CHAPTER 2

Korean Migrations to and within

his chapter offers information about the geographic movements of as evidence of the ethnic Korean network in China. I first Tbriefly describe the early history of how and when Koreans started moving to other countries. Koreans’ emigrations can be divided into two periods, an early movement for political reasons and later movement for eco- nomic and educational goals. Since the 1990s, South Koreans have moved to China and Korean Chinese have also migrated out of as well as within China. The chapter shows how the migration of South Koreans to regions in China has influenced Korean Chinese migrations. Finally, I discuss how those movements have affected the Korean Chinese community in China.

Migrations from to China Korean movements abroad in the twentieth century can be generally divided into two periods: before the end of Japanese imperialism in the first half of the century—as political refugees—and from the 1960s to the present—for economic and educational purposes. For political reasons, Korean movements to China have a distinguishable time gap between the first and second period. Very little migration to China occurred between 1945 and the early 1990s.

First Movement Before the twentieth century, few Koreans moved abroad and those who did opted for geographically close destinations. At least by the 1860s,

H. Kim, International Ethnic Networks and Intra-Ethnic Conflict © Hyejin Kim 2010 20 ● International Ethnic Networks there were Korean families living in (Lee Kwangkyu 2000, 6–7). Koreans who lived in the northern part of Korea often crossed to China for collecting herbs or wood. Because not a few Koreans went back and forth to the northern part of China after repeated droughts, the of China seriously prohibited Koreans’ movements by law for more than two hundred years (1627–1875). However, Koreans did not stop going to China. The ineffective enforcement of the law and the success of the agricultural system that Koreans applied to dry land in resulted in the frequent abrogation of the law. They stayed in China tem- porarily: “morning-go-evening-return” or “spring-go-autumn-return” (Han Junguang 1989, 42). Thus, they could be regarded as sojourners rather than migrants. If we think of migration in terms of two types—temporary and permanent 1—then over time shifted from the first to the second. Koreans had a tendency to move abroad temporarily before the 1900s, but those with the characteristics of permanent migrants increased after the annexation of Korea to by force in the early 1900s. Many Koreans started moving abroad after Japan colonized Korea. Sev- eral hundreds and thousands of Koreans moved to China, which was geo- graphically close, and a comparatively smaller number migrated to America. Some 7,400 Koreans moved to Hawaii and the American continent as labor- ers before 1905 and approximately1,000 picture brides and students between 1906 and 1918 followed them (Lee Kwangkyu 2000, 10–11). Later, in the 1930s and 1940s, Japan forced Korean farmers and laborers to move to the northern part of China as pioneer farmers or railroad work- ers (Lee Kwangkyu 2000, 110). The Korean ethnic population, according to statistics compiled by the Chinese government in 1907, occupied 16,300 houses inhabited by 77,000 people among 17,400 houses and 94,000 peo- ple in one locality in the northern part of China. Before the liberation of Korea in 1945, the Korean population in China reached 1.7 million (Kim Hyundong and Ju Inyoung 1999, 100). Applying Cohen’s theory of diaspo- ras, Inbom Choi describes these Koreans as a victim diaspora because of the coercive element in their emigration or recruitment (I. Choi 2003, 14). After 1945, 0.6 million of 1.7 million Koreans in China came back to the Korean peninsula (S. Kim 2003, 108–109). The rest of them decided to go back later because of ongoing political instabilities in Korea2 or to settle down in China with a stable status in Chinese society owing to their sup- port for the (CCP) over the Nationalist Party with the establishment of the PRC in 1949. Although Koreans’ migrations to other countries have been continual, new Korean settlement in China almost stopped—except for North Koreans’ limited movements. Korean Migrations to and within China ● 21

Koreans in China kept the citizenship of their home country. In 1945, almost 20 percent of Koreans residing in China had Chinese citizenship (Kim Byungho and Oh Sangsun 2001, 49). In 1952, most of the remaining Korean Chinese in China obtained Chinese citizenship under the compre- hensive policy of the CCP toward ethnic Koreans. In that year, through negotiations between the North Korean government and the Chinese government, Korean Chinese who lived in the north of Shanhaiguan in Hebei province were forced to obtain Chinese citizenship and those who lived in the south got North Korean citizenship without any choice. The Korean Chinese government officials and soldiers, although they lived south of Shanhaiguan, got Chinese citizenship. After the negotiations, Korean Chinese who obtained North Korean citizenship (chaoqiao) num- bered 6,000 to 10,000 and the rest of them became Chinese nationals (Jung Sinchul 2000, 92).

Second Movement In the period of ’s concentration on economic development after the , Koreans’ migration abroad was oriented toward economic and educational advantages rather than for political reasons. Pursuing eco- nomic and educational opportunities has led Koreans to move toward devel- oped countries, such as the United States and European countries. This kind of Korean emigration has boomed since the 1960s (especially after the United States passed the Immigration Act of 1965) and the large number of Korean migrants yielded Korea towns and districts abroad. Although Korean migration abroad has started since the 1960s, the second movement of Koreans to China has boomed only since 1992 and the number of ethnic Koreans in China has been increasing tremen- dously. New Korean migrants in China are mostly from South Korea. Meanwhile, underground Koreans, who are and are not officially calculated, have increased to significant numbers since the 1990s. These new immigrants also look for economic and educational advantages in a fast-developing country, China. An additional impetus for South Korean movement to China was pro- vided by the economic crisis in 1997. As a consequence of the economic instabilities in South Korea during the economic crisis, some South Koreans decided to settle down in China and started small businesses with their retirement savings. In 1999, Hallyu (Korea Wind) brought South Koreans into Chinese entertainment markets. Hallyu refers to the surge of South Korean popular culture—movies, music, fashion, television programs—in . South 22 ● International Ethnic Networks

Koreans have moved to China to gain economic benefits, taking advantages of the “wave” to create business opportunities. The popularity of Korean actors, actresses, and singers has stimulated the growth of Korean fashion industries, in clothing, cosmetics, and cosmetic surgery, in the Chinese market. Some people also argue that more South Koreans became interested in the Chinese market after Kim Jungil’s visit to . The explosive increase of South Koreans’ investment in China started after his visit (Sisa Journal, Oct. 23, 2003).3 The mobile population of South Koreans who regarded China as a temporary market place has stabilized and has started settling down in China. After working as resident representatives of big Korean com- panies for several years, many South Koreans have decided to stay in China instead of going back to South Korea and opened their own business with their experiences in the domestic market and the friendly connections with Chinese businessmen that they accumulated. Unlike their original plans to go back to South Korea, some South Korean students in China have also stayed after graduation and opened their own small business.4 I discuss this in greater detail in the chapters on business. The ethnic Korean population in China is estimated to be increasing very rapidly. The ethnic Korean communities that were formed by the first movement in China were concentrated in the northeastern part border- ing the Korean peninsula. On the other hand, the newly formed ethnic Korea towns since the second movement have emerged in big cities, such as , Shanghai, , and , and have quickly reached large scales. Approximately 200,000 to 250,000 South Koreans are estimated to have moved to China after 2000 (Global Korean Chinese Community, http://200man.com, 2003). A chief-director of the Beijing-Korea Association guessed that after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the population of resident South Koreans in China would increase to one million. Half of them would be in Beijing (interview in Beijing, Dec. 2003). According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), in 2009 413,442 South Koreans are recorded to be living in China (MFAT, www.mofat.co.kr, 2009). However, the Chairman of the China-Korea Association Chung Hyo-kwon in his interview with the Overseas Korean Newspaper said that 700,000 South Koreans live in China (April 16, 2009).

Spatial Mobility of Korean Chinese in China The spatial movements of Korean Chinese until the 1990s remained few and geographically limited. Before the economic reforms, the Korean Chinese community tended to exist separately from the Han-Chinese community Korean Migrations to and within China ● 23 and to be concentrated densely in northeast China. Though this geograph- ical isolation helped with the maintenance of their culture, it was also a disadvantage for their economic development.

From the 1900s to the 1970s The Korean Chinese community before the 1970s can be understood as following acculturation and isolation strategies. They were the most active participants in the communist movement in China in the first half of the twentieth century. Their achievements for the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and good relations with the central govern- ment resulted in more government officials than any other minority groups.5 Brotherly relations between China and also helped Korean Chinese to obtain benefits, such as the formation of their own autonomous district, because most Korean Chinese were from areas that fell under North Korea. On the other hand, the maintenance of Korean culture reflects the iso- lation strategy of migrants. Fredrick Barth defines a migrant community as living together in a concentrated area that has a complete system for its members. A migrant community is much better able to retain its ethnic language, culture, and identity. Migrants’ social and economic activities are mainly limited to the community and, consequently, their assimila- tion into mainstream society is delayed (1969, 9–38). Geographical isola- tion helped sustain a stronger ethnic grouping of Koreans. In 1953, the number of Koreans in three provinces (, , and ) was 1,103,436 out of a total of 1,111,275 Koreans in China. These three provinces accounted for 99.2 percent of the whole Korean population in China. (Another 0.6 percent lived in Inner , which neighbors these three provinces.) Moreover, 68.3 percent of all Koreans in China lived in the Yanbian Autonomous Region in Jilin province (Tabulation on China’s Nationalities, 1994). The geographically dense population of Korean Chinese and the official establishment of their own autonomous region as early as 1953 strengthened ethnic Korean solidarity and helped them maintain strong ethnic characteristics. Their work also contributed to segregating their lives from Chinese. Koreans were largely involved in farming. Building their houses closely and helping each other at harvest time were parts of traditional culture. In the early 1930s ethnic Koreans made up 3 percent of the population of northeast China, but they produced 90.1 percent of the area’s rice. In 1941, 70 percent of ethnic Koreans worked as farmers (Jung Sinchul 2000, 21). 24 ● International Ethnic Networks

Except in the periods when the Chinese government strictly suppressed minority groups, such as during the (1966–1976), speaking Korean and preserving Korean culture were allowed. Korean Chinese villages maintained ethnic schools, cultural activities and organiza- tions, and customs. They continued to build traditional Korean houses in China.6 In addition, Korean Chinese were reluctant to mix with Han-Chinese. They avoided intermarriage with ethnic Chinese:

If either a man or woman was married to Han-Chinese, village people whispered about that person. People called him (her) a fool or suspected that person might have some handicap that village people don’t know. Han people have such different customs and culture. Even about eating and bathing. (Interview with a Korean-Chinese woman in , Sept. 2001)

Thus, Koreans in China, as one of the officially recognized minority groups, acquiesced under the Chinese communist system but their spatial density led them to maintain their cultural and ethnic traits.

The late 1970s—1990s Since economic reforms in China started in the late 1970s after the death of Mao Zedong, urban migrations have boomed. Some Korean Chinese began to move to urban areas. The extent and characteristics of their population movement were not so different from those of other ethnic groups in China. Their rural-urban movement can be interpreted as one of the changes asso- ciated with market reforms in China. However, the percentage of migrants was extremely small during the early reforms. By 1982, only 0.8 percent of Korean Chinese had left the three northeast provinces to other areas (Tabulation on China’s Nationalities, 1984). Their movements to urban areas were limited within three northeast provinces—that is, from villages to cities in the area. Main cities in north- east China, such as Shenyang, , and , became the main destinations of Korean population movement. Harris Kim researched 429 Korean Chinese employers and employees in Yanji, the main city of the Yanbian Autonomous Region in Jilin province. Approximately 235 of them (55 percent) moved from the countryside to Yanji in northeast China to get jobs or to start their own business after the 1970s (H. Kim 2003, 812). Thus, northeast China still accounted for 98 percent of all Korean Chinese until the late 1980s (S. Kim 2003, 113). The household registration system Korean Migrations to and within China ● 25

(hukou), which had been introduced in 1956 as a means of ensuring that people would not move from their place of registration, also did not allow them to move to other areas easily. Meanwhile, the strong characteristic of the segregated Korean community seemed to give disadvantages to Korean Chinese in the open economic market. Economic growth in Yanbian fell behind other areas in the 1980s (T. Kwon 1997, 216). Catching up with the fast economic change of the Chinese coast was difficult for them. Their strategy of isolation from the majority society resulted in them having a slow response to changes in the national economy. In addition, northeast China had developed mainly on the basis of heavy industry. When the reforms started, other regions saw economic growth in light industry. However, the northeast remained stuck with large state-owned firms and, thus, a larger proportion of industrial employment depended on slower growing sectors.

Interactions between South Korean and Korean Chinese Movement Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, interactions between South Koreans and Korean Chinese have influ- enced their spatial movements. Earlier, South Koreans tended to move to places where Korean Chinese settled down. Later, South Koreans’ move- ments to major cities of all provinces in China resulted in the geographic dispersion of the Korean Chinese population. A large number of Korean Chinese have also had international migration to South Korea as well.

The Early and Mid-1990s: South Koreans Follow Korean Chinese The spatial mobility of ethnic Koreans in China in the early and mid-1990s has two characteristics. First, as an international movement, South Korean populations in China became concentrated in Korean Chinese towns. Second, as a domestic movement, Korean Chinese migrated from rural to urban areas. Since 1992, a large number of South Koreans have moved to China for two reasons. First, the Chinese market attracted them. Optimistic about the potential of the Chinese business market, South Koreans have invested heavily in China. In addition, the economic gap between Korea and China gives advantages to South Koreans. To open their own busi- ness in China, they do not need as much capital as in Korea. They can use cheap labor, produce goods with a small amount of capital, and sell them 26 ● International Ethnic Networks back to Korea and other countries with high prices. Moreover, cheap liv- ing expenses in China let them enjoy things they could not do in Korea. Second, educational considerations became a significant reason for the South Koreans’ movement. The Chinese education boom has been as big as the Chinese market in Korea. Koreans have expected that speaking Chinese and studying about China would produce benefits as good as or better than studying English. For surviving in the competitive South Korean market, being China experts (joonguk-tong, now a popular term in Korea) seemed the best choice for the security of their future. Some South Koreans who quit companies or look for jobs after finishing school have headed for China. On the other hand, for primary and secondary students, the experience of studying in China could give them special qualifications in the South Korean education system. Studying abroad for several years gives them an advantage, and they can enter Korean universities more easily. Rather than sending children to expensive foreign countries, China seems the best option that Korean parents could choose. Geographical proximity and simi- lar culture are likely to give less stress to their children. Sending their chil- dren, even five to six years old, to China became popular. Individual South Koreans inclined toward northeast China rather than other areas because of several reasons. First, in business, relative to other foreign enterprises that preferred to open business in big cities and the southern part of China, South Korean businessmen focused on Korean Chinese areas. As strangers who are not familiar with Chinese language, culture, and society, South Koreans favored the areas where Korean Chinese live and where bilingual signs (Korean and Chinese) on store boards can be seen. Second, in education, South Korean parents sent their children to schools in the northeast provinces as well as in big cities. While their chil- dren have studied English since childhood, Chinese is an unfamiliar lan- guage to them. Thus, they would rather send their children to a Korean Chinese community, which seems safer and is less of a linguistic shock. Particularly when parents send their children to middle or high school in China, they send them to Korean Chinese schools, and aim at send- ing them to major universities in cities or taking them back to Korean universities. Looking for Korean speaking tutors was also not difficult in those areas.7 Third, South Koreans feel much closer to northeast China than to any other parts of China. For ethnic Koreans, unlike for other foreign visitors to China, the top destination is not the Great Wall or the Forbidden City. It is Mount Baekdu, located on the Chinese-North Korean border. Koreans consider these mountains to be the spirit of Korean culture, a symbol of Korean Migrations to and within China ● 27 their ethnicity. At the peak of a mountain lies a lake from which one can look down on North Korea. Visiting the top of the mountain and being able to see North Korean land or even talk to North Koreans right on the bor- der satisfy South Korean travelers.8 They enjoy historical sightseeing places, such as independent activists’ combat areas during the Japanese coloniza- tion period and relics of ancient kingdoms of Korea. These places, prohib- ited for several decades, stimulate the interest of South Koreans. Thus, a large number of South Koreans have visited Korean Chinese communities. Encountering Korean Chinese, who have preserved Korean traditions more fully than South Koreans, South Koreans have received a strong impression of them and felt less foreign in China.9 The increase of South Koreans in cities and close relations between South Koreans and Korean Chinese paved the way for rapid rural to urban move- ments for Korean Chinese. The rapid increase of service jobs and entertain- ment targeting South Koreans provided jobs to Korean Chinese. The trend of “leaving-hometowns-for-cities” has occurred much faster among Korean Chinese than other groups in China. The 1990s census data shows that the mobile population made up 10 percent of the whole population of Korean Chinese, while that of Han-Chinese reached 6.8 percent. The rate of their migration to cities became the highest of all ethnic groups in China. While 30 percent of the Korean Chinese population was urban in the 1970s, that figure went up to more than 50 percent in the 1990s (Tabulation on China’s Nationalities 1994). The increase of South Koreans’ population in cities gave economic oppor- tunities to Korean Chinese. South Koreans have built new Korea towns and opened companies and factories. The labor force of Korean Chinese has been a crucial part of this. When South Koreans seek laborers, such as ser- vice providers and managers for companies, they prefer to hire people who are familiar with Korean culture and with whom they can communicate. As the same ethnic group, Korean Chinese who still maintain Korean culture and speak Korean invest strong ethnic trust in South Koreans. A Korean Chinese who works for a South Korean introduces his or her friends or relatives to other South Koreans. Or, South Koreans ask Korean Chinese employees to introduce other Korean Chinese for themselves or other South Korean compatriots. When some South Korean businessmen move their business to other places, they often bring their employees whom they hired in their previous location. Thus, Korean Chinese movement to cities is more stable and secure than for other ethnic groups. This kind of connection has formed migration chains, and stimulated faster movements to and job-finding chances in urban areas of Korean Chinese. Thus, the increase of South Koreans in cities of northeast China 28 ● International Ethnic Networks and the demand for Korean Chinese employees have expanded Korean Chinese urban communities and injected capital into northeast China. On the other hand, these changes have decreased the number of Korean Chinese villages and weakened traditional customs. This spatial expansion of Korean Chinese and their contacts with South Koreans also brought about sudden changes to their communities.

The Mid-1990s–Present: Korean Chinese Follow South Koreans The spatial destination of ethnic Koreans since the mid-1990s has aggres- sively spread across the main cities of all China’s provinces. Before the mid- 1990s, Korean Chinese and South Koreans had a tendency to be in Korean Chinese towns that already existed, whereas since the mid-1990s, new Korea towns in big cities have been rapidly developing. South Koreans who started moving to China and lived in northeast China for a short time have pre- ferred to settle down in the country’s major cities. The gradual development of Korean networks in these cities since 1992 has underpinned the rapid increase of the population movement of ethnic Koreans to these areas. The longer South Koreans live in China, the more they opt for major cities that offer more possibilities to acquire economic and educational benefits. The increase of the number of South Koreans in these areas has generated new Korea towns at a tremendous speed. South Koreans living densely in these districts have opened stores for themselves. The growth of new Korea towns meant more demand for Korean Chinese employees. Thus, the movement of Korean Chinese to these cities has increased as well. The emergence of new Korea towns in these main cities encouraged more Korean Chinese to leave their hometowns and transfer to cities outside of the northeast. As South Koreans have set up new Korea towns, the migration chains dis- cussed in the previous section have become much broader. A young Korean Chinese manager from Heilongjiang explained how he was able to get work as a manager in a large restaurant in , the city of his dreams, despite being young and from the countryside:

I thought my life would end in a small town in Heilongjiang. After graduation from high school, I moved to Yanji and started working any jobs, in karaoke, sauna, internet room . . . I was excited about changes there and admired South Koreans who could spend so much money. I worked under one South Korean businessman when he opened sauna. I worked hard for him. He trusted me and while he was not in China, I took care of his business. His friend saw me one time several years ago. Just half a year ago, that friend called my boss and asked me to Korean Migrations to and within China ● 29

come down to Dalian. Dalian was the place I dreamed of settling in. I got the job as manager right away. As soon as I came here, the old manager quit and I am taking care of most of the restaurant tasks. The owner trusts me because he heard good things about me from my previ- ous boss. (Interview with twenty-two-year-old male Korean-Chinese in Dalian, Sept. 2003)10

When I was in Beijing, I ran into a Korean Chinese middle-aged woman in front of a public phone box in a new Korea town, Wangjing. She was holding Korean flyers, marking several parts on them with her pen, and calling several ethnic Korean restaurants to work as a chef around there. She was from and was looking for a job. Even though she did not know anyone there, she came to Beijing and walked around Wangjing. She was sure that she could eas- ily find a job as a chef, house-keeper, or cleaner in a Korean community. According to Yu Byungho, in 1998, the number of Korean Chinese in Beijing was approximately 65,000. In Shanghai the figure was approximately 10,000, and in Qingdao it was 30,000 (2000, 145). However, according to the Chinese statistics, they are far fewer: Beijing had 20,369 Korean Chinese, Shanghai had 5,120, and Shandong province (where Qingdao is located) had 27,795 (Tabulation on the 2000 Population Census 2002). When Yoon Injin conducted fieldwork in 2003, he estimated that 70,000 to 80,000 Korean Chinese lived in Qingdao (2004, 73). According to the Korean Consulate in Qingdao, the population of Korean Chinese in Qingdao in 2009 was 120,000 and that of South Koreans was 60,000 (China Radio International http://korean.cri.cn, April 13, 2009). In addition, the Korean Chinese population of major cities in the northeast has been increasing fast from the 1990s. A Korean newspaper in Shenyang reports that the Korean Chinese population of Dalian reached 15,000, tripling the 1990 number (Yonyeong Munbo (Korean Newspaper in Liaoning), May 29, 1997). Dalian had previously never had an ethnic Korea town, but now has an active Korean community. Since the development of foreign companies (especially Japanese companies, which occupy 80 percent of all foreign companies in Dalian), the number of rural migrants has been growing fast. Shenyang, which is one of the favorite cities of South Koreans, was recorded as having 120,000 Korean Chinese in 1999, twice the number of migrants in 1990.

Korean Chinese in South Korea A large number of Korean Chinese have also moved to South Korea since 1992. Approximately 20 percent of the whole population of Korean Chinese 30 ● International Ethnic Networks is estimated to be living in South Korea. Korea Immigration Service indi- cates that 387,977 Korean Chinese stay in South Korea in 2009 (www. immigration.go.kr, June 30, 2009). An accurate count has never been made, because more than a few Korean Chinese go to South Korea illegally, such as through smuggling ships.11 By March 2002, when they were not officially regarded as overseas Koreans (jaeoe dongpo), there were officially 116,000 Korean Chinese in South Korea. Of those, 76,000 were staying there with an illegal status (Kukmin Ilbo, May. 26, 2002). The old generation wants to visit their native country and find their relatives. The young generation looks for chances from the prosperity of South Korea. The main purpose of their visiting South Korea was to get a job and make money. Working in South Korea for one month was equal to working in China for one year (S. Kim 2003, 31). They have worked mainly in “3 D” (difficult, dirty, and danger- ous) jobs, through which they can earn comparatively high salaries over a short term. Some Korean Chinese work in South Korea for one year and then return to China. Some buy taxis to operate, and others who work two or three years start their own business, such as a restaurant, sauna, or kara- oke. In a Korean Chinese village, Donggong village in Harbin, four-fifths of the working population of 250 households went to South Korea and worked there. It became the village with the largest amount of cash in banks in Heilongjiang province (Kim Hyundong and Ju Inyoung 1999, 13–15). In 1997, the amount of money that Korean Chinese saved in banks of Jilin province occupied 70 percent. Working in South Korea meant a chance to obtain the economic wealth. In the early 1990s, Korean Chinese could stay in South Korea with a relative-visiting visa for specific term.12 They went to meet their relatives in South Korea, but some of them did not go back to China and stayed in South Korea to look for work. Overstaying their visas, their stay became illegal. The number of illegal sojourners has been increasing fast. Some of them sold Chinese medicine at high prices or sold counterfeits. The highest number of illegal foreigners in South Korea is Chinese and more than half of these are Korean Chinese.13 The Korean government has strictly controlled their visits to South Korea. The law became stricter and the age at which Korean Chinese can visit South Korea with visiting visas rose. However, the number of illegal status sojourn- ers has not been decreasing. They used several ways to go to South Korea. In the case of women, international marriage became an easy way to move to South Korea. In 1993, there were 1,400 international marriages between South Koreans and Korean Chinese. The number has been increasing rap- idly (2,000 in 1994, 7,700 in 1995, and 10,000 in 1996). It reached 30,000 by the late 1990s. From 1992 to 2001, 47,500 marriages between South Korean Migrations to and within China ● 31

Korean men and Korean Chinese women took place (Lee Hyesun 1999, 266; S. Kim 2003, 137).14 In the case of men, they came to Korea with one or two year employment or business visa (15 days to 2 months) and became illegal laborers. Otherwise, they found jobs through South Korean job introduc- tion offices. In order to come to South Korea no matter what methods they use, they have to pay a large amount of money to brokers.15 They were not welcomed in South Korea as much as South Koreans were in China. The law of the Korean government has been getting stricter toward them. They have received some disadvantages or maltreatment from South Koreans because of their status.16 In 2004, Korean Chinese were officially and legally considered as over- seas Koreans. While they expected free or easier visits to South Korea after the enactment of the revised regulation, they have to face different con- ditions when they apply for the F-4 visa which is for overseas Koreans.17 Despite these circumstances, they have continued to go to South Korea and new Korean Chinese towns have appeared in Seoul. The population of Korean Chinese increased threefold between 2002 (116,000) and 2009 (387,977), whereas the number of Korean Chinese staying illegally in South Korea has decreased from approximately 80,000 to 25,855.18 However, conflicts between Korean Chinese and South Koreans and the unfairness of their status compared to other overseas Koreans in South Korea have significantly influenced their relations in China as well. I will discuss this more in the next chapter.

Consequences of Population Movement The discussion so far has traced the geographic movement of ethnic Koreans in China chronologically. Spatial movements and interaction with South Koreans have brought about advantages and disadvantages for Korean Chinese. As a result of contact with South Koreans, Korean Chinese have urbanized and found work in new sectors. Korean Chinese culture has spread to cities. On the other hand, Korean Chinese community has weak- ened and social problems have emerged from fast changes.

Urbanization Whereas Korean Chinese rarely left their villages before 1990, the move- ments of Korean Chinese have now increased exponentially. Besides the eas- ing of the strict hukou system, Korean Chinese have been prompted to move to cities by economic opportunities presented by China’s internal growth and by contact with South Koreans. 32 ● International Ethnic Networks

100 Beijing 90 Shanghai 80 Shandong 70 Liaoning Jilin 60 Heilongjiang 50 40 30 20 10 0 City County Township

Figure 2.1 The population distribution of Korean Chinese in 2000 (percent). Source: Tabulation on the 2000 Population Census of the People’s Republic of China, 2002. Note: Chinese cities include several rural counties under their jurisdiction, so a good portion of the “cities” of Beijing and Shanghai is counted as rural.

When Korean Chinese migrate to other areas, they are inclined to stay in cities. Figure 2.1 illustrates Korean Chinese migrants’ preference for cities. It shows the distribution of the population of Korean Chinese in 2000. The three lines beginning below 60 percent describe the population of Korean Chinese in the three northeast provinces of China. Even though they prefer to live in cities, the gap between city and county is not drastic compared to the three new destinations, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shandong province, to which Korean Chinese have recently started moving.

Emergence of Urban Korean Chinese Culture Through this urbanization, the activities of Korean Chinese communi- ties that were limited to northeast China have expanded. The Korean Chinese population in Beijing in 1923 was just 800 and was 2,922 in 1964. By the 1990s, Park Sukja found that Beijing has 5,000 permanent Korean Chinese residents (according to their hukou status) and 30,000 who stayed for a long period without hukou (1997, 264). Most Korean Chinese who have the Beijing hukou were not able to speak Korean and did not maintain Korean traditional culture. Even though after the Cultural Revolution the Beijing Korean Chinese community tried to Korean Migrations to and within China ● 33 retain Korean culture through several activities, such as new year festi- vals and athletic tournaments, and opened courses in universities, those efforts did not last and, thus, did not have effective results (Hwang Yubok 1993, 358). However, the consistent increase of the population of Korean Chinese in Beijing has resulted in the emergence of Korean Chinese schools (includ- ing a Beijing Korean school in 1989 and a private Korean Chinese school in 1993), the Beijing Korean Cultural Research Center (1996), and ethnic Korean cultural festivals. At festival activities, they even organize arranged meetings and marriage issues (Park Sukja 1997, 266). In 2008, the Beijing Korean Chinese Sports Event was held for 100,000 Korean Chinese who live in Beijing. Thus, the urban movement of a large number of Korean Chinese expands Korean Chinese activities, which had been limited to northeast China, to other areas.

Labor force The geographic expansion of Korean Chinese society has also provided them with various jobs and, thus, the image of Korean Chinese in Chinese society has transformed from one of a farming ethnic group to an urban ethnic group that swiftly adjusts to a market economy. This character- istic is related to the increase of the South Korean population in China, as I mentioned earlier. In the three northeast provinces of China, most Korean Chinese were engaged in family-operated agriculture. Since the 1990s, they have been able to move from simple farmers to service men, tutors, interpreters, and company employees. By 2000, 15 percent of the Korean Chinese labor force was involved in the service sector, the next highest percentage after agriculture (Tabulation on the 2000 Population Census 2002). Chinese and foreign enterprises have been concentrated in cities and needed employees. South Korean-owned companies have requested Korean Chinese employees. In addition, South Koreans who live in big cities have demanded ethnic product stores, such as Korean grocery stores, restaurants, and department stores, and entertainment services, such as nightclubs and karaoke. These changes have provided more chances for Korean Chinese to step into urban lives.

Erosion of Rural Korean Chinese Culture The urban movement of Korean Chinese has contributed to the collapse of the traditional Korean family structure. Young people left their hometowns 34 ● International Ethnic Networks and moved to cities. Not entire family members, but one or two members of a family headed for cities. Split families have not only weakened family solidarity, but the preference for young and female employees in urban areas has also induced serious social problems. The fact that whole families usually do not leave for cities together can be interpreted as a change of the traditional Korean Chinese family sys- tem. Having several children and living as an extended family have been the characteristics of the traditional Korean ethnic family system, and Korean Chinese families maintained it. However, since the one child policy was launched in China, Korean Chinese has been the minority to conform best to the policy and the dispersal of the population has also supported this pol- icy by posing barriers to family solidarity. More than 90 percent of Korean Chinese has only one child per family (Jang Kongja 2003, 296). In 1996, the Yanbian Autonomous Region had a birth rate of –1.07 percent. Even though their minority status allows them to have two children, most Korean Chinese prefer to raise one child due to high expenses for child-rearing (Kim Hyundong and Ju Inyoung 1999, 59). Thus, the number of family mem- bers has decreased, and the urban and overseas movements have resulted in irregular family structures, such as the growth of the number of children living with their relatives or grandparents. Blood ties in the community are not so substantial anymore as well. This change could make them leave their hometown easily. The increase of service jobs has especially required female and young employees. The number of the f loating population of female Korean Chinese is much higher than that of male Korean Chinese. Female movements to urban areas and abroad are comparatively high, because of opportunities for female work and because women often set up their own businesses. Early migrant entrepreneurship in the Korean Chinese community started with female Korean Chinese. They set up individual businesses, such as selling kimchi and small dishes, and even exchanging South Korean, American, and Chinese currencies in the street, while their husbands or male family mem- bers worked in rice paddies. As female Korean Chinese have more chances to step in the business markets, they participated in professional service jobs, as hair-dressers, cosmetic clerks, and clothing-makers (Jung Sinchul 2000, 148–149). The job distribution between female and male Korean Chinese is shown in figure 2.2. Male Korean Chinese are involved with manufacturing and government jobs. Females, on the other had, are engaged with service and skilled professions.19 Service jobs are more plentiful in big cities. Thus, female Korean Chinese have easily slipped out of their home towns and into big cities. Korean Migrations to and within China ● 35

10,000 Male 9,000 Female 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Manufacturing Construction Service Government officials

Figure 2.2 Job distribution by sex among Korean Chinese in 2000 (unit: persons). Source: Tabulation on the 2000 Population Census, 2002.

This tendency has caused unbalanced sex ratios and age distribution in the Korean Chinese countryside. Single male Korean Chinese have a hard time finding marriage partners and, thus, the population could not natu- rally help but decrease (Yu Byungho 2000, 142–145).20 I will discuss this more in the chapter on the service sector. Particularly, the long-term absence of parents of family members has caused an increase in juvenile delinquency. Korean Chinese move to other countries, such as South Korea, Japan, and the United States as well as to urban areas in China. As representatives of family members, parents (one side or both of them) mostly leave for South Korea. In teaching at a Korean Chinese school, finding students who have been separate with one of their parents was not difficult:

Father went to South Korea first and he begged my mom to go to Korea because it was hard for him to make money on his own. She was worried that he could be involved in bad temptations in Korea and would not come back home. Those kinds of tragic stories are all what we Korean- Chinese hear here. She left for Korea right away. So I live in the school dormitory and sometimes go back to my grandparents’ house. But it doesn’t matter for me. Being here with friends having the same situation 36 ● International Ethnic Networks

is not bad. (Interview with a female student: sixteen years old in Shenyang in winter, 2001)

According to research on ethnic schools in Yanbian (including from ele- mentary to high school), 54 percent of students live separately with one of their parents (Heungnyongang Shinmun, May 19, 2004). In one elementary school in Yanji, 71.4 percent of students live in households where at least one parent is absent (Chosun Ilbo, Dec. 7, 2001). Since the 1990s, crimes by Korean Chinese teenagers have been increasing. For example, from 1999 to 2000, which were the most popular years to go to South Korea, juvenile delinquency rose 20 percent. Heilongjiang newspapers suggested that this was because of the separation between parents and children (Heungnyongang Shinmun, Jan. 12, 2001). In addition, the dispersion of Korean Chinese population has weakened the Korean Chinese community in northeast China. Because of it, the voice of the community has been diminished. With the rapid urban movement of Korean Chinese, the size of Korean Chinese towns has grown. Meanwhile, small Korean Chinese villages are shrinking and, in some cases, disappear- ing. For example, more than half of the 600 residents in a Korean Chinese village in Heilongjiang province went to South Korea (Wolgan Joongang, Feb. 2002: 282–289).21 While Korean Chinese have moved out of Korean Chinese commu- nities, Han-Chinese have moved into these areas. Figure 2.3 displays changes in the ethnic make-up of the Yanbian Autonomous Region. We can see that the proportion of Han-Chinese has increased since the estab- lishment of the People’s Republic in 1949, and that the region is, in fact, composed of more Chinese than Koreans. To maintain recognition as an autonomous region for a minority group in China, the population of the minority group in that area should be above 30 percent. The trend indi- cated in figure 2.3 suggests that the Korean Chinese population will soon drop below 30 percent. When the population of Yanbian falls below 30 percent Korean, its sta- tus as an autonomous region is unlikely to change. This would follow the precedent of , which is less than 30 percent Mongolian. Still, these population shifts indicate that Han-Chinese power in Yanbian is increasing. The political power of the Korean Chinese community as a minority in Chinese society has, thus, been diminishing. We can see this change in other indicators as well. The number of Korean Chinese government officials has been rapidly decreasing in Korean Chinese communities. In 1952, 80 percent of government officials in Yanbian were Korean Chinese. By 1992, the number had decreased to 48 percent. Among Korean Migrations to and within China ● 37

70 62% 61% 60 63% 57% 51% 50 47% 40 34% 40% (%) 30 35% 33%

20 Percentage of Korean Chinese 10 Percentage of Han-Chinese

0 1949 1965 1996 2000 2007

Figure 2.3 The population of Korean Chinese and Han-Chinese in the Yanbian Autonomous Region. Source: Tabulation on the Yanbian Statistics, 2002.

them, 70 percent are related to activities of cultural education, mass media, and social science. Korean Chinese officials who are involved with political and economic activities are only a few (Lee Hyesun 1999, 271–272). The decrease in the number of Korean Chinese officials signifies a challenge to the solidarity of ethnic Korean networks. The existing Korean Chinese cultural associations have been weaker and participants in these groups are getting older:

Cultural associations are just for old people now. Our office has been closed for more than two years. The Chinese government destroyed the old building and promised to give a new office to us. But when? They even put a Han-Chinese in the seat of the chief for the Dalian Korean- Chinese Cultural Association. Even though we said we wouldn’t approve it, who cares? I don’t know when we can open the association again, or if we even can. (Interview with the former vice president of the Dalian Korean-Chinese Cultural Association, Sept. 2002)

The reason why the number of Korean Chinese officials has declined is the discrimination that Korean Chinese face as a minority group in Chinese soci- ety. They complain that they have been and will continue to be an unjustly treated minority in Chinese society. On the outside, the minority policy seems to give benefits to minorities, such as extra opportunities to enter university 38 ● International Ethnic Networks and the possibility to have two children. However, their political activities are limited, making it difficult for them to have real power and authority. In these ways, the minority policy has gushed Korean Chinese out of their com- munities and market forces have pulled them to other regions:

I worked as a government official for more than ten years. I really did my best and was proud of my job. I was supposed to be promoted to the top level soon. But right before the central government promoted to me, they brought in a much younger government official from another province. The place was so far away from here and he didn’t know anything about this area. It didn’t make sense that he got a top job right away. The cen- tral government didn’t want to give the highest level post to me because I am Korean-Chinese. Even though my family and friends always said that I might not able to get the top level, I didn’t listen to them. I thought if I work hard, ethnicity doesn’t matter. I was really confident. I lost all my confidence . . . There was no reason to be stuck there. That’s why I got out of my hometown and started my own restaurant in Beijing. At least in my business, I can get as much as I work. (Interview with ex-government official from Yanji, 2003)22

Thus, the movement to cities is related to the weakening of the ethnic community. The decrease in the number of the ethnic Korean schools in northeast China has taken away the chances for the next generation of Korean Chinese to learn Korean. In Yanbian, ethnic Korean elementary schools numbered 419 in 1985 and went down to 177 by 1995. There were 119 middle schools in 1985, but they decreased to 49 by 1995. The decline of Korean Chinese schools means that fewer Korean Chinese can speak Korean (Jung Ingap 1999, 176; Hwang Yubok 2002, 29). Although a large number of Korean Chinese have moved to cities, the establishment of ethnic Korean schools in cities has kept pace. Most new schools for Koreans in cities are for South Koreans. A Korean Chinese school that was built for Korean Chinese urban migrants in Beijing was not so successful because of the high tuition fee and the preference of Korean Chinese parents for sending their children to Chinese schools. As I discussed in the introduction, this spatial dispersion of Korean Chinese since economic reforms has weakened the ethnic solidarity and Korean characteristic of Korean Chinese. Contacting urban cultures beyond their local community has meant more contact with Chinese culture. Not a few Korean Chinese have stepped into Han majority society. Young Korean Chinese prefer to study in the Chinese schools, not the ethnic Korean schools anymore. Korean Migrations to and within China ● 39

On the other hand, Korean Chinese have been influenced by South Korean culture. Despite being the same ethnic group, Korean Chinese have kept rather different cultural and linguistic characteristics from South Koreans because they did not contact each other for several decades and most Korean Chinese use North .23 The popularity of South Korean pop culture, sudden contacts with capitalist culture and society, and relations with South Koreans have weakened the unique characteristics of the Korean Chinese community.