Chinese people in Korea

Chinese people in Korea

Regions with significant populations
North Korea: Chongjin, Pyongyang, Sinuiju[1] South Korea: Busan, Incheon, Seoul
North Korea	10,000 (2009)[1]
South Korea	849,804 (2022)[2]
Languages
Chinese (Shanghainese, Mandarin), Korean
Religion
Chinese folk religion, Taoism, Buddhism, I-Kuan Tao, and Christianity[3]

A recognizable community of Chinese people in Korea has existed since the 1880s, and are often known as Hwagyo. Over 90% of early Chinese migrants came from Shandong province on the east coast of China.^[4] These ethnic Chinese residents in Korea often held Republic of China and Korean citizenship. The Republic of China used to govern the entirety of China, but now only governs Taiwan and a minor part of Fujian province. Due to the conflation of Republic of China citizenship with Taiwanese identity in the modern era, these ethnic Chinese people in Korea or Hwagyo are now usually referred to as "Taiwanese". However, in reality most Hwagyo hold little to no ties with Taiwan.^[5][6]

After China's "reform and opening up" and subsequent normalization of China–South Korea relations, a new wave of Chinese migration to South Korea has occurred.^[7] In 2009, more than half of the South Korea's 1.1 million foreign residents were PRC citizens; 71% of those are Joseonjok (Chaoxianzu in Korea), PRC citizens of Joseon ethnicity.^[8] There is also a small community of PRC citizens in North Korea.^[9]

Between 2018 and 2020, the presence of Chinese (Han Chinese) workers was felt more than ethnic Korean-Chinese workers, as evidenced by the noticeable increase in conversations in Mandarin. In 2023, Chaoxianzu, the Korean-Chinese community in South Korea, including those with Korean nationality, numbers over 800,000, roughly half of the entire ethnic Korean population in China. With the increase in permanent residency and nationality acquisition, it appears that there is a trend of settling and establishing roots in South Korea.^[10]