Abstract:
The two million Chosŏnjok, ethnic Koreans in the northeastern periphery of China, are the descendants of those Koreans who migrated to Manchuria between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century. They have maintained their Korean culture and traditions. In the 1980s when the Cold War eased and China adopted open policy, many of them went to South Korea to work, taking advantage of the employment opportunities there. Moving back and forth between China and South Korea, many of them lead a highly transnational lifestyle. As an important minority group residing in the borderland between China and the Korean peninsula, Korean Chinese gained much attention from Chinese government, which worries about its national minorities. China’s ‘Zhonghua minzu’ ideology intends to keep the loyalties of its national minorities for the Great Zhonghua Family, and Chosŏnjok’s possible connection with their ethnic homeland became a concern. Meanwhile, with its strong ethnic nationalism, South Korean society aspires to extend its national consciousness to its overseas population including Korean Chinese. This ‘de-territorialised nationalism’ has been evident in the last two decades and it clashes with China’s Zhonghua nationalism of China, making the status of Chosŏnjok further complicated and precarious. This paper analyses the clashes of the two ideologies over the Chosŏnjok, who have become very much transnational. It also looks at how these Korean Chinese have reacted and coped with between the two nation-states.
