Russians in Korea
Encyclopedia
Russians in Korea do not form a very large population, but they have a history going back to the era of the Korean Empire
. The community of Russian subjects/citizens in Korea
has historically included not just ethnic Russians
, but members of minority groups of Russia as well, such as Tatars
, Poles
, and, more recently, return migrants from among the Koryo-saram
(ethnic Koreans whose ancestors migrated to the Russian Far East
in the late 19th century) and Sakhalin Koreans
.
; he was invited to Korea from Tianjin
, China
in 1884 by King Gojong. Karl Ivanovich Weber
became the Russian Empire's official representative in Seoul in April 1885. With the establishment of formal relations, more Russians began migrating into Korea throughout the 1890s, largely via Manchuria
. At that time, the community was centred around the Russian legation, opened in 1890, and the Russian Orthodox Church
of Saint Nicholas
, opened in 1903, both located in Seoul's Jeongdong (located in present-day Jung-gu
). The Russian community in these days was composed largely of missionaries, diplomats, and businessmen; Russia played an important role in the Korean politics of the era, and at one point, Gojong actually lived in the Russian compound, in fear of his life after the 1895 assassination of his wife Queen Min
. However, with Russia's defeat in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War
, Russian influence in Korea began to wane.
The 1922 influx of Russian refugees from the fall of Vladivostok to the Red Army
would completely change the face of the community. In October of that year, more than 15,000 refugees landed at Wonsan
, Kangwon-do. Roughly half were quickly able to obtain onward passage to Shanghai
, but the refugees who had not taken valuables with them when fleeing Vladivostok were stuck in Wonsan for the winter; they relied on charitable donations and day labour for their survival. According to William Arthur Noble, an American
missionary
in Korea, no more than 20% were literate; they lived either on overcrowded ships, or in barely-heated customs warehouses at the docks. In the spring of 1923, the refugees began to disperse, moving on to Harbin
, where there was a significant community of Russians
, or even to overseas destinations in Latin America
.
In February 1925, Japan finally recognised the Soviet Union, and handed over the old Russian Legation building to the new Soviet ambassador. By the late 1920s, there were only around a hundred Russians living in Seoul; former nobles and officials lived in Jeongdong, while a community of Tatars lived and worked in the markets near Namdaemun and Honmachi (modern-day Myeongdong
). However, due to class divisions
within the community, the two groups had little interaction with each other. George Yankovsky, the grandson of a Polish noble exiled to Siberia
, also maintained a resort in Chongjin
which was popular among the Russian communities of East Asia, but virtually unknown to other westerners; when the Soviets invaded North Korea, most of the Russians still living there were arrested and forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union.
. In Seoul
, a "Little Russia" began to form in Jung-gu
's Gwanghui-dong, near Dongdaemun
, in the late 1980s. Roughly 50,000 people from post-Soviet states
were estimated to live in the area in 2004, down from 70,000 several years previously due to deportations of illegal immigrants
. In Busan
, Russians are concentrated in the former "Texas Town" in Jung-gu's Jungang-dong; roughly 200 are estimated to live in the city permanently, with several hundred more on short-term visas, along with a large transient population of Russian sailors.
; by 1984, only one of the pre-war Russian communicants remained. In the 1990s, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia established a mission in South Korea. Both the Korean Orthodox Church and the Korean ROCOR mission serve mostly ethnic Korean believers, though they are open to people of all ethnicities.
Russians in Pyongyang
have sometimes been served by Orthodox clergy sent from Vladivostok
since 2002. A Russian Orthodox church was opened in Pyongyang in 2004 at the order of Kim Jong-il
after his visit to the church of Innocent of Irkutsk in Khabarovsk
.
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
. The community of Russian subjects/citizens in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
has historically included not just ethnic Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, but members of minority groups of Russia as well, such as Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
, Poles
Polish minority in Russia
There are currently 73,000 Polish nationals living in The Russian federation. This includes autochthonous Poles as well as those forcibly deported during and after World War II; the total number of Poles in what was the former Soviet Union is estimated at up to 3 million.-Before 1917:Many Poles...
, and, more recently, return migrants from among the Koryo-saram
Koryo-saram
Koryo-saram is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. Approximately 500,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the former Soviet Union, primarily in the now-independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in southern Russia , the...
(ethnic Koreans whose ancestors migrated to the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
in the late 19th century) and Sakhalin Koreans
Sakhalin Koreans
Sakhalin Koreans are Russian citizens and residents of Korean descent living on Sakhalin Island, who trace their roots to the immigrants from the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces of Korea during the late 1930s and early 1940s, the latter half of the Japanese colonial era...
.
Early history
The earliest Russian subject in Korea is believed to have been Afanasy Ivanovich Seredin-Sabatin (Афанасий Иванович Середин-Сабатин), an architect from a family of Swiss originSwiss emigration to Russia
There was significant emigration of Swiss people to the Russian Empire from the late 17th to the late 19th century. Rauber estimates that a number of 50,000 to 60,000 Swiss lived in Russia between roughly 1700 and 1917...
; he was invited to Korea from Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1884 by King Gojong. Karl Ivanovich Weber
Karl Ivanovich Weber
Karl Ivanovich Weber was a diplomat of the Russian Empire and a personal friend to King Gojong of Korea's Joseon Dynasty...
became the Russian Empire's official representative in Seoul in April 1885. With the establishment of formal relations, more Russians began migrating into Korea throughout the 1890s, largely via Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. At that time, the community was centred around the Russian legation, opened in 1890, and the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, opened in 1903, both located in Seoul's Jeongdong (located in present-day Jung-gu
Jung-gu, Seoul
Jung-gu is one of the 25 gu which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. It is located on the north side of the Han River, and is the historical center of the city .-Overview:...
). The Russian community in these days was composed largely of missionaries, diplomats, and businessmen; Russia played an important role in the Korean politics of the era, and at one point, Gojong actually lived in the Russian compound, in fear of his life after the 1895 assassination of his wife Queen Min
Empress Myeongseong
Empress Myeongseong , also known as Queen Min, was the first official wife of King Gojong, the twenty-sixth king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea...
. However, with Russia's defeat in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, Russian influence in Korea began to wane.
The 1922 influx of Russian refugees from the fall of Vladivostok to the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
would completely change the face of the community. In October of that year, more than 15,000 refugees landed at Wonsan
Wonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
, Kangwon-do. Roughly half were quickly able to obtain onward passage to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, but the refugees who had not taken valuables with them when fleeing Vladivostok were stuck in Wonsan for the winter; they relied on charitable donations and day labour for their survival. According to William Arthur Noble, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in Korea, no more than 20% were literate; they lived either on overcrowded ships, or in barely-heated customs warehouses at the docks. In the spring of 1923, the refugees began to disperse, moving on to Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, where there was a significant community of Russians
Harbin Russians
The term Harbin Russians or Russian Harbinites refers to several generations of Russians who lived in the city of Harbin, a major junction city on the Chinese Eastern Railway , from approximately 1898 to the mid-1960s....
, or even to overseas destinations in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
In February 1925, Japan finally recognised the Soviet Union, and handed over the old Russian Legation building to the new Soviet ambassador. By the late 1920s, there were only around a hundred Russians living in Seoul; former nobles and officials lived in Jeongdong, while a community of Tatars lived and worked in the markets near Namdaemun and Honmachi (modern-day Myeongdong
Myeongdong
Myeong-dong or Myong-dong is a dong in Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea between Chungmu-ro, Eulji-ro, and Namdaemun-ro. It covers 0.99 km² with a population of 3,529 and is mostly a commercial area, being one of Seoul's main shopping and tourism districts.-History:Myeongdong dates back to the...
). However, due to class divisions
Classism
Classism is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower classes...
within the community, the two groups had little interaction with each other. George Yankovsky, the grandson of a Polish noble exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, also maintained a resort in Chongjin
Chongjin
Ch'ŏngjin is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City...
which was popular among the Russian communities of East Asia, but virtually unknown to other westerners; when the Soviets invaded North Korea, most of the Russians still living there were arrested and forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union.
Post-colonial era
New Russian communities have formed in various cities in South KoreaSouth 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...
. In Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, a "Little Russia" began to form in Jung-gu
Jung-gu, Seoul
Jung-gu is one of the 25 gu which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. It is located on the north side of the Han River, and is the historical center of the city .-Overview:...
's Gwanghui-dong, near Dongdaemun
Dongdaemun
Heunginjimun, literally "Gate of Rising Benevolence" or more commonly known as Dongdaemun, is a prominent landmark in central Seoul, South Korea. The Korean name "Dongdaemun" means "Great East Gate," and it was so named because it was the major eastern gate in the wall that surrounded Seoul during...
, in the late 1980s. Roughly 50,000 people from post-Soviet states
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
were estimated to live in the area in 2004, down from 70,000 several years previously due to deportations of illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
. In Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, Russians are concentrated in the former "Texas Town" in Jung-gu's Jungang-dong; roughly 200 are estimated to live in the city permanently, with several hundred more on short-term visas, along with a large transient population of Russian sailors.
Religion
In 1956, cut off from church authorities in their homeland, the remaining Russian Orthodox believers in Seoul merged with the Korean Orthodox Church, a branch of the Greek Orthodox ChurchGreek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
; by 1984, only one of the pre-war Russian communicants remained. In the 1990s, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia established a mission in South Korea. Both the Korean Orthodox Church and the Korean ROCOR mission serve mostly ethnic Korean believers, though they are open to people of all ethnicities.
Russians in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
have sometimes been served by Orthodox clergy sent from Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
since 2002. A Russian Orthodox church was opened in Pyongyang in 2004 at the order of Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim 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...
after his visit to the church of Innocent of Irkutsk in Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
.
Notable people
- Denis Laktionov, football player
- Andrei LankovAndrei LankovAndrei Nikolaevich Lankov is a Russian scholar of Asia and a specialist in Korean studies. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Leningrad State University in 1986 and 1989, respectively; He also attended Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung University in 1985...
, historian and journalist - Park No-Ja (formerly Vladimir Tikhonov), author