(Redirected from Korean people)
The 'Korean' people are an
East Asian
ethnic group [1]. Most Koreans live in the
Korean Peninsula and
Manchuria, and speak the
Korean language.
Names
South Koreans call Koreans ''Hangukin'' (or simply 한인/Hanin for South Koreans living abroad) (한국인; 韓國人) or informally ''Hanguk saram'' (한국 사람; 韓國 사람), while
North Koreans call Koreans ''Chosŏn-in'' (조선인; 朝鮮人) or ''Chosŏn saram'' (조선 사람; 朝鮮 사람). See
Names of Korea,
Korean romanization,
Hangul and
Hanja.
Origins
Koreans are believed to be descendents of
Altaic[2][3] or proto-
Altaic[4] speaking tribes, linking them with
Mongolians,
Tungusics,
Turkics, and other
Central Asians. Archaeological evidence suggest proto-Koreans were Altaic language speaking migrants from south-central Siberia
[5], who populated
ancient Korea in successive waves from neolithic age to Bronze Age
[6].
Recent advances in the study of
polymorphisms in the human Y-chromosome have produced evidence to suggest that the Korean people have a very long history as a distinct, mostly endogamous ethnic group, as male Koreans display a high frequency of Y-chromosomes belonging to
Haplogroup O2b1 that are more or less specific to Korean populations. Genetic studies on the basis of Y-chromosomal DNA haplotypes placed Koreans at the midpoint between Manchus and the Ewenkis(Evenks).
Though they have interbred to some extent with other East Asian ethnic groups over the ages, for the most part Koreans still display phenotypes revealing their Altaic origins. These features include tall stature, long bridged noses, higher cheekbones, and the
Mongolian spot, a genetic predisposition for a bluish birthmark on the lower body which remains until early childhood.
Regional differences
Significant regional differences exist.
Within
South Korea, the most important regional difference is between the
Gyeongsang region, embracing
Gyeongsangbuk-do and
Gyeongsangnam-do provinces in the southeast, and the
Jeolla region, embracing
Jeollabuk-do and
Jeollanam-do provinces in the southwest. The two regions, separated by the
Jiri Massif, nurture a rivalry said to reach back to the
Three Kingdoms Period, which lasted from the fourth century to the seventh century A.D., when the kingdoms of
Baekje and
Silla struggled for control of the peninsula.
Observers noted that interregional marriages are rare, and that as of 1990 a new fourlane highway completed in 1984 between
Gwangju and
Daegu, the capitals of Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, completed in 1984, had not been successful in promoting travel between the two areas.
South Korea's political elite, including presidents
Park Chung-hee,
Chun Doo-hwan, and
Roh Tae-woo, have come largely from the Gyeongsang region. As a result, Gyeongsang has been a special beneficiary of government development assistance.
By contrast, the Jeolla region has remained comparatively rural, undeveloped, and poor. Chronically disaffected, its people rightly or wrongly have a reputation for rebelliousness. Regional bitterness was intensified by the May 1980
Gwangju massacre, in which about 200 and perhaps many more inhabitants of the capital of Jeollanam-do were killed by
Chun Doo-hwan's troops sent to quell the citizens and student's demonstration against military coup regime. The demonstration against military regime occurred all over the country, but only Gwangju was heavily damaged. Many of the troops were reportedly from the Gyeongsang region.
Regional stereotypes, like regional dialects, have been breaking down under the influence of centralized education, nationwide media, and the several decades of population movement since the
Korean War. Stereotypes remain important, however, in the eyes of many South Koreans. For example, the people of
Gyeonggi-do, surrounding Seoul, are often described as being cultured, and
Chungcheong people, inhabiting the region embracing
Chungcheongbuk-do and
Chungcheongnam-do provinces, are thought to be mild-mannered, manifesting true
yangban virtues. The people of
Gangwon-do in the northeast were viewed as poor and stolid, while Koreans from the northern provinces of
Pyongan,
Hwanghae, and
Hamgyong, now in North Korea, are perceived as being diligent and aggressive.
Jeju-do is infamous for its strong-minded and independent women.
Culture
North Korea and South Korea share a common heritage, but the
political division since 1944 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 73 million speakers of the Korean language worldwide.
North Korea data
Estimating the size, growth rate, sex ratio, and age structure of North Korea's population has been extremely difficult. Until release of official data in 1989, the 1963 edition of the
North Korea Central Yearbook was the last official publication to disclose population figures. After 1963 demographers used varying methods to estimate the population. They either totaled the number of delegates elected to the
Supreme People's Assembly (each delegate representing 50,000 people before 1962 and 30,000 people afterward) or relied on official statements that a certain number of persons, or percentage of the population, was engaged in a particular activity. Thus, on the basis of remarks made by President
Kim Il Sung in 1977 concerning school attendance, the population that year was calculated at 17.2 million persons. During the 1980s, health statistics, including life expectancy and causes of mortality, were gradually made available to the outside world.
In 1989 the
Central Statistics Bureau released demographic data to the
United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) in order to secure the UNFPA's assistance in holding North Korea's first nationwide
census since the establishment of the state in 1948. Although the figures given to the
United Nations might have been distorted, it appears that in line with other attempts to open itself to the outside world, the North Korean regime has also opened somewhat in the demographic realm. Although the country lacks trained demographers, accurate data on household registration, migration, and births and deaths are available to North Korean authorities. According to the United States scholar Nicholas Eberstadt and demographer Judith Banister, vital statistics and personal information on residents are kept by agencies on the ''ri'' (“village”, the
local administrative unit) level in rural areas and the ''dong'' (“district” or “block”) level in urban areas.
Koreans outside of the Korean peninsula
Main articles: Korean diaspora
Large-scale emigration from Korea began as early as the mid-1860s, mainly into the
Russian Far East and
Northeast China; these emigrants became the ancestors of the 2 million
ethnic Koreans in China and several hundred thousand
ethnic Koreans in Central Asia. During the
Japanese colonial period of 1910-1945, Koreans were often recruited and or forced into labour service to work in
mainland Japan,
Karafuto Prefecture, and
Manchukuo; the ones who chose to remain in Japan at the end of the war became known as
Zainichi Koreans, while the roughly 40 thousand who were trapped in Karafuto after the Soviet invasion are typically referred to as
Sakhalin Koreans. Korean emigration to America was known to have begun as early as 1903, but the
Korean American community did not grow to a significant size until after the passage of the
Immigration Reform Act of 1965; now, roughly 2 million Koreans live in the United States.
Large
Koreatowns can also be found in
Australia,
Brazil, and
Canada. The largest Korean community outside of Korea is in Los Angeles, California.
British Koreans now form
Western Europe's largest Korean community;
Koreans in Germany used to outnumber the ones in the UK until the late 1990s. There are also Koreatowns in
Latin American countries such as
Argentina,
Guatemala, and
Mexico. In recent years, the number of
Koreans in the Philippines and
Koreans in Vietnam have also grown significantly. Also in NYC.
Notes
1. Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues - Page 40 by Pyrong Gap Min
2. The Archaeology of Korea, , Sarah M., Nelson, Cambridge University Press, ,
3. Korean people(한민족)
4. Korean people(한민족)
5. ''The Rise of Civilization in East Asia: the Archaeology of China, Korea and Japan'', pp. 165
6. ''뿌리 깊은 한국사, 샘이 깊은 이야기: 고조선, 삼국'', pp. 44-45
References
★
★ 서의식 and 강봉룡. ''뿌리 깊은 한국사, 샘이 깊은 이야기: 고조선, 삼국'', ISBN 89-8133-536-2
★ Barnes, Gina. ''The Rise of Civilization in East Asia: the Archaeology of China, Korea and Japan'', ISBN 05-0027-974-8
See also
★
Korean diaspora
★
Koryo-saram (Koreans of the former
Soviet Union)
★
Koreatown
★
Demographics of North Korea
★
Demographics of South Korea
★
List of Korea-related topics
External links
★
Korean Food Glossary
★
Korean American Museum
★
Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan)
Y-Chromosome Evidence for a Northward Migration of Modern Humans
into Eastern Asia during the Last Ice Age
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