Koreans in France numbered 29,367 individuals as of 2014 ^[update], making them the 3rd-largest Korean diaspora community in Western Europe, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. ^[3]

Migration history

Korean migration to France began in 1919, when the government of France issued work permits to 35 Korean migrant labourers. ^[4] From a community of just 3,310 in 1988, their numbers more than tripled by 2000, and then grew a further 30% by 2007. ^{[5] [6]} However, from 2009 to 2011, their population shrank by 14%. ^[3] 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 are more than twice as many women as men; the population has grown more gender-imbalanced as compared to a decade prior. ^{[7] [3]} 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. ^[8] 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. ^[3]

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. ^[9] The number of North Korean refugees has also been on the rise. ^[10]

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. ^[11] Four others, in Villeurbanne, Grenoble, Strasbourg, and Toulouse, were established between 1994 and 2000; they enrolled a further 78 students. ^{[12] [13] [14] [15]} 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. ^{[7] [3]}

Inter-ethnic relations

Not many French people know that their country has a Korean community at all. ^[4] In many cases, Koreans are mistaken for Chinese and thus lumped in as economic refugees. ^[16]

As of 2001, only about 200 of the South Koreans in France were members of internationally married couples consisting of a South Korean partner and a French partner. ^[7] Such couples experienced a number of cultural conflicts, most commonly over the rigour of their children's education. ^[8]

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. ^[4] A more recent one is Hong Sang-soo's 2008 film Night and Day. ^[17]

Notable people

• Myung-whun Chung, Seoul-born Korean American, director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
• Jean-Baptiste Kim, former unofficial North Korean spokesman ^[18]
• Fleur Pellerin, Ministry of Culture ^[19]
• Jean-Vincent Placé, French politician ^[20]
• Daul Kim, Korean model
• Cédric O, French politician
• Delphine O, French politician
• Pom Klementieff, actress
• Ysabelle Lacamp, French novelist, singer and actress
• Euny Hong, author and journalist ^[21]

See also

• French people in Korea

References

Notes

Sources

• Lee, Yang-gu (May 2006), "120th Anniversary of Korea-France Diplomatic Relations", The Korea Foundation Newsletter, 15 (2), retrieved 2008-12-07
• Lee-Le Neindre, Bouriane (September 2001), "L'interculturel entre l'Orient et l'Occident - les particularités et les difficultés à travers les cas des résidents coréens en France" (PDF), Actes du VIIIe congrès de l'Association pour la recherche interculturelle, University of Geneva, retrieved 2008-12-07
• Ventureyra, Valérie A.G.; Palliere, Christophe (2004), "In search of the lost language: The case of adopted Koreans in France", in Schmid, Monika S. (ed.), First Language Attrition: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Methodological Issues, Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 207–224, ISBN  90-272-4139-2
• 재외동포현황 [Current Status of Overseas Compatriots] (in Korean), South Korea: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2009, archived from the original on 2010-10-23, retrieved 2009-05-21
• 재외동포 본문(지역별 상세), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2011-07-15, retrieved 2012-05-19
• "Europe", Overseas Korean Educational Institutions, Seoul: National Institute for International Education Development, 2007, archived from the original on 2008-10-12, retrieved 2008-12-07

Further reading

• Lim, Young-hee (November 2004), "History of Koreans in France", International Conference on Korean Historical Materials and the History of Koreans in Europe, University of Bonn

External links

• Le Journal Hanweekly, a newspaper aimed at Koreans in France