Koreans in France
Encyclopedia
Koreans in France numbered 14,738 individuals , 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
.
began in 1919, when the government of France
issued work permits to 35 Korean migrant labourers. From a community of just 3,310 in 1988, their numbers more than tripled by 2000, and then grew a further 30% by 2007. 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. 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
.
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. The number of North Korean refugees has also been on the rise.
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.
weekend schools, the oldest and largest of which is the Paris Hangul School, established 18 August 1974; it enrolled 170 students as of 2007. Four others, in Villeurbanne
, Grenoble
, Strasbourg
, and Toulouse
, were established between 1994 and 2000; they enrolled a further 78 students. A significant number also attend French universities; in total, 65% of the Korean population in France are estimated to be students.
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. Such couples experience a number of cultural conflicts, most commonly over the rigour of their children's education.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in charge of diplomacy for South Korea, as well as handling external trade and matters related to overseas Korean nationals. It was established on 17 July 1948. Until 1998, the ministry was known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; its jurisdiction over...
.
Migration history
Korean migration to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
began in 1919, when the government of France
Government of France
The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...
issued work permits to 35 Korean migrant labourers. From a community of just 3,310 in 1988, their numbers more than tripled by 2000, and then grew a further 30% by 2007. 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. Unlike in the United States or Canada, with their large Korean American
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
and Korean Canadian
Korean Canadian
Korean Canadians are Canadians of Korean descent. According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, there were 223,322 Koreans or people of Korean descent in Canada , making them the fourth-largest Korean diaspora population...
communities, few Koreans in France seek to naturalise as French citizens
French nationality law
French nationality law is historically based on the principles of jus soli , according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German's definition of nationality, Jus sanguinis , formalized by Fichte.The 1993 Méhaignerie Law required children born in France of foreign parents to request...
.
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. The number of North Korean refugees has also been on the rise.
Portrayals in popular culture of Koreans in France include the 2004 South Korean television series
Korean drama
Korean drama refers to televised dramas, in a miniseries format, produced in the Korean language. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout Asia and have contributed to the general phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as "Hallyu", and also "Drama Fever" in some countries...
Lovers in Paris
Lovers In Paris
Lovers in Paris is a South Korean television drama series broadcast by SBS in the summer of 2004. The show won numerous awards including best television drama at the Baeksang Arts Awards and both Park Shin-yang and Kim Jung-eun were awarded the Grand Prize at the SBS Drama Awards.It is the first...
; its popularity has resulted in an increase in the number of Korean tourists visiting France.
Education
Koreans in France are served by five Korean-languageKorean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
weekend schools, the oldest and largest of which is the Paris Hangul School, established 18 August 1974; it enrolled 170 students as of 2007. Four others, in Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after that of Paris. Villeurbanne is the second-largest city in the department.-History:The current location of...
, Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, and Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, were established between 1994 and 2000; they enrolled a further 78 students. A significant number also attend French universities; in total, 65% of the Korean population in France are estimated to be students.
Inter-ethnic relations
Not many French people know that their country has a Korean community at all. In many cases, Koreans are mistaken for Chinese and thus lumped in as economic refugees.Only about 200 of the South Koreans in France are members of internationally married couples
International marriage
This page is linked to:*Interracial marriage, marriage between two people of differing racial groups*International marriage agency, a business to introduce people of different countries for marriage...
consisting of a South Korean partner and a French partner. Such couples experience a number of cultural conflicts, most commonly over the rigour of their children's education.
Notable people
- Jang Keum-songChang Sung-taekChang Sung-taek, is a North Korean politician and the brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il. He is a leading figure in the North Korean government, and South Korean government officials and academic North Korea watchers suggested that he may have taken on de facto leadership over North Korea due to Kim...
, niece of Kim Jong-ilKim Jong-ilKim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea... - Jeanne Cho-Hunicke, golfer
- Myung-whun ChungMyung-Whun ChungMyung-whun Chung is a South Korean pianist and conductor.His sisters, violinist Kyung-wha Chung, and cellist Myung-wha Chung, and he at one time performed together as the Chung Trio. He was a joined second-prize winner in the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition. Chung studied conducting at...
, Seoul-born Korean American, director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio FranceOrchestre Philharmonique de Radio FranceThe Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra providing music for Radio France. It specializes in contemporary music and was founded in 1937.- Names of the orchestra :*Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France... - Jean-Baptiste KimJean-Baptiste KimJean-Baptiste Kim is a political defector-refugee from South Korea in Europe.He was born in South Korea which he fled as a teenager following incarceration and torture against him and his family members by the South Korean authorities leading to the death of his father...
, former unofficial North Korean spokesman - Jean-Vincent Placé, French politician (Korean adoptee)
External links
- Le Journal Hanweekly, a newspaper aimed at Koreans in France