Koreans in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Koreans in the United Kingdom include Korea
n-born migrants to the United Kingdom
and their British-born descendants.
's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
showed 45,295 South Korean citizens (regardless of birthplace) registered as living in the U.K.All South Korean citizens intending to reside overseas for more than 90 days are required by law to register with the South Korean consulate nearest their overseas residence. Failure to register can have negative consequences for taxes and real estate purchases, and overseas-born children who are not registered may have difficulty enrolling in South Korean schools. See This means that Koreans in the United Kingdom are the 12th-largest group of overseas Koreans, behind Korean Brazilian
s and ahead of Koreans in Indonesia
. According to the Overseas Korean Foundation, between 1999 and 2005, the U.K.'s Korean population nearly quadrupled from 10,836, surpassing the older community of Koreans in Germany
to become the largest in western Europe
. Most come from South Korea; however, the number of North Korean defectors
is also rising. North Koreans form the ninth-largest national group of asylum seekers, with a total of 850 applicants, including 245 applications in the first seven months of the year alone, thirteen times the number in all of 2007. The U.K. grants asylum only to defectors who come directly from North Korea; in particular, 180 asylum seekers have had their applications rejected after police checks revealed that they had previously resided in South Korea
(and thus had residency rights and citizenship
there, in accordance with the South Korean constitution
).
; the highest concentration can be found in the town of New Malden
, where estimates of the Korean population range from 8,000 to as high as 20,000 people. Factors which may have attracted them to New Malden include cheap housing, the previous presence of a Japanese community
in the area, and the "bandwagon effect
" of a few prominent Korean businesses in the area early on. In the 1990s, the area came to prominence as a hub for the Korean community; the high concentration of Koreans there meant that adult immigrants, especially women, tend not to speak much English, even after years of residence in the United Kingdom. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup
, Koreans from all over the country flocked to the town to gather with their co-ethnics and show support for the Korea Republic national football team
.
Other areas with a Korean presence include Golders Green
, where Korean and Japanese immigrants have been visibly replacing the older, diminishing Jewish community.
.
Korean business owners' unfamiliarity with commercial practices in the U.K., along with language barriers, have sometimes led them into conflict with governmental regulators; the Health and Safety Executive noted that Korean barbecue
restaurants are especially problematic in this regard, as they often imported small, uncertified table-top gas cookers directly from South Korea for self-installation, rather than hiring a registered gas engineer to install and inspect them, and took no corrective action when issued with warnings. The language barrier is compounded by the lack of translators; one Korean translator estimated that she had only four or five competitors in the entire country.
s, Protestant churches have played an important social and cultural role in the Korean immigrant community in the U.K.; they hold religious functions solely in Korean, a practice which contrasts sharply with that in Korean American churches, which often conduct youth group services and activities in English language
; this has aided in preventing the attrition
of Korean language
abilities among locally-born Korean youth. Denominations with Korean-language services in New Malden include the Church of England
and the Methodist Church.
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...
n-born migrants to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and their British-born descendants.
Population size
The 2001 UK Census recorded 12,310 British residents born in South Korea. The 2009 report of 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...
's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in charge of diplomacy for South Korea, as well as handling external trade and matters related to overseas Korean nationals. It was established on 17 July 1948. Until 1998, the ministry was known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; its jurisdiction over...
showed 45,295 South Korean citizens (regardless of birthplace) registered as living in the U.K.All South Korean citizens intending to reside overseas for more than 90 days are required by law to register with the South Korean consulate nearest their overseas residence. Failure to register can have negative consequences for taxes and real estate purchases, and overseas-born children who are not registered may have difficulty enrolling in South Korean schools. See This means that Koreans in the United Kingdom are the 12th-largest group of overseas Koreans, behind Korean Brazilian
Korean Brazilian
Korean Brazilian is a Brazilian person of full, partial, or predominantly Korean ancestry, or a Korean-born person residing in Brazil. The Korean population in Brazil, the largest in Latin America, is about 50,000.-History:...
s and ahead of Koreans in Indonesia
Koreans in Indonesia
Koreans in Indonesia numbered 31,760 individuals , making them the 13th-largest population of overseas Koreans, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; some local population estimates put their numbers even higher, at as many as 50,000 people.-Migration history :One of the...
. According to the Overseas Korean Foundation, between 1999 and 2005, the U.K.'s Korean population nearly quadrupled from 10,836, surpassing the older community of Koreans in Germany
Koreans in Germany
Koreans in Germany numbered 31,248 individuals , according to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Though they are now only the 14th-largest Korean diaspora community worldwide, they remain the second-largest in Western Europe, behind the rapidly-growing community...
to become the largest in western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. Most come from South Korea; however, the number of North Korean defectors
North Korean defectors
A number of individuals have defected from North Korea. Since the division of Korea after World War II and the end of the Korean War , many people have defected from North Korea, mainly for political, ideological, religious and economic reasons...
is also rising. North Koreans form the ninth-largest national group of asylum seekers, with a total of 850 applicants, including 245 applications in the first seven months of the year alone, thirteen times the number in all of 2007. The U.K. grants asylum only to defectors who come directly from North Korea; in particular, 180 asylum seekers have had their applications rejected after police checks revealed that they had previously resided in 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...
(and thus had residency rights and citizenship
South Korean nationality law
South Korean nationality law defines who is a South Korean citizen, as well as the procedures by which one may be naturalized into South Korean citizenship or renounce it.-Basic definition:South Korean nationality can be acquired in a number of ways:...
there, in accordance with the South Korean constitution
Constitution of the Republic of Korea
The Constitution of the Republic of Korea is its basic law. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised in 1987.- History :...
).
Population distribution
Large numbers of Koreans began to settle in the U.K. in the 1980s, mostly near LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; the highest concentration can be found in the town of New Malden
New Malden
New Malden is a town and shopping centre in the south-western London suburbs, mostly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and partly in the London Borough of Merton, and is situated from Charing Cross...
, where estimates of the Korean population range from 8,000 to as high as 20,000 people. Factors which may have attracted them to New Malden include cheap housing, the previous presence of a Japanese community
Japanese British
Japanese in the United Kingdom are citizens or full time residents of the United Kingdom whose origins lie in Japan.-Background:-History and settlement:...
in the area, and the "bandwagon effect
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...
" of a few prominent Korean businesses in the area early on. In the 1990s, the area came to prominence as a hub for the Korean community; the high concentration of Koreans there meant that adult immigrants, especially women, tend not to speak much English, even after years of residence in the United Kingdom. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, Koreans from all over the country flocked to the town to gather with their co-ethnics and show support for the Korea Republic national football team
Korea Republic national football team
The Korea Republic national football team represents Korea Republic in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association. Korea Republic is the most successful Asian football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup having participated in eight World Cup tournaments,...
.
Other areas with a Korean presence include Golders Green
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...
, where Korean and Japanese immigrants have been visibly replacing the older, diminishing Jewish community.
Business
21% of all Korean-owned businesses in the U.K. are located in the New Malden area. The first Korean restaurant in New Malden was established in 1991. Other Korean businesses in the area include hairdressers, stationery shops, travel agents, and Korean-language child care services; there used to be a bookstore selling imported Korean novels, but it closed down. Two rival Korean-language newspapers are also published there. Korean grocers do good business, as Korean food products, unlike those from India or Japan, tend to be unavailable from mainstream retailers such as TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
.
Korean business owners' unfamiliarity with commercial practices in the U.K., along with language barriers, have sometimes led them into conflict with governmental regulators; the Health and Safety Executive noted that Korean barbecue
Korean barbecue
Korean barbecue, or gogi gui literally "meat + roasted meat", refers to the Korean method of grilling beef, pork, chicken, or other types of meat. Such dishes are often prepared at the diner's table on gas or charcoal grills that are built into the center of the table itself...
restaurants are especially problematic in this regard, as they often imported small, uncertified table-top gas cookers directly from South Korea for self-installation, rather than hiring a registered gas engineer to install and inspect them, and took no corrective action when issued with warnings. The language barrier is compounded by the lack of translators; one Korean translator estimated that she had only four or five competitors in the entire country.
Religion
As among Korean AmericanKorean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
s, Protestant churches have played an important social and cultural role in the Korean immigrant community in the U.K.; they hold religious functions solely in Korean, a practice which contrasts sharply with that in Korean American churches, which often conduct youth group services and activities in English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; this has aided in preventing the attrition
Language attrition
Language attrition is the loss of a first or second language or a portion of that language by individuals. Speakers who routinely use more than one language may not use either of their languages in ways which are exactly like that of a monolingual speaker...
of Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
abilities among locally-born Korean youth. Denominations with Korean-language services in New Malden include the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and the Methodist Church.
Notable people
- Jenny BaeJenny BaeJenny Bae is one of the world's greatest violinists. In 2000, at the age of 20, she performed with Luciano Pavarotti during a peace concert at the Jamsil Main Stadium in eastern Seoul...
, violinist - Jean-Baptiste KimJean-Baptiste KimJean-Baptiste Kim is a political defector-refugee from South Korea in Europe.He was born in South Korea which he fled as a teenager following incarceration and torture against him and his family members by the South Korean authorities leading to the death of his father...
, former unofficial North Korean spokesman in France, now living in Surrey - Park Ji-sungPark Ji-SungPark Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...
, football player with Manchester United - Lee Chung-YongLee Chung-YongLee Chung-Yong is a South Korean footballer who plays for Premier League club Bolton Wanderers and the South Korean national team. His nickname, Blue Dragon, is a transliteration of his given name "Chung-Yong" derived from Hanja, 청용...
, football player with Bolton Wanderers - Cha Du-RiCha Du-RiCha Du-Ri is a German-born South Korean professional footballer who currently plays for Scottish Premier League club Celtic. He can operate as a right back, right winger, or striker. Cha Du-Ri is also the first Korean player that was born outside of Korea to have played in a FIFA World Cup. Cha's...
, football player with Celtic F.C.Celtic F.C.Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the... - Ki Sung-Yueng, football player with Celtic F.C.Celtic F.C.Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
- Min-Kyu Choi, inventor of folding plug
- Yongcheol ShinYongcheol ShinProfessor Yongcheol Shin is a British-Korean economist. He has held positions at leading academic institutions such as University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh and University of Leeds...
, econometrician and professor
External links
- Korean Festival, the largest Korean cultural festival in Europe
- Korean Food in London
- Anglo-Korean Cultural Institute