History of the Korean Diaspora and the Urgency of Documenting those with Living Memories of their Displacement or Emigration…
History of the Korean Diaspora

The Forgotten Histories of the Korean Diaspora – by Kevin Andreola, 2019 Fellow, The East Foundation

Abstract – The Korean diaspora has often be studied in relation to its country’s economic resurgence after a politically turbulent and traumatic century, but what mechanisms allowed for the initial movement of Korean peoples away from the Korean peninsula? And how did the way in which the Korean migrants moved to a county, as well as the historical processes affecting the mainland, affect the way in which Korean identity is forged? The East Foundation attempts to delineate the history of the Korean diaspora by focusing on four distinct, initial “waves” of migration, each characterized by an overarching economic and political condition that prompted both the incidental movement away from the Korea peninsula and formed the basis for a continually shifting understanding of Korean identity. Although the differing nations in which they traveled to diversely affected their lifestyles, the voluntary or forced migration patterns established a unique Korean psyche for adaptation, relocation, and persistence


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The Forgotten Histories of the Korean Diaspora