Koreans
Total population	79 million (est.)
Regions with significant populations	South Korea: 48,422,644 (2005 est.) North Korea: 22,912,177 (2005 est.) United States: 2,057,546 China: 2,043,578 Japan: 660,214 Former Soviet Union: 486,857 Brazil: 170,000 Australia: 150,000 Canada: 110,000 Philippines: 50,000 Guatemala: 49,000 Argentina: 35,000 Germany: 34,000 Great Britain: 31,000
Language	Korean speakers: 71 million
Religion	Nonreligious, Christian, Buddhist, Confucian, indigenous, other
Related ethnic groups	Possibly: Japanese, Dongyi, Tungusic, Mongolian, Turkic

The Korean people are one of the main East Asian ethnic groups. Most Koreans live in the Korean Peninsula and speak the Korean language. Painting of King Sejong the Great of Joseon. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Lalla83200511201534172. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found in Sarnath, near Varanasi. ... Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: 儒學, Simplified Chinese: 儒学; pinyin: Rúxué [ ], literally The School of the Scholars; or, less accurately, 孔教 Kŏng jiào, The Religion of Confucius) is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. ... Han chauvinism (大汉族主义) or Hanism (汉本位) is a highly pejorative term which is used in the Peoples Republic of China to refer to policies and viewpoints which favor the Han Chinese majority ethnic group in China at the expense of the other minority ethnic groups. ... The term Tungusic peoples is used to describe a peoples speaking a Tungusic languages. ... The Turkic people are any of various peoples whose members speak languages in the Turkic family of languages. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ... The Korean language (, see below) is the official language of both North and South Korea. ...

North Koreans call Koreans Chosŏn-in (조선인; 朝鮮人) or Chosŏn saram (조선 사람; 朝鮮 사람), while South Koreans call Koreans Hangugin (한국인; 韓國人) or Hanguk saram (한국 사람; 韓國 사람). See Names of Korea, Korean romanization, Hangul and Hanja. North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia... Motto: (Broadly bring benefit to humanity, ) [citation needed] Anthem(s): Aegukga Capital Seoul Largest city Seoul Official language(s) Korean Government Republic  - President Roh Moo-hyun  - Prime Minister Han Myung-sook Establishment    - Gojoseon October 3, 2333 BC (legendary)   - Declaration of Republic March 1, 1919 (de jure)   - Liberation August 15, 1945... There are three names of Korea (referring to North Korea and South Korea together) in use today. ... Korean romanization means using letters of the Latin alphabet to write Korean language, which in Korea is written using Hangul, and sometimes Hanja. ... Hangul also refers to a word processing application widely used in Korea. ... It has been suggested that Sino-Korean be merged into this article or section. ...

Korea's population is highly homogeneous both ethnically and linguistically, with only small minorities, such as Chinese and Japanese, present in North and South Korea. Korea (Korean: (ì¡°ì„  or 한국, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia... Motto: (Broadly bring benefit to humanity, ) [citation needed] Anthem(s): Aegukga Capital Seoul Largest city Seoul Official language(s) Korean Government Republic  - President Roh Moo-hyun  - Prime Minister Han Myung-sook Establishment    - Gojoseon October 3, 2333 BC (legendary)   - Declaration of Republic March 1, 1919 (de jure)   - Liberation August 15, 1945...

Origins

See also: History of Korea

Koreans are generally believed to be of Tungusic-Altaic linguistic lineage [1], linking them with Mongolians and other Central Asians, as well as with the Japanese. Joseon dynasty court architecture This article is about the history of Korea, through the division of Korea before the Korean War. ... Tungusic languages (or Manchu-Tungus languages) are spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria. ... Altaic is a putative language family which would include 60 languages spoken by about 250 million people, mostly in and around central Asia. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ...

Studies of classical genetic polymorphisms generally place the Koreans in a tight cluster with the Mongols and Manchus to their west and north. However, 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. At least several thousand years before present, a few of these proto-Korean Haplogroup O2b1 patrilines appear to have crossed from Korea into the Japanese Archipelago, where they now comprise a very significant fraction of the male lineages extant among the Japanese and Ryukyuan populations. These apparently proto-Korean descendants in Japan, however, seem to have experienced extensive genetic admixture with the long-established Jomon Period populations of the Japanese Archipelago, which has resulted in modern Japanese populations' displaying a somewhat different genetic profile from the Koreans on the continent. In biology, polymorphism can be defined as the occurrence in the same habitat of two or more forms of a trait in such frequencies that the rarer cannot be maintained by recurrent mutation alone. ... The Manchu (Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: 满族; Traditional Chinese: 滿族; pinyin: Mǎnzú) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (todays Northeast China). ... In human genetics, Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups are haplogroups defined by differences in the DNA of the Y chromosome (called Y-DNA). ... In human genetics, Haplogroup O2 (P31, M268) is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. ... The Japanese Archipelago which forms the country of Japan extends from north to south along the eastern coast of the Eurasian Continent, the western shore of the Pacific Ocean. ... Ryukyuan people (Japanese: 琉球民族, of which Okinawans, Miyako people, and Yaeyama people are subgroups), are the indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, located between the islands of Kyushu and Taiwan. ... Characters for Jōmon (Cord marks). The Jomon period (Japanese: 縄文時代 Jōmon-jidai) is the time in Japanese pre-history from about 10,000 BCE to 300 BCE. Most scholars agree that by around 40,000 BCE glaciation had connected the Japanese islands with the Asian mainland. ...

Though they have interbred to some extent with other East Asian ethnic groups over the ages, Koreans have retained much of the physicalities of their Northern Mongoloid migration group, including tall stature, long bridged noses, higher cheekbones, and the Mongolian spot (monggo-banjeom), a genetic predisposition for a bluish birthmark on the lower body which remains until early childhood. Northern Mongoloids represent a division of the Eastern Eurasian branch of the Eurasiatic Supercluster, a genetic cluster of human populations comprising Caucasoids in the West and Mongoloids in the East, and includes populations indigenous to North Asia, the Americas and Greenland, as well as their descendants in other parts of... The term Mongolian Spot(s) or Mongolian Blue Spot refers to smooth brown or blue-gray birthmarks usually on the lower back and buttocks area of normal infants. ...

Culture

Main articles: Culture of Korea, contemporary culture of North Korea, and contemporary culture of South Korea

North Korea and South Korea share a common heritage, but the political division since 1945 has resulted in some divergence of modern culture. Joseon dynasty court architecture The traditional culture of Korea is shared by South Korea and North Korea, but there are regional differences. ... Since the establishment of the Han Dynasty colonies in the northern Korean Peninsula 2,000 years ago, Koreans have been under the cultural influence of China. ... The contemporary culture of South Korea derives from the traditional culture of Korea, but since the 1948 division of Korea, it has developed separately from North Koreas culture. ... The Korean peninsula, first divided along the 38th parallel, later along the demarcation line The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japans 35-year occupation of Korea. ...

Language

Main articles: Korean language and Hangul

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. The Korean language (, see below) is the official language of both North and South Korea. ... Hangul also refers to a word processing application widely used in Korea. ... The Korean language (, see below) is the official language of both North and South Korea. ... Hangul also refers to a word processing application widely used in Korea. ...

Koreans outside of Korea

Koreans in the United States

See also: Korean American and list of famous Korean Americans

More than 2 million ethnic Koreans live in the U.S., mostly in metropolitan areas. A handful are descended from laborers who migrated to Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A significant number are descended from orphans of the Korean War, in which the U.S. was a major ally of South Korea. Thousands were adopted by American (mostly white) families in the years following the war, when their plight was covered on television. The vast majority, however, immigrated or are descended from those who immigrated after the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 abolished national immigration quotas. A Korean American is a person of Korean ancestry who was either born in or is an immigrant to the United States. ... The following is a list of famous Korean Americans (and Korean Canadians) who have made significant contributions to North American culture or society artistically or scientifically, or have appeared in the news numerous times: Philip Ahn, actor Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, author, video/filmmaker Do Won Chang, president and co... This article is becoming very long. ... Orphans, by Thomas Kennington An orphan (from the Greek ορφανός) is a person (or animal), who has lost one or both parents, often through death. ... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung Il Kwon Douglas MacArthur Mark W. Clark Matthew Ridgway Kim Il-sung Choi Yong-kun Peng Dehuai Strength Note: All figures may vary according to source. ... A Korean adoptee or KAD is a person who was adopted from Korea through the international adoption of South Korean children as a child and raised in another country, often by adoptive parents of another race, ethnic background, and culture. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Immigration Act of 1965 (also known as the Hart-Celler Act) abolished the national-origin quotas that had been in place in the United States since the Immigration Act of 1924. ...

The largest Korean-American community is in Los Angeles, California; Los Angeles' Koreatown district is extensive and recognized by the city. Many smaller Korean enclaves exist in surrounding communities of Southern California, notably in Orange County. Another significant Korean enclave is found in New York City, which includes Manhattan Koreatown, although the main concentration are found in the borough of Queens. Nickname: City of Angels Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Area    - City 1,290. ... Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown Koreatown, also known as Wilshire Center, is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California. ... Southern California Downtown Los Angeles Skyline Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal or colloquially, the Southland, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southern-most quarter of the U.S. state of California. ... Official website: http://www. ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Koreatown, or K-town as it is colloquially known, is generally bordered by 31st and 36th Sts. ... Queens is geographically the largest of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States, and the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S. It is coterminous with Queens County in the State of New York and is located on western Long Island. ...

Other Korean enclaves can be found in the suburbs of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; Houston, Texas; Bergen County, New Jersey; Cook County, Illinois; Miami and Tampa, Florida. As many Korean Americans have prospered economically and dispersed to live in suburban areas, ethnic enclaves in the traditional sense do not exist in many areas, although Korean churches and Korean-oriented commercial districts serving the distributed population can often be found. States with the largest Korean populations are California, Florida, New York, Washington, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, and Virginia. Atlanta, Georgia is home to a very large and influential Korean commuinty which is growing rapidly. In Atlanta, especially in the area in and around Gwinnett County, there are numerous Korean grocery stores (such as H-mart and Assi), Korean restaurants, churches, and karaoke (norae-bang in Korean) bars. City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... Tacoma, with Mount Rainier in background You may be looking for Takoma or Tacoma class frigate. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Nickname: Space City Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Mayor Bill White Area    - City 1,558 km²  (601. ... Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. ... Cook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... Tampas skyline For alternate meanings, see Tampa (disambiguation) Tampa is a city located in Hillsborough County on the west coast of Florida. ... Housing subdivision near Union, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. ... It has been suggested that Califas be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 160 miles (255 km)  - Length 280 miles (455 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Gwinnett County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. ...

Koreans in the former Soviet Union

See also: Koryo-saram, Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union, and population transfer in the Soviet Union

Approximately 450,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the former USSR, primarily in the newly independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in southern Russia (around Volgograd), the Caucasus, and southern Ukraine. These communities can be traced back to the Koreans who were living in the Russian Far East during the late 19th century. There is also a separate ethnic Korean community in the Russian island of Sakhalin, where Koreans relocated by Japan as labourers were stranded after the island became Soviet territory after World War II. Koryo-saram (Russian: Корё сарам; Korean: 고려사람) is the name which ethnic Koreans in the Post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. ... The total deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union, over 172,000 persons, in September-October 1937 from the border regions of the Russian Far East was part of the systematic Stalins policy of population transfer in the Soviet Union. ... Not by Their Own Will. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Volgograd (Russian: ), formerly called Tsaritsyn (Russian: ) (1598–1925) and Stalingrad (Russian: ) (1925–1961) is a city in and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Far Eastern Federal District (highlighted in red) Russian Far East (Russian: Д́альний Вост́ок Росс́ии; English transliteration: Dalny Vostok Rossii) is an informal term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i. ... Location of Sakhalin in the Western Pacific Sakhalin, GOST transliteration Sahalin, (Russian: , Korean: Traditional Chinese: 庫頁島; Simplified Chinese: 库页岛; pinyin: kùyèdǎo Japanese: 樺太 romaji: karafuto), also Saghalien, is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50 and 54° 24 N. It is part of the Russian... This article is becoming very long. ...

Koreans in China

See also: Ethnic Koreans in China

Ethnic Koreans in China form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. It is considered one of the "major minorities". This article talks about the Korean people (朝鲜族/조선족) in China. ...

There are about 2 million ethnic Koreans in China, and they mostly occupy northeastern China, especially in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, where they numbered 854,000 in 1997. Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in Jilin province, in the northeastern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Jilin (Chinese: 吉林; pinyin: Jílín; Wade-Giles: Chi-lin; Postal System Pinyin: Kirin), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ...

Koreans in Japan

See also: Zainichi Korean and ethnic issues in Japan

Koreans in Japan are called Zainichi Chōsenjin (在日朝鮮人, for North Koreans) or Zainichi Kankokujin (在日韓国人, for South Koreans) in Japanese and Jaeil Gyopo (재일교포; 在日僑胞) in Korean. There are 529,000 Koreans in Japan, amounting to 40.4% of the non-Japanese population of the country. Three-quarters of the Koreans living in Japan are Japanese-born, and most are legal aliens. Zainichi Koreans (Japanese: 在日朝鮮人 Zainichi Chōsenjin; Korean: 재일조선인 Jaeil Joseonin) are the permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan. ... Amongst the major industrialized countries, Japan is one of the most ethnically homogenous. ... Zainichi Koreans (Japanese: 在日朝鮮人 Zainichi Chōsenjin; Korean: 재일조선인 Jaeil Joseonin) are the permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan. ... The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article Japan#Demographics. ... In law, an alien is a person who is not a native or naturalized citizen of the land where they are found. ...

Koreans in other countries

Large Koreatowns can also be found in Australia and Canada. The largest Korean community in Europe is in Germany, but the largest European Koreatown is in London. There are also Koreatowns in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Guatemala, and Mexico. Over the last decades, an influx of Korean migration to the Philippines has risen due to the high cost of living in South Korea. Being the closest tropical country with a relatively low cost of living, the Philippine islands also serve as one of the most favorable tourist destinations for Korean travelers with nearly half a million Koreans visiting the country every year and roughly 50,000 Korean expatriates living there permanently. Koreatown (Hangul: 코리아타운) is a term to describe the Korean ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...

See also

• Demographics of North Korea
• Demographics of South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

The Korean Peninsula was first populated by Tungusic people who migrated from the northwestern regions of Asia. ... // Population 48,846,823 (July 2006 est. ... This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ...

External links

• Korean Food Glossary
• Korean American Museum
• Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan)
• Koryo Saram – The Koreans of Central Asia