THE POST-SOVIET KOREAN DIASPORAS
by Dmitry N. Baryshnikov
School of International Relations, Saint-Petersburg University
191 160 Smolny str., 1/3, entr. 8, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, e-mail: barydmit2008@yandex.ru
The relationship of the South Korea with the Korean diasporas in the former Soviet republics and the involvement of some Korean communities in international affairs have a direct effect on the political and economic relations between the Republic of Korea and the CIS countries. The pivotal international problems so for the both Korean states, as for the majority of diasporas, with no doubt are: 1) unification of the Korean nation; 2) denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; 3) overall security in the East Asia: 4) economic and trade cooperation among regional states.
Geography of settlement, legal status and living conditions of the Koreans among titular nationalities and other ethnic minorities on the post-Soviet area have been predetermined and can be mainly explained by the history of all the regions and nations of those vast territories.
The first official reference on Korean migrants in the Russian Empire is dating back to 1864. This was a small group of families from the borderland zone, who got a permission to found a settlement in the South Ussuri region of Russia close to their native lands. So, that was the beginning of the initial, “the Far East” period of the Korean diaspora in Russia, and since that time the destiny of the Russian Koreans has become linked to the historical development of that nation.
Since 1905, in consequence of the occupation of Korea by the Japanese Empire the influx of the Korean settlers in Russia had drastically increased. Many of the newly arrived immigrants got involved into anti-Japanese liberation movements conceived outside the occupied homeland. In the moment of Russian revolutions in 1917 the Far East Koreans in huge majority stood on the side of Bolsheviks, as far as their opponents, being advocates of the old regime stayed allies of the Japan Empire in WWI.
Under increasing tensions between the USSR and Japan by the end of 1930s the Stalin’s government took the decision to deport the Koreans from the Far East in some other regions, remote form the border and eventual frontline with Japan. The moment of deportation in 1937 became a crucial one for further history of the Soviet Koreans. The overwhelming majority of them were moved to the republics of the Soviet Central Asia, mainly, to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. So, since the end of 1930s the languages, the traditions and the culture of those countries have been seriously affecting the habits and customs of the respective Korean minorities.
In mid-1950s the Soviet Koreans started leaving the Central Asia republics in moving to different regions of the USSR, including its European part. In that period, despite a scattered condition of the diaspora, some specific traits proper to the community of Soviet and then post-Soviet Koreans started to evolve:
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considerable assimilation (progressive loss of native language, adoption of Russian first names and patronyms), but paradoxically, a unique system of conservation of old national traditions in collective memory of families and communities;
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high level of urbanization, caused by original craving of Koreans to acquire good education and prestigious professions (thus, according to some data, in 1989 the percent of individuals with high professional education among Soviet Koreans was twice more than in average in USSR;
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poor contacts of Soviet Koreans with so the historical homelands (especially, the South Korea), as with the other overseas Koreans.
Disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 has created new conditions for evolution of the Korean diasporas in the former USSR republics and revealed new opportunities in developing relations with both Korean states and other overseas communities. The new surge of interest of diasporas to their historical land, native language and culture so as counter efforts of the South Korean government have led to enhancing the role of diasporas in social and political life, setting of dozens Korean regional associations and NGOs, engaging diasporic elites and activists to discussing international problems touching upon the future of the Korean states and he whole Korean nation.
In fact that process was initiated already in 1980s, in particular, due to tireless activity by Georgy Kim (1924-1989), Vice-Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the USSR Academy of Science, one of the leading Soviet think-tanks. G. Kim in cooperation with Yevgeny Primakov, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at that period and the Prime Minister of Russia in 1998-1999, issued an analytical report motivating the necessity to normalize political relations with the South Korea including establishment of diplomatic ties. This report was addressed to the highest authorities of the Soviet Communist Party and became a crucial conceptual step towards a new policy of Russia in the East Asia.
Today the largest Korean diasporas in the Post-Soviet area are in Russia (219 000), Uzbekistan (174 000), and Kazakhstan (107 000). The dynamics of oscillation in growth/decrease of the diaspora population in different post-Soviet republics since the disappearance of the USSR are conditioned by a number of factors. What they have in common is their growing opportunities to be engaged in international cooperation process by including the so called Track-two diplomacy format (TTD).
One of the key TTD mechanisms, embracing the whole range of Russia-South Korea relations, is undoubtedly realized under the auspices of the “Dialogue Russia-Republic of Korea”. Launched in 2008 as a joint Russian-Korean initiative the ”Dialogue” has become a platform for discussing a broad range of issues in the bilateral cooperation and for “establishing a constructive dialogue among representatives of all the public domains and societal groups in both countries, which would allow to create a solid basis for cooperation not dependent from current political conjuncture”.
As an example of mechanism directly engaging post-Soviet Koreans in international cooperation it could be mentioned the All-Russian Association of Koreans (AAS), which is a NGO focused on supporting and developing all aspects of social activities of diasporas in Russia and CIS, including their relations with historical homeland. In December 2015 AAS was one of the key co-organizers of the Russian-Korean forum in Seoul assembled for commemorating 25 years of Russian-South Korean diplomatic relations.
In February 2018 the 5th AAS Congress uniting all the collective and individual members took place in Simferopol. Among the key tasks in international cooperation for AAS the participants of the Congress emphasized the necessity of further cooperation with international organizations and foundations related to overseas Koreans. As a good example of such partnership it was noted an agreement on cooperation signed by AAS president and the leaders of the Korean Association of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China.
Among the participants of major events organized by the Korean diaspora in Russia are the Korean organizations and individuals from many post-Soviet states, and primarily, from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Despite continuing reduction of the Korean diasporas in those countries, their members stay quite active in creating associations and movements related to international cooperation.
In what is about particular traits of the post-Soviet Korean diasporas, it seems promising to take into consideration their particular identity affected by specifically deep assimilation to hosting countries environment, so as their self-perception as an integral, but unique, fragile and quite valuable part of the Korean world. So, when speaking about some advanced formats for discussing the problematic of the Korean world on international level one could think on a triangle-based model of cooperation, involving the governments of the South and North Koreas so as the community of overseas Koreans like equal, mutually respecting contributors which are open to a genuine partnership among them and with other international actors.
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