Korean Chinese

Ethnic Koreans with Chinese citizenship

Not to be confused with Chinese Korean.

For broader coverage of this topic, see Koreans in China.

Ethnic group

Chaoxianzu / Korean Chinese

中国朝鲜族 (朝鲜族)
조선족 (Joseonjok)[1][2][3][4]

Location of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County

Total population
1,702,479–1,893,763 (2023)[5][6][7]
Regions with significant populations
Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Shandong peninsula, Beijing and other Chinese cities
Languages
Korean
Mandarin Chinese
Religion
Mahayana Buddhism[8] * Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Koreans

Korean Chinese, also called Chaoxianzu[9] (Chinese: 朝鲜族; Korean: 조선족; RR: Joseonjok), is the Korean (Joseon) ethnic minority group in China. They are one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups by the Government of China and the Chinese Communist Party. They account for the vast majority of ethnic Koreans in China.

Chaoxianzu are Chinese nationals mostly born in China. "Chaoxianzu" is an official term used in China[10][11] and occasionally globally.[12][13]

The number of Koreans migrating from the Korean Peninsula to Manchuria increased significantly in the late 19th century and early 20th century, forming their own communities, especially in the Yanbian region.[14]

Consequently, Korean Chinese have a dual identity: a national identity as Chinese and a cultural identity as ethnic Koreans. Many Korean Chinese, educated under the Chinese Communist Party's education system, often view the Korean War as the 'War to Resist America and Aid Korea,' reflecting a Chinese perspective.[15]

They are descendants of Koreans who migrated to China primarily between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries and hold Chinese nationality. Chaoxianzu refers only to the descendants of the Joseon ethnic group who legally hold Chinese nationality.[16] South Korea calls them compatriots with Chinese nationality (Korean: 중국국적동포; Chinese: 中国国籍同胞).[17][18]

## Terminology

[edit]

The Chinese Communist Party had begun to include Koreans in official documents in 1928, however they had various terms to refer to them, such as: Gaoliren (高丽人; 'Goryeo people'), Hanren (韩人; 'Han people'), and Chaoxianren (朝鲜人; 'Joseon people'). These terms are today used to mean Koreans regardless of nationality, though are sometimes used interchangeably or erroneously by those unaware of their distinction.[19] The word "Chaoxianzu" became an official name for ethnic Joseon minorities with Chinese nationality in 1954,[20] when the Chinese government decided to place all ethnic minorities within China under its control and manage them as ethnicities. In August 1948, the Chinese Communist Party committee of China's Liaoning region stipulated that all Koreans residing in Liaoning and other northeastern provinces holding household registration were Chinese people, and those temporarily residing without household registration were Korean (Joseon) expatriates, clarifying the distinction between Chaoxianzu and Korean (Joseon) expatriates.[21]

## History and population

[edit]

Main article: Koreans in China § History

Chaoxianzu's presence in China began intensively in the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. As of 2021, the Chinese government officially recognized a population of around in china 1.7 million Chaoxianzu. It is important to differentiate between Chaoxianzu and South Koreans who might have acquired Chinese nationality, which together may sum up to approximately 2.11 million in 2023, according to the Overseas Koreans Agency of South Korea.[6]

Their total population of Chaoxianzu is 1,702,479 according to the 2021 Chinese government census.[22] High levels of emigration to South Korea for better economic and financial opportunities have contributed to a decrease in their numbers in China. Conversely, it is estimated that 42% (Approximately 708,000) of this Korean Chinese population now resides in Korea, maintaining their Chinese nationality. They are called Jaehan Joseonjok (재한조선족) or Zaihan Chaoxianzu (在韩朝鲜族/在韓朝鮮族) (Chaoxianzu in Korea). Based on the data from the 7th population census conducted in 2020, it was observed that the population of the Chaoxianzu (Korean ethnic group in China with Chinese nationality) in Jilin Province has fallen below 1 million, indicating a trend of dispersion across China. Out of 1.7 million individuals, around 700,000 are economically active in South Korea.[23] As of December 2019, the number of Chinese descendants residing in Korea amounted to 701,098, accounting for 27.8% of the total foreign population in Korea (2,524,656). This has made Chinese descendants the largest immigrant group in Korea.[24][25]

Based on the data from the "Chinese Ethnic Culture Resources," the Chaoxianzu population makes up about 0.14% of China's total population of 1.4 billion, ranking them 13th among the country's ethnic groups. The official Chinese government's census in 2010 reported their population as approximately 1.83 million.[26]

## Regions of residence

[edit]

The majority of the Korean Chinese population resides in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, which holds special significance as China's first ethnic minority autonomous prefecture. There is also the Changbai Korean Autonomous County and various other regions in China with a lower population density of Korean Chinese. Notably, around 700,000 Korean Chinese, which constitutes over 41.2% of their total population, live or have established residency in South Korea.[27]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Joseonjok and Goryeo Saram Ethnic Return Migrants in South Korea: Challenges of Co-Ethnic Hierarchization and Ethnonationalism". April 14, 2023.
2. ^ Cai, Xianghua; Zhang, Donghao; Jin, Yuanying (January 22, 2024). "Understanding the Push-Pull Factors for Joseonjok (Korean-Chinese) Students Studying in South Korea". Sustainability. 16 (1): 155. doi:10.3390/su16010155.
3. ^ "'Victimised for being Chinese': the hard lives of South Korea's Joseon-jok". South China Morning Post. May 10, 2019.
4. ^ "Joseonjok and their evolving roles as mediators in transnational enterprises in Qingdao, China – HaeRan Shin, 2017". doi:10.1177/0117196817695809.
5. ^ "国家统计 朝鲜族". www.cnstats.org. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
6. ^ a b 재외동포현황 거주자격별 중국국적동포. www.oka.go.kr. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
7. ^ According to reports from the majority of Chinese and South Korean media, the total population of the Korean ethnic group in china is 1.7 million. However, the South Korean government (2023) believes that the total population of Koreans in China is 2,109,727 people (including South Korean nationals who are students and professionals, 1.9 million people of Chaoxianzu (Korean ethnicity who has Chinese nationality), those of Korean descent who have naturalized as Chinese citizens along with their family and relatives, but are categorized as Han Chinese or other ethnicities within China's ethnic classification system). Among them, the population of Chaoxianzu and Korean Chinese with Chinese (PRC) citizenship (including 1.7 million people of Korean ethnicity) is 1,893,763 people (October 2023). Considering those individuals of Korean ethnicity who have already acquired South Korean citizenship, the figure of 2 million seems unlikely.
8. ^ "The Korean Ethnic Group", China.org.cn, 21 June 2005, retrieved 6 February 2009
9. ^ "朝鲜族_中华人民共和国驻印度尼西亚共和国大使馆". id.china-embassy.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
10. ^ "朝鲜族". www.zytzb.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
11. ^ "历史沿革". www.neac.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
12. ^ Jin, Wenlian (2020). Chaoxianzu's Traditions of Dress: An Exploration of Identity Within Contemporary Fashion Contexts (Thesis). Auckland University of Technology. hdl:10292/13127.
13. ^ Lee, Peace Bakwon (2002). A Performance Analysis of Chaoxianzu Oral Traditions in Yanbian, China (Thesis). The Ohio State University.
14. ^ 최재헌; 김숙진 (February 2016). 중국 조선족 디아스포라의 지리적 해석 : 중국 동북3성 조선족 이주를 중심으로 :중국 동북3성 조선족 이주를 중심으로. 대한지리학회지 (in Korean). 51 (1): 167–184\. ISSN 1225-6633.
15. ^ 그래서 조선족은 한국인인가 중국인인가?. BBC News 코리아 (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-11-29.
16. ^ "朝鲜族". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
17. ^ 통계로 본 국적취득자 절반이 중국 출신...[분석] 중국동포는 얼마나 될까?. EKW이코리아월드(동포세계신문) (in Korean). 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
18. ^ "현행 1942년 중국 만주에서 출생한 중국국적동포가 대한민국국적을 가질 수 있는 방법". glaw.scourt.go.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
19. ^ "为什么朝鲜族不能叫"鲜族" (Why Chaoxianzu cannot be called "Xianzu" )". minzu56.net. 2019-03-02. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
20. ^ "中国民族". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
21. ^ "边疆民族". www.historychina.net. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
22. ^ "华夏风范之少数民族：曾经的高丽人，如今的朝鲜族_中国_表演_华媒". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
23. ^ "中 조선족 170만 명…14억 인구의 0.12%". Naver News (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-10-21.
24. ^ ㈜플랜아이. 한국 체류 중국동포: 국가의 경계를 초월한 삶의 주인공. CSF 중국전문가포럼 (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-10-21.
25. ^ 재한조선족사회 30년 총정리[2부] 현안분석과 제언. EKW이코리아월드(동포세계신문) (in Korean). 2022-09-18. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
26. ^ "概况". www.neac.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
27. ^ "中 조선족 170만 명…14억 인구의 0.12%". Naver News (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-02-13.

## See also

[edit]

* Chinese people
* Korean Chinese (Chaoxianzu) in Korea (Joseonjok)
* Korean Chinese (Chaoxianzu) in Japan (Chosenjoku)

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1 An overseas department of France in the western Indian Ocean. See also: Hong Kong Diaspora

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