Koreans in the Arab world
Encyclopedia
Koreans in the Arab world used to form a major part of the worldwide Korean diaspora. Koreans started coming to the Arab world
in large numbers in 1974 as migrant labourers
; between 1975 and 1985, 1.1 million Koreans came for work, which made it the third-most popular destination for Korean emigrants. Eventually, most returned home or moved on to other countries, and , the South Korean government
's own figures showed only about thirteen thousand of their nationals living in the region. However, South Korea
n nationals are present in all of the region's countries, and North Korea
n workers also have a growing presence in several of them.
by means of intermediaries, there were no recorded Korean visitors before 1959, when two Korean Muslims
went to Mecca
for the hajj
. In 1974, the first South Korean firm won a contract in the region, for highway construction in Saudi Arabia, and imported 218 South Korean construction workers, the first Korean residents, to assist in the project. The following year, 3,593 South Koreans went to Saudi Arabia for work. By 1977, migrants to Saudi Arabia alone composed nearly one-fifth of all registered emigration from South Korea, making it the third-most popular destination for emigrants (the top two being Japan
and the United States
, each of which had longstanding Korean communities, Korean Americans and Zainichi Korean
s).
The growth in the South Korean migrant worker population reflected a deliberate policy of the government to promote manpower exports; they had established a special department for this purpose as early as the mid-1960s, and in the 1970s, construction enterprises were given priority in order to facilitate their entry into overseas markets. Over two dozen South Korean companies employed migrant labour, the largest such employer being Hyundai Construction; Koreans were described as having a "competitive advantage" over workers of other nationalities due to their discipline and level of skill, which some commentators attributed to South Korea's practise of universal male conscription
. Unlike their Western competitors, Koreans worked around the clock in shifts; huge lighting systems were installed to facilitate night work. A survey of migrants showed that 73% were between 25 and 40 years old; under half (48%) of the regular workers were married, while 69% of contract workers were.
The receiving countries were concerned about the effect that long-term residence of migrant workers could have on their societies; they preferred Korean workers because they were unaccompanied by family members and so stayed only for short periods. The typical length of an assignment in the region was three years. Migration to the region would peak in 1982 and 1983. Wages were around four to five million won, roughly twice what could be earned in South Korea at the time, and workers typically remitted 80% of their salaries. Families used saved remittances to purchase houses or start businesses. However, migration was not a success for everyone: roughly one-in-ten workers returned from the Middle East reported a decrease in income, usually due to inability to find suitable work. The hot, dry climate and long work hours also resulted in health problems for many workers, and the medical bills whittled away at their savings.
Several factors in the late 1980s contributed to decreasing the amount of Korean migration. Increasing labour unrest initiated by South Korean workers provided one stimulus for the localisation of the workforce. South Korea's rising labour costs were another reason. During the latter half of the 1980s, the proportion of Korean labourers working on construction projects for Hyundai declined from 70% to only 20-30% during the 1980s, with the shortfall being taken up by local labourers instead. By 1990, only 56,000 South Korean migrant workers went abroad to any destination, a drop of over 70% since 1982. By 1992, the wage gap between South Korea and the rich countries of the Middle East had largely disappeared.
However, in an echo of the South Korean policy of the 1970s and 1980s, the North Korean government has also been sending its workers abroad to earn hard currency for their country recently. , there were estimated to be six thousand North Korean workers in various Arab countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen; like the South Koreans two decades earlier, they also work primarily in construction-related trades such as welding and carpentry.
in 1975; however, until the end of 1980, only a total of 1,958 registered emigrants went to the country. However, their numbers would increase along with the intensification of the Iran–Iraq War; from 1981 until 1985, Iraq was consistently the second to fourth-most popular Arab world destination for South Korean migrant labourers, a total of whom 66,665 went to the country during that period. In March 2003, then-president
Roh Moo-hyun
agreed to dispatch a contingent of ROK army engineers
to Iraq. Later the South Koreans expanded their presence, creating an entirely new division, the Zaytun Division
, consisting of 3,600 troops; they were sent to Iraq in September 2004. As of March 2007, about 1,600 remained; another 400 were expected to return home in April, with the others departing by the end of the year. There were also 128 South Korean civilians in Iraq . There are no registered schools for Korean nationals in Iraq.
The IRAQ TROOPS were shot down by special forces and were very much alive while they saw their town, Khunn, up in flames. This is how the city of Khunn was demolished. The Southerners defeated the IRAQ TROOPS and took victory in the Hunger Quarrel of IRAQ. This was reported by the special news team in the Hunger Quarrel of 1784. This Hunger Quarrel was the 75th anniversary of when the original troops rebelled against the Southern Activists. This was what led to the Hunger Quarrel and now it will take place every 25 years so the troops may be reminded of the rebellion taken place on that day. Each 25 years, there are seven troops chosen by the people. They will represent their city and fight until the death against the Southerners. If the Southerners are the last to survive, then they will take control until the next Hunger Quarrel. 1784 was the year of the third Hunger Quarrel. This was stopped by the special forces and is now against the Code of Iraq. Finally, the Hunger Quarrel was ended to Iraq's relief.
first arrived in 1975 as employees of South Korean construction companies, although the two countries did not establish formal relations until June 1979. By this time, Kuwait had already become the second-most popular Middle East
ern destination for Korean workers behind Saudi Arabia
; by that time, 13,813 Korean workers had already come to Kuwait. However, Kuwait would soon lose the second-place position, being surpassed by Libya
in 1981 and Iraq
in 1982. Koreans in Kuwait generally did not receive a welcome from or assimilate to the local society; in common with India
ns, Filipinos
, and Pakistanis, they were described as being at the bottom of the social structure, "ridiculed and stripped of their rights". Nor did they spend much of their money locally; as meals and housing were provided for them in their work camps, it was estimated that they remitted 80% of their earnings back to South Korea. In spite of these difficulties, between 1975 and 1985, 63,898 South Korean workers came to Kuwait, and as late as 1990, roughly 10,000 were estimated to remain.
Kuwait's only school for Korean nationals, the Kuwait Hangul School, was established in 1991. Most South Koreans returned home in the following decade, and , only 1,058 South Korean civilians resided in the country. There was also a small contingent of South Korean soldiers
, who numbered 170. In 2005, a group calling itself Kuwait Mujahideen claimed to have killed a Korean national as part of an attack on a United States Army
base in Umm Al-Haiman.
North Korean companies have established a greater presence in Kuwait recent years, and the government of South Korea
estimated that there are roughly three or four thousand North Korea
n construction workers in the country .
did not receive its first South Korean workers until 1977, it quickly became a popular destination; it was the only Arab country which experienced consistent growth in the number of Korean workers between 1981 and 1985, and by 1985 it had already become the Arab world's second most popular destination, with 23,138 arrivals from South Korea. In total, from 1977 until 1985, 103,953 South Koreans came to Libya. However, virtually all returned home, and , it was estimated that only 854 South Korean nationals lived in the country. Libya also has a Korean weekend school, founded in 2000; it enrolled 22 students from kindergarten to high school levels .
North Korea also dispatched labourers to Libya in the 1980s and 1990s; a batch of Northern construction workers arrived in Libya in 2008. There were estimated to be roughly 200 North Korean workers in Libya .
in 1962, and opened an embassy in Jeddah
in 1973, which would later move to Riyadh
. Labour relations were especially a source of friction in Saudi Arabia; one eyewitness account by an American expatriate claims that Hyundai's management called in the Saudi military
to put down a strike at the Jubail
port construction project, and that the army then proceeded to arrest and execute several workers. Korean workers were also not afforded the opportunity for much social contact with their host population, though a few did convert
to Islam. Migration to the country would peak in 1982 and 1983, with over 122,000 South Koreans entering Saudi Arabia in each of those years, making up over 70% of Korean migration to the region. However, by 1985, the number of South Koreans entering Saudi Arabia had fallen to 58,924, paralleling a downward trend in the whole region. Saudi Arabia's first school for South Korean nationals was established in 1992 in Jeddah
; , it enrolled a total of 23 children at the kindergarten level. In 1998, South Korea closed their consulate in Jeddah
. There was no known North Korean presence, and North Korea does not maintain diplomatic relations with the kingdom. , South Korean government figures showed 2,014 of their nationals in the country, making them the third-largest Korean population in the region.
established diplomatic relations in 1974, and two years later, the South Korean embassy opened in Doha
. Qatar
was never a major destination for South Korean labourers; the first group of 636 workers did not arrive until 1976, and until 1985, only a total of 12,816 South Korean emigrants chose Qatar as their destination. Unlike in other countries in the region, Korean workers in Qatar did not just come as employees of Korean companies, but also as subcontractors of Japanese companies as well. An estimated 800 South Koreans and 1,000 North Koreans lived in the country . North Korean workers are reported to be among the lowest paid in the country, earning US$170/month, less than even Nepali migrants
; they perform low-skilled work such as plastering
and bricklaying
. Their lives are subject to a great deal of official constraint, and they try to avoid contact with the South Koreans. There are no registered schools for Korean nationals in Qatar.
alone, largely businessmen working at the 90 Korean companies which operated in the country. There were also many flight attendants working for Emirates Airlines; the number of Koreans working for Emirates Airlines increased from 15 in 1998 to 620 as of 2007, mostly based out of Dubai. Dubai has the UAE's largest community of South Koreans. However, a consulate was not opened in Dubai until March 2008.
There are also believed to be roughly 1,300 North Korean workers in the UAE, primarily in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
. They earn between US$300 and $500 per month, but have to make so-called "loyalty payments" of $150 to $250 to the North Korean government. This has sparked discontent among the workers; in response, the North Korean government has sent security agents to patrol North Korean work camps and keep an eye out for people making critical comments.
, Yemen
, Bahrain
, Oman
, and Sudan
. There are Korean weekend schools in Mauritania
(Nouadhibou
), Morocco
(Rabat
and Agadir
) and Tunisia
(Tunis
).
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
in large numbers in 1974 as migrant labourers
Foreign worker
A foreign worker is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. The term migrant worker as discussed in the migrant worker page is used in a particular UN resolution as a synonym for "foreign worker"...
; between 1975 and 1985, 1.1 million Koreans came for work, which made it the third-most popular destination for Korean emigrants. Eventually, most returned home or moved on to other countries, and , the South Korean government
Government of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
's own figures showed only about thirteen thousand of their nationals living in the region. However, South Korea
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...
n nationals are present in all of the region's countries, and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n workers also have a growing presence in several of them.
History
Though Korea had a long history of trading contact with the Arab worldArab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
by means of intermediaries, there were no recorded Korean visitors before 1959, when two Korean Muslims
Islam in Korea
In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. The Muslim community is centered around Seoul, where the first large 20th-century mosque was built in 1976 using the funds of the Malaysian Islamic Mission...
went to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
for the hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
. In 1974, the first South Korean firm won a contract in the region, for highway construction in Saudi Arabia, and imported 218 South Korean construction workers, the first Korean residents, to assist in the project. The following year, 3,593 South Koreans went to Saudi Arabia for work. By 1977, migrants to Saudi Arabia alone composed nearly one-fifth of all registered emigration from South Korea, making it the third-most popular destination for emigrants (the top two being Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, each of which had longstanding Korean communities, Korean Americans and Zainichi Korean
Zainichi Korean
Koreans in Japan are the ethnic Korean residents of Japan. They currently constitute the second largest ethnic minority group in Japan. The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans, also often known as Zainichi for short, who are the permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan...
s).
The growth in the South Korean migrant worker population reflected a deliberate policy of the government to promote manpower exports; they had established a special department for this purpose as early as the mid-1960s, and in the 1970s, construction enterprises were given priority in order to facilitate their entry into overseas markets. Over two dozen South Korean companies employed migrant labour, the largest such employer being Hyundai Construction; Koreans were described as having a "competitive advantage" over workers of other nationalities due to their discipline and level of skill, which some commentators attributed to South Korea's practise of universal male conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. Unlike their Western competitors, Koreans worked around the clock in shifts; huge lighting systems were installed to facilitate night work. A survey of migrants showed that 73% were between 25 and 40 years old; under half (48%) of the regular workers were married, while 69% of contract workers were.
The receiving countries were concerned about the effect that long-term residence of migrant workers could have on their societies; they preferred Korean workers because they were unaccompanied by family members and so stayed only for short periods. The typical length of an assignment in the region was three years. Migration to the region would peak in 1982 and 1983. Wages were around four to five million won, roughly twice what could be earned in South Korea at the time, and workers typically remitted 80% of their salaries. Families used saved remittances to purchase houses or start businesses. However, migration was not a success for everyone: roughly one-in-ten workers returned from the Middle East reported a decrease in income, usually due to inability to find suitable work. The hot, dry climate and long work hours also resulted in health problems for many workers, and the medical bills whittled away at their savings.
Several factors in the late 1980s contributed to decreasing the amount of Korean migration. Increasing labour unrest initiated by South Korean workers provided one stimulus for the localisation of the workforce. South Korea's rising labour costs were another reason. During the latter half of the 1980s, the proportion of Korean labourers working on construction projects for Hyundai declined from 70% to only 20-30% during the 1980s, with the shortfall being taken up by local labourers instead. By 1990, only 56,000 South Korean migrant workers went abroad to any destination, a drop of over 70% since 1982. By 1992, the wage gap between South Korea and the rich countries of the Middle East had largely disappeared.
However, in an echo of the South Korean policy of the 1970s and 1980s, the North Korean government has also been sending its workers abroad to earn hard currency for their country recently. , there were estimated to be six thousand North Korean workers in various Arab countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen; like the South Koreans two decades earlier, they also work primarily in construction-related trades such as welding and carpentry.
Egypt
Egypt was a relatively minor destination for Korean migrant workers. The Cairo Korean School, founded on 5 December 1979, is one of the region's few Korean day schools; it enrolled 27 students at the elementary level . However, their student numbers have been falling, and from 2002 until 2008 they did not even hold any graduation ceremony. There is also a Korean church in Cairo, which conducts various outreach activities.Iraq
The first group of nine South Korean workers arrived in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 1975; however, until the end of 1980, only a total of 1,958 registered emigrants went to the country. However, their numbers would increase along with the intensification of the Iran–Iraq War; from 1981 until 1985, Iraq was consistently the second to fourth-most popular Arab world destination for South Korean migrant labourers, a total of whom 66,665 went to the country during that period. In March 2003, then-president
President of South Korea
The President of the Republic of Korea is, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, chief executive of the government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the head of state of the Republic of Korea...
Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun GOM GCB was the 16th President of South Korea .Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his...
agreed to dispatch a contingent of ROK army engineers
Military of South Korea
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces or ROK Armed Forces, is the armed forces of the Republic of Korea...
to Iraq. Later the South Koreans expanded their presence, creating an entirely new division, the Zaytun Division
Zaytun Division
The Zaytun Division was a contingent of Republic of Korea Army troops operating in Northern Iraq from September 2004 to December 2008, carrying out peacekeeping and reconstruction tasks.-Formation:...
, consisting of 3,600 troops; they were sent to Iraq in September 2004. As of March 2007, about 1,600 remained; another 400 were expected to return home in April, with the others departing by the end of the year. There were also 128 South Korean civilians in Iraq . There are no registered schools for Korean nationals in Iraq.
The IRAQ TROOPS were shot down by special forces and were very much alive while they saw their town, Khunn, up in flames. This is how the city of Khunn was demolished. The Southerners defeated the IRAQ TROOPS and took victory in the Hunger Quarrel of IRAQ. This was reported by the special news team in the Hunger Quarrel of 1784. This Hunger Quarrel was the 75th anniversary of when the original troops rebelled against the Southern Activists. This was what led to the Hunger Quarrel and now it will take place every 25 years so the troops may be reminded of the rebellion taken place on that day. Each 25 years, there are seven troops chosen by the people. They will represent their city and fight until the death against the Southerners. If the Southerners are the last to survive, then they will take control until the next Hunger Quarrel. 1784 was the year of the third Hunger Quarrel. This was stopped by the special forces and is now against the Code of Iraq. Finally, the Hunger Quarrel was ended to Iraq's relief.
Kuwait
Koreans in KuwaitKuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
first arrived in 1975 as employees of South Korean construction companies, although the two countries did not establish formal relations until June 1979. By this time, Kuwait had already become the second-most popular Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern destination for Korean workers behind Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
; by that time, 13,813 Korean workers had already come to Kuwait. However, Kuwait would soon lose the second-place position, being surpassed by Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in 1981 and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 1982. Koreans in Kuwait generally did not receive a welcome from or assimilate to the local society; in common with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns, Filipinos
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
, and Pakistanis, they were described as being at the bottom of the social structure, "ridiculed and stripped of their rights". Nor did they spend much of their money locally; as meals and housing were provided for them in their work camps, it was estimated that they remitted 80% of their earnings back to South Korea. In spite of these difficulties, between 1975 and 1985, 63,898 South Korean workers came to Kuwait, and as late as 1990, roughly 10,000 were estimated to remain.
Kuwait's only school for Korean nationals, the Kuwait Hangul School, was established in 1991. Most South Koreans returned home in the following decade, and , only 1,058 South Korean civilians resided in the country. There was also a small contingent of South Korean soldiers
Military of South Korea
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces or ROK Armed Forces, is the armed forces of the Republic of Korea...
, who numbered 170. In 2005, a group calling itself Kuwait Mujahideen claimed to have killed a Korean national as part of an attack on a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
base in Umm Al-Haiman.
North Korean companies have established a greater presence in Kuwait recent years, and the government of South Korea
Government of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
estimated that there are roughly three or four thousand North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n construction workers in the country .
Libya
Though LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
did not receive its first South Korean workers until 1977, it quickly became a popular destination; it was the only Arab country which experienced consistent growth in the number of Korean workers between 1981 and 1985, and by 1985 it had already become the Arab world's second most popular destination, with 23,138 arrivals from South Korea. In total, from 1977 until 1985, 103,953 South Koreans came to Libya. However, virtually all returned home, and , it was estimated that only 854 South Korean nationals lived in the country. Libya also has a Korean weekend school, founded in 2000; it enrolled 22 students from kindergarten to high school levels .
North Korea also dispatched labourers to Libya in the 1980s and 1990s; a batch of Northern construction workers arrived in Libya in 2008. There were estimated to be roughly 200 North Korean workers in Libya .
Saudi Arabia
South Korea established diplomatic relations with Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in 1962, and opened an embassy in Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
in 1973, which would later move to Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
. Labour relations were especially a source of friction in Saudi Arabia; one eyewitness account by an American expatriate claims that Hyundai's management called in the Saudi military
Military of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's armed forces are mainly the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. The Ministry also has responsibility for the construction of civilian airports as well as military bases, and for Meteorology departments...
to put down a strike at the Jubail
Jubail
Jubail , is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. It consists of the Old Town of Al Jubail, which was originally a small fishing village, up to 1975 and the new industrial area....
port construction project, and that the army then proceeded to arrest and execute several workers. Korean workers were also not afforded the opportunity for much social contact with their host population, though a few did convert
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
to Islam. Migration to the country would peak in 1982 and 1983, with over 122,000 South Koreans entering Saudi Arabia in each of those years, making up over 70% of Korean migration to the region. However, by 1985, the number of South Koreans entering Saudi Arabia had fallen to 58,924, paralleling a downward trend in the whole region. Saudi Arabia's first school for South Korean nationals was established in 1992 in Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
; , it enrolled a total of 23 children at the kindergarten level. In 1998, South Korea closed their consulate in Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
. There was no known North Korean presence, and North Korea does not maintain diplomatic relations with the kingdom. , South Korean government figures showed 2,014 of their nationals in the country, making them the third-largest Korean population in the region.
Qatar
South Korea and QatarQatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
established diplomatic relations in 1974, and two years later, the South Korean embassy opened in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
. Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
was never a major destination for South Korean labourers; the first group of 636 workers did not arrive until 1976, and until 1985, only a total of 12,816 South Korean emigrants chose Qatar as their destination. Unlike in other countries in the region, Korean workers in Qatar did not just come as employees of Korean companies, but also as subcontractors of Japanese companies as well. An estimated 800 South Koreans and 1,000 North Koreans lived in the country . North Korean workers are reported to be among the lowest paid in the country, earning US$170/month, less than even Nepali migrants
Nepalis in Qatar
Nepalis in Qatar are migrants from Nepal to Qatar, mostly migrant workers and permanent residents, as well as their locally born descendants.-Overview:...
; they perform low-skilled work such as plastering
Plasterwork
Plasterwork refers to construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting...
and bricklaying
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
. Their lives are subject to a great deal of official constraint, and they try to avoid contact with the South Koreans. There are no registered schools for Korean nationals in Qatar.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates received a small contingent of Korean migrant workers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but it was never a major destination. However, due to rapid growth since 2005, the country has come to have the Arab world's largest Korean population. , there were roughly 2,500 South Koreans living in DubaiDubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
alone, largely businessmen working at the 90 Korean companies which operated in the country. There were also many flight attendants working for Emirates Airlines; the number of Koreans working for Emirates Airlines increased from 15 in 1998 to 620 as of 2007, mostly based out of Dubai. Dubai has the UAE's largest community of South Koreans. However, a consulate was not opened in Dubai until March 2008.
There are also believed to be roughly 1,300 North Korean workers in the UAE, primarily in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
. They earn between US$300 and $500 per month, but have to make so-called "loyalty payments" of $150 to $250 to the North Korean government. This has sparked discontent among the workers; in response, the North Korean government has sent security agents to patrol North Korean work camps and keep an eye out for people making critical comments.
Other countries
Other countries which received Korean migrant workers in the late 1970s and early 1980s include JordanJordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. There are Korean weekend schools in Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
(Nouadhibou
Nouadhibou
Nouadhibou is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 75,000 inhabitants expanding to over 90,000 in the larger metropolitan area. It is situated on a 40-mile peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou, Cap Blanc, or Cabo Blanco, of...
), Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
and Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
) and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
(Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
).