Early history According to traditional Korean historiography of the
Samguk Sagi, the mythical Chinese sage
Jizi came to Korea during the
Shang dynasty and established the semi-legendary
Gija Joseon in the 11th century BCE. Later in the 3rd century BCE,
Wiman of Gojoseon from the state of
Yan fled to Korea after he was defeated by forces from the Han Dynasty after he rebelled against the Han dynasty. Wiman later overthrew
Jun of Gojoseon and established
Wiman Joseon. Chinese colonists settled in the
Four Commanderies of Han after the Han dynasty conquered
Wiman Joseon, especially in
Lelang Commandery. Ethnic Han colonies peasants were set up at Lelang. Fleeing from the
Mongols, in 1216 the
Khitans invaded
Goryeo and defeated the Korean armies multiple times, even reaching the gates of the capital and raiding deep into the south, but were defeated by Korean General
Kim Chwi-ryeo who pushed them back north to
Pyongan, where the remaining Khitans were finished off by allied Mongol-Goryeo forces in 1219. These Khitans are possibly the origin of the
Baekjeong. Xianbei descendants among the Korean population carry surnames such as Mo (; ), Seok Sŏk Sek (; ), Won Wŏn (; ),
Dokgo (). During the
Yuan dynasty, one of
Confucius' descendants, who was one of the sons of
Duke Yansheng , named Kong Shao (), moved from China to
Goryeo era Korea and established a branch of the family there called the
Gong clan of Qufu after marrying a Korean woman, the daughter of Jo Jin-gyeong () during
Toghon Temür's rule. This branch of the family received
aristocratic rank in
Joseon era Korea.
曲阜孔氏 (朝鮮半島) 곡부 공씨 Two Japanese families, a Vietnamese family, an Arab family, a
Uighur family, four Manchuria originated families, three Mongol families, and 83 Chinese families migrated into Korea during Goryeo. Goryeo era Korea accepted
Lý dynasty of Vietnam as royal refugees. The Lý familial origins were from south China.
Fujian province, Jinjiang village, was the origin of Lý Thái Tổ (), the ancestor of the Lý dynasty ruling family and Lý Công Uẩn. These sources have been confirmed by
Trần Quốc Vượng.
Chen Li, who was the second and the last emperor of the Chinese
Chen Han dynasty settled in Korea after he had surrendered his state to the Ming Dynasty. Chen's became the progenitor of the
Yangsan Jin clan. The Chinese
Ming Xia emperor
Ming Yuzhen's son Ming Sheng was given the noble title Marquis of Guiyi by the
Ming dynasty emperor
Zhu Yuanzhang after his surrender. Ming Sheng was then exiled to Korea and Zhu Yuanzhang asked the Korean king to treat him as a foreign noble by giving his descendants and family corvée and taxation exemptions. These were granted by a patent from the Korean king which lasted until the invading soldiers in the
Qing invasion of Joseon destroyed the Ming family's patents. The Korean official Yun Hui-chong's daughter married Ming Sheng in March 1373. Ming Sheng was 17 and Chen Li was 21 when they were sent to Korea in 1372 by the Ming dynasty. The Chinese Ming family exists as the
Korean clans,
Yeonan Myeong clan,
Seochok Myeong clan and
Namwon Seung clan. Additionally, many Ming refugees fled to Korea during the
Transition from Ming to Qing. Ming China had previously aided Joseon Korea during the
Japanese invasions of Korea, and so Ming Generals such as
Chen Lin were viewed favorably as war heroes and their descendents welcomed in Korea. For example, in 1644, when the
Qing dynasty replaced the Ming, Chen's grandchild, Chen Yusong (陳泳素) migrated to Korea and started the Jin Clan. Individual Chinese are recorded on the Korean Peninsula as early as the 13th century, with some going on to found
Korean clans. However, there was little recognisable community until July 1882, when the
Qing dynasty sent Admiral and 3,000 troops at the request of the Korean government to aid in quelling
a rebellion. Accompanying the troops were some 40 Chinese merchants and other civilians. In August that same year, Qing Superintendent for Trade for the Northern Ports
Li Hongzhang lifted restrictions on coastal trade and signed the
China–Korea Treaty of 1882 ("Regulations for Maritime and Overland Trade Between Chinese and Korean Subjects"), and two further agreements the following year, which granted Chinese merchants permission to trade in Korea. Unlike in other Asian countries, 90% of the early overseas Chinese in Korea came from
Shandong, rather than the southern coastal provinces of
Guangdong and
Fujian. During the late 19th and early 20th century Shandong was hard hit by famine, drought, and banditry especially in its northwest, and caused many to migrate to other parts of China and Korea. See
Shandong people. Chinese merchants did well in competition with the Japanese due to their superior access to credit. They were not confined to port cities, and many did business in inland parts of Korea. Generally speaking, Japanese traders were more interested in quick profits, while the Chinese established relationships with customers. The earliest Chinese school in Korea, the Joseon Hwagyo Primary School, was established in 1902 in
Incheon.
Under Japanese rule ,
Seoul. By 1910, when
Korea formally came under Japanese rule, the number of Chinese in Korea had risen to 12,000. Chinese migrants established schools in
Seoul in 1910,
Busan in 1912,
Sinuiju in 1915,
Nampho in 1919, and
Wonsan in 1923. The number of Chinese in Korea would expand to 82,661 by 1942, but contracted sharply to 12,648 by 1945 due to economic hardships faced during
World War II.
Division of Korea North Korea After the
surrender of Japan and the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule, Chinese living in the northern half of Korea quickly established new schools and rebuilt Chinese-language education, with aid from the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In April 1949, the CCP's Northeast Administrative Committee formally handed control of these schools over to the North Korean government, which began some efforts to integrate them into the national educational system. Early financial assistance from the North Korean government actually helped to maintain and expand Chinese education; the schools continued operation even during the Korean War, and the era after the cessation of hostilities up to around 1966 was described as a "golden era" for the schools. After that time, the North Korean government began to pursue a policy of reform and indigenisation towards the schools. However, as of the late 1990s, there were still four Chinese middle schools which followed the PRC curriculum.
Yanbian University in the
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of China also began offering
training programmes for teachers in overseas Chinese schools in North Korea beginning in 2002; 38 students from their first class graduated in 2005. Being foreign citizens, North Korea's Chinese people were not eligible to join the ruling
Korean Workers Party or advance in the military or the civil bureaucracy. On the other hand, they were allowed somewhat greater freedoms, such as the right to own a radio that was not sealed to only allow being tuned to North Korean stations (as long they did not listen to foreign stations in the presence of North Koreans). More importantly, since around 1980 they were allowed to travel abroad, and participate in the important and profitable export-import business. The population of PRC citizens in North Korea was estimated as 14,351 persons (in 3,778 households) in 1958, shrinking to a mere 6,000 by 1980, as they had been encouraged by the North Korean government to leave for China in the 1960s and 70s. The
Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, gave a higher estimate of 10,000 people in 2009.
Secondary migration Due to the South Korean regulations in the 1960s which limited foreign property ownership, many Chinese in South Korea left the country. During the 1970s, 15,000 are estimated to have moved to the
United States, and another 10,000 to Taiwan. Further outmigration occurred during the
1997 Asian financial crisis. Others went to the PRC after its
reform and opening up, to pursue commercial opportunities or simply to return to their ancestral hometowns. Many Chinese from Korea who migrated to the U.S. have settled in areas with large
Korean American communities, such as
Los Angeles, and have tended to integrate into the
Korean American rather than
Chinese American community. Yet, some who went to the United States or Taiwan found they could not adapt to life there either due to linguistic and cultural barriers, and ended up returning to South Korea, in a form of
circular migration. ==Cuisine==