Koreans in France

Koreans in France
Total population
12,684[1]
Regions with significant populations
Paris, Villeurbanne, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Toulouse
Languages
Korean, French
Religion
Mahayana Buddhism[2]
Related ethnic groups
Korean diaspora, Koryo-Saram

Koreans in France numbered 12,684 individuals as of 2011, making them the 3rd-largest Korean diaspora community in Western Europe, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.[1]

Migration history

Korean migration to France began in 1919, when the government of France issued work permits to 35 Korean migrant labourers.[3] From a community of just 3,310 in 1988, their numbers more than tripled by 2000, and then grew a further 30% by 2007.[4][5] However, from 2009 to 2011, their population shrank by 14%.[1] The vast majority live in Paris — about two-thirds, according to 2011 data, compared with four-fifths a decade before — with the largest concentrations in the 15th arrondissement. There more than twice as many women as men; the population has grown more gender-imbalanced as compared to a decade prior.[6][1] Unlike in the United States or Canada, with their large Korean American and Korean Canadian communities, few Koreans in France seek to naturalise as French citizens.[7] Among all South Korean nationals or former nationals in France, 786 (6%) have become French citizens, 2,268 (18%) are permanent residents, 6,325 (50%) are international students, and the remaining 3,305 (26%) hold other kinds of visas.[1]

Aside from South Korean expatriates, children adopted from Korea into French families form another portion of France's Korean population; most were adopted at between ages three and nine.[8] The number of North Korean refugees has also been on the rise.[9]

Education

Koreans in France are served by five Korean-language weekend schools, the oldest and largest of which is the Paris Hangul School, established 18 August 1974; it enrolled 170 students as of 2007.[10] Four others, in Villeurbanne, Grenoble, Strasbourg, and Toulouse, were established between 1994 and 2000; they enrolled a further 78 students.[11][12][13][14] A significant number also attend French universities; in total, about half of the Korean population in France are estimated to be students, falling from two-thirds a decade ago.[6][1]

Inter-ethnic relations

Not many French people know that their country has a Korean community at all.[3] In many cases, Koreans are mistaken for Chinese and thus lumped in as economic refugees.[15]

Only about 200 of the South Koreans in France are members of internationally married couples consisting of a South Korean partner and a French partner.[6] Such couples experience a number of cultural conflicts, most commonly over the rigour of their children's education.[7]

Portrayals in popular culture of Koreans in France include the 2004 South Korean television series Lovers in Paris; its popularity has resulted in an increase in the number of Korean tourists visiting France.[3] A more recent one is Hong Sang-soo's 2008 film Night and Day.[16]

Notable people

See also

References

Notes

Sources

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.