increase in the number of Korean tourists visiting France.^[3]

Education

Koreans in France are served by five Korean-language weekend schools, the oldest and largest of which is the Paris Hangul School, established 18 August 1974; it enrolled 170 students as of 2007.^[9] Four others, in Villeurbanne, Grenoble, Strasbourg, and Toulouse, were established between 1994 and 2000; they enrolled a further 78 students.^{[10][11][12][13]} A significant number also attend French universities; in total, 65% of the Korean population in France are estimated to be students.^[5]

Inter-ethnic relations

Not many French people know that their country has a Korean community at all.^[3] In many cases, Koreans are mistaken for Chinese and thus lumped in as economic refugees.^[14]

Only about 200 of the South Koreans in France are members of internationally married couples consisting of a South Korean partner and a French partner.^[5] Such couples experience a number of cultural conflicts, most commonly over the rigour of their children's education.^[6]

Notable people

• Jang Keum-song, niece of Kim Jong-il^[15]
• Jeanne Cho-Hunicke, golfer^{[citation needed]}
• Myung-whun Chung, Seoul-born Korean American, director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
• Jean-Baptiste Kim, former unofficial North Korean spokesman^[16]
• Jean-Vincent Placé, French politician (Korean adoptee)

See also

• Cambodians in France

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} MOFAT 2009
2. ^ "Korean Buddhist organisations in France", World Buddhist Directory (Buddha Dharma Education Association), 2006, http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/search.php?keyword=korean&prev_keyword%5B%5D=korean&newsearch=new&search=Begin+Search&country_id=62&province_id=0, retrieved 2009-03-09 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Lee 2006
4. ^ Lee-Le Neindre 2001, p. 1
5. ^ ^{a b c} Lee-Le Neindre 2001, p. 2
6. ^ ^{a b} Lee-Le Neindre 2001, p. 5
7. ^ Ventureyra & Palliere 2004, p. 208
8. ^ "프랑스 북한주민돕기위원회: “북한난민처리 기준 결의안 발의, 유럽의회에 올해 요청할 것”" (in Korean), Radio Free Asia, 2006-01-18, https://preview.rfaweb.org/korean/in_focus/french_human_rights_group_call_resolution_nk_refugee-20060118.html, retrieved 2007-05-30 
9. ^ NIIED 2007, 파리한글학교
10. ^ NIIED 2007, 그르노블한국학교
11. ^ NIIED 2007, 뚜르즈한글학교
12. ^ NIIED 2007, 리용한글학교
13. ^ NIIED 2007, 스트라스부르그한글학교
14. ^ Lee-Le Neindre 2001, p. 3
15. ^ Yi, Yeong-jong (2006-09-18), "파리의 김정일 조카 장금송 비운의 러브스토리 (Unlucky love story of Kim Jong-il's niece in Paris)", JoongAng Ilbo, http://article.joins.com/article/article.asp?total_id=2450717, retrieved 2007-05-30 
16. ^ Michael, Christopher (2008-04-09), "From despot’s PR man to Surrey salesman", The Spectator, http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/600861/from-despotandx2019s-pr-man-to-surrey-salesman.thtml, retrieved 2009-09-01 

Sources

• Lee, Yang-gu (May 2006), "120th Anniversary of Korea-France Diplomatic Relations", The Korea Foundation Newsletter 15 (2), http://newsletter.kf.or.kr/english/contents.asp?vol=63&lang=English&no=683, retrieved 2008-12-07 
• Lee-Le Neindre, Bouriane (September 2001), "L’interculturel entre l’Orient et l’Occident - les particularités et les difficultés à travers les cas des résidents coréens en France" (PDF), Actes du VIIIe congrès de l'Association pour la recherche interculturelle, University of Geneva, http://www.unifr.ch/ipg/sitecrt/ARIC/8eCongres/DocsOrig/LeeLeNeindreB.pdf, retrieved 2008-12-07 
• Ventureyra, Valérie A.G.; Palliere, Christophe (2004), "In search of the lost language: The case of adopted Koreans in France", in Schmid, Monika S., First Language Attrition: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Methodological Issues, Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 207–224, ISBN 9027241392 
• 재외동포현황/Current Status of Overseas Compatriots, South Korea: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2009, http://www.mofat.go.kr/consul/overseascitizen/compatriotcondition/index6.jsp?TabMenu=TabMenu6, retrieved 2009-05-21 
• "Europe", Overseas Korean Educational Institutions, Seoul: National Institute for International Education Development, 2007, http://www.interedu.go.kr/edu_net/overseas/sch_informal.htm?key=5, retrieved 2008-12-07 

Further reading

• Lim, Young-hee (November 2004), "History of Koreans in France", International Conference on Korean Historical Materials and the History of Koreans in Europe, University of Bonn 

External links

• Le Journal Hanweekly, a newspaper aimed at Koreans in France