Koreans in India
Encyclopedia
There is a small community of Koreans in India, consisting largely of expatriate professionals from South Korea
and their families, as well as some missionaries and international student
s at Indian universities.
.
township, which has acquired the nickname of "Little Korea" as a result. However, the centre of gravity shifted away from Chennai as later communities in Delhi and Bangalore experienced rapid growth in the 2000s. More than half of all Koreans in India live in New Delhi
. Another fifth live in Mumbai, according to 2005 consular statistics. The community in Chennai has also continued to grow; by 2009, media estimates suggested that as many as 3,000 Koreans might live in the Chennai area alone, up from about 700 in 2006.
and Jawaharlal Nehru University
. At Delhi University, with roughly 90 students from South Korea, they have even formed a Korean Students Union as well as a traditional Korean drum
group. The Korean Association, with an office in the Hauz Khas Complex, also holds extracurricular Korean-language classes for Korean expatriate children. South Korean information technology students have also been attending courses at private institutes in the Pune area since 2002. There are also some North Korean students studying in New Delhi as well.
There is also an increasing number of South Korean primary and secondary students entering India on student visas; their parents send them unaccompanied to international boarding school
s there in order to take advantage of inexpensive English-medium education, at roughly half the price of comparable schools in the United States or United Kingdom. In addition to language proficiency and cost, the reputation of Indian mathematics education
, seen as even more rigorous than that in South Korea, let alone the US or UK, is another draw for parents. In 2006, there were 1,435 South Korean primary and secondary visa students in India, according to the Indian embassy in Seoul. For example, South Korean children comprised 16% of all students at the American Embassy School
in New Delhi, making them the largest nationality behind Americans, and 20% of the students at the Woodstock School
in Landour
, Uttarakhand
.
Unlike other foreigners, South Korean adult expatriates have enthusiastically joined in Hindi
classes; about half of all foreign students enrolled in advanced Hindi classes or certificate or degree courses are Koreans, and major employers such as Samsung have organised year-long Hindi courses for their employees.
began offering Korean-language services from 2005. Some Koreans also attend English-language Christian services, but where numbers permit, they have broken off to hold their own services in Korean.
Sarnath
, where Gautama Buddha
first taught the Dharma
, has long been a popular destination for travelling Korean Buddhists, as in the case of Hyecho
's 8th-century pilgrimage there.
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...
and their families, as well as some missionaries and international student
International student
According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national...
s at Indian universities.
Migration history
There was known to have been Korean migration to India as early as the 1950s; the Korean Association of India was founded in that decade in New Delhi by three South Koreans who had gone into exile after being released from prison in their home country. However, large-scale growth in the community did not begin until the 1990s. In 1997, the Korean community in India numbered just 1,229 people, according to South Korean government statistics; it grew somewhat by 42% to 1,745 people by 2003, but then in the next six years it nearly quintupled in size, making them the 25th-largest Korean community in the world, behind Koreans in Guatemala and ahead of Koreans in ParaguayKoreans in Paraguay
Koreans in Paraguay formed one of the earliest Korean diaspora communities in Latin America; however, they were always overshadowed by the larger Korean communities in neighbouring Brazil and Argentina, and since the late 1990s, their population has fallen significantly.-Migration history:The first...
.
Distribution
Chennai was the earliest hub of the Korean community in India, thanks to Hyundai's decision to open factories there in 1995. Koreans concentrated largely in the KilpaukKilpauk
Kilpauk is a small commercial township located in Chennai, the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The distance from Chennai's city center to Kilpauk is about 6 km. The region is situated off the Ponamallee High Road in the west. Adjacent suburbs of Kilpauk include Chetpet, Egmore,...
township, which has acquired the nickname of "Little Korea" as a result. However, the centre of gravity shifted away from Chennai as later communities in Delhi and Bangalore experienced rapid growth in the 2000s. More than half of all Koreans in India live in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. Another fifth live in Mumbai, according to 2005 consular statistics. The community in Chennai has also continued to grow; by 2009, media estimates suggested that as many as 3,000 Koreans might live in the Chennai area alone, up from about 700 in 2006.
Business and employment
Most corporate expatriates come for maximum three-to-five year stints before returning home. In New Delhi, major employers of South Korean expatriates include Samsung and LG Electronics. In the Chennai area, many work for Hyundai Motors and its suppliers. Some expatriates have also opened Korean restaurants, aimed largely at their co-ethnics rather than local Indians, in Chennai, New Delhi, and Bangalore, though not in Mumbai.Education
Roughly 200 Koreans are studying at local universities in New Delhi, mainly the University of DelhiUniversity of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
and Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
. At Delhi University, with roughly 90 students from South Korea, they have even formed a Korean Students Union as well as a traditional Korean drum
Korean drum
Korean drums play an important part in traditional Korean music, ranging from folk music to royal court music. There are a wide variety of shapes and sizes, for use both in accompanying other instruments and in special drumming performances....
group. The Korean Association, with an office in the Hauz Khas Complex, also holds extracurricular Korean-language classes for Korean expatriate children. South Korean information technology students have also been attending courses at private institutes in the Pune area since 2002. There are also some North Korean students studying in New Delhi as well.
There is also an increasing number of South Korean primary and secondary students entering India on student visas; their parents send them unaccompanied to international boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
s there in order to take advantage of inexpensive English-medium education, at roughly half the price of comparable schools in the United States or United Kingdom. In addition to language proficiency and cost, the reputation of Indian mathematics education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
, seen as even more rigorous than that in South Korea, let alone the US or UK, is another draw for parents. In 2006, there were 1,435 South Korean primary and secondary visa students in India, according to the Indian embassy in Seoul. For example, South Korean children comprised 16% of all students at the American Embassy School
American Embassy School
The American Embassy School, South Delhi, India, is an independent, coeducational day school which offers an educational program from prekindergarten through grade 12. The school was founded in 1952...
in New Delhi, making them the largest nationality behind Americans, and 20% of the students at the Woodstock School
Woodstock School
Woodstock School is a Christian, international, co-educational, residential school located in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India....
in Landour
Landour
Landour , a small cantonment town contiguous with Mussoorie, is about from the city of Dehradun in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India. The twin towns of Mussoorie and Landour, together, are a well-known British Raj-era hill station in northern India. Mussoorie-Landour was widely known as...
, Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
.
Unlike other foreigners, South Korean adult expatriates have enthusiastically joined in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
classes; about half of all foreign students enrolled in advanced Hindi classes or certificate or degree courses are Koreans, and major employers such as Samsung have organised year-long Hindi courses for their employees.
Media
The Korean Association of India publishes a bimonthly magazine in Korean, Namaste India.Religion
Koreans have formed a number of Christian churches in India, including two in New Delhi, two in Chennai, and one in Mumbai. Local Christian denominations also have Korean members, as in Pune, where the Church of North IndiaChurch of North India
The Church of North India , the dominant Protestant denomination in northern India, is a united church established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the main Protestant churches working in northern India...
began offering Korean-language services from 2005. Some Koreans also attend English-language Christian services, but where numbers permit, they have broken off to hold their own services in Korean.
Sarnath
Sarnath
Sarnath or Sārnātha is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India...
, where Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
first taught the Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, has long been a popular destination for travelling Korean Buddhists, as in the case of Hyecho
Hyecho
Hyecho , Sanskrit: Prajñāvikram; Hui Chao in Chinese Pinyin, was a Korean Buddhist monk from Silla, one the three Korean kingdoms of the period."You complain of the long way home to the west,and I sigh at the endless road to the east."...
's 8th-century pilgrimage there.
External links
- Koreans start hugging campaign in Varanasi, a January 2008 video report from Rediff.comRediff.comRediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....