The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Song Joong-ki marries British woman, expects baby

  • 3

    Suicidal pedestrian saved over Han River bridge

  • 5

    Kim Jung-hyun returns to small screen with 'Kokdu: Season of Deity'

  • 7

    Youth, foreign drug offenders increase threefold in 5 years

  • 9

    NK rejects alleged arms trading with Russia, warns of 'undesirable result'

  • 11

    'Someday or One Day' cast says film spin-off has new plot

  • 13

    Plum trees, pheasants and promises of old Korea

  • 15

    Base taxi fare to rise by 1,000 won to 4,800 won next month

  • 17

    3 dead, 4 hurt in upmarket Los Angeles neighborhood

  • 19

    NATO chief calls for stronger security ties with S. Korea to counter China

  • 2

    Japanese teen romance film attracts 1 mil. Korean viewers for 1st time in 21 yrs

  • 4

    Korea to lift indoor mask mandate Monday

  • 6

    US four-star general warns of war with China in 2025

  • 8

    INTERVIEWBusan has potential to be world-class city, says mayor

  • 10

    Samsung to introduce low-carbon diet for employees to help tackle climate change

  • 12

    Seoul International School celebrates 50th anniversary

  • 14

    K-pop releases for February

  • 16

    Main opposition leader faces pressure to resign in case of indictment

  • 18

    S. Korea mistakenly fires machine gun near border with N. Korea

  • 20

    Bank operating hours return to normal amid union opposition

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Tue, January 31, 2023 | 00:12
Bernard Rowan
Joseonjok and reunification
Posted : 2017-10-10 18:10
Updated : 2017-10-10 19:18
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Bernard Rowan

Have we thought about the Joseonjok lately? This term refers to the people living in Northeast China who are of Korean ethnicity and ancestry. The Joseonjok live in the provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Jilin. The Yanbian autonomous prefecture in Jilin is a famous area. The Chinese government recognizes them as a minority nationality, part of the Zhonghua minzu. There are around 2 million Joseonjok.

Many Joseonjok come to South Korea and may toil as seasonal workers. I've read that marriages between South Korean men and Joseonjok are now popular. I think the Joseonjok suffer discrimination from other Chinese peoples and from Koreans in different contexts. At the same time, I think they value and embrace their identity as Korean people in China who are now Chinese.

Let's consider this group of Korean emigres from the lens of unification and what I'll call the real hallyu or Korean Wave.

When the two Koreas unify, one tug-of-war will concern the Joseonjok. Several scholars write about the Joseonjok as Koreans needing reassimilation. Or, they write about Chinese Communist fears of Joseonjok united ("Daehanminguk in Yanbian") igniting sectarian tensions. And they write about fears of millions of Koreans exiting the North for China or for the South.

I don't think we should try to do anything about the Joseonjok. They too have rights of self-determination. We should support them as Chinese if we're in China and as Koreans who are Chinese nationals and citizens when in Korea. Overtime, they earn respect for their dual existence as Chinese citizens or nationals with Korean ethnic characteristics. Many Joseonjok like living in China and have succeeded in their lives.

The Joseonjok stand between rival nationalities, Korean and Chinese. I read that South Koreans may want to call the Joseonjok by a different term, jaejung dongpo. They believe Korea must reclaim these people as "Korean residents in another land." This goes with South Korea fighting to make sure Chinese history respects the importance of Koguryo and other Korean peoples in China.

Beyond historical accuracy, this amounts to a fool's errand. First, I don't think most Joseonjok will flood their way back south after unification. I think some North Koreans might do so, and others will migrate to China, to become new Joseonjok. I think unification is more likely when not all Koreans need to live in a unified Korea (the lands of North and South). I think the Joseonjok in China form a buffer zone and bridge between China and Korea.

Too many people conflate ethnicity, nationalism, and identity. Ethnicity is an important part of identity, but survival and belonging in historical context is more important. And try as we might, no one can rationalize history as one of homogenous peoples remaining forever in geographic borders tightly held and clung to.

We know that Koreans, peoples of plural Korean cultures and ethnicities, existed outside the areas of present-day North and South Korea. Korean peoples ruled, influenced, formed, and existed for centuries in Northeast China. This is true for China, Japan, and other nations. Crude nationalists, xenophobes, isolationists offer quackery.

Marshall G.S. Hodgson, a Quaker and student of Islam, wanted to "decenter" understanding of identity from nationalism. Interactions of peoples (plural) form any people on earth today known as Islamic, Arabic, Korean, and so forth. Most ethnic cultures occur by multiple and crosscutting influences. So, Buddhism from India influenced China, and the Koguryo and Goryeo influenced Manchuria.

Many Koreans have become Chinese nationals and citizens. That's a more serious Korean Wave. It may not "sell" like a girl or boy band or wonderful television drama in a box set. It shows the vitality of Korean societies and cultures in relations with other peoples.

I'd go so far to say that Koreans better conserve and uphold the Joseonjok as an autonomous group of Koreans in the diaspora for the promise of unification. Tolerance and respect for them aligns with humane and global understanding. That will remain sorely needed to carry out peace on the peninsula and unification. Can we accept the Joseonjok as an example of Korean greatness in historical context? I hope so.

Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com




 
Top 10 Stories
1[ANALYSIS] Pandemic awakens demand for data-driven automation ANALYSISPandemic awakens demand for data-driven automation
2Koreans reluctant to unmask on first day of eased indoor mask rule Koreans reluctant to unmask on first day of eased indoor mask rule
3Busan seeks to take lead in expo race after BIE's April visit Busan seeks to take lead in expo race after BIE's April visit
4Over 76% of South Koreans support development of nuclear weaponsOver 76% of South Koreans support development of nuclear weapons
5Retailers seek to bolster beauty product sales as lifting of mask mandate approaches Retailers seek to bolster beauty product sales as lifting of mask mandate approaches
6Biohealth geared for growth Biohealth geared for growth
7Korea-US defense talks likely to bring up extended deterrence Korea-US defense talks likely to bring up extended deterrence
8NK slams NATO chief's Seoul visit as 'prelude to war'NK slams NATO chief's Seoul visit as 'prelude to war'
9Stock-leveraged investments rise again amid bullish KOSPI Stock-leveraged investments rise again amid bullish KOSPI
10Seoul mayor accuses liberals of leading nation in wrong direction Seoul mayor accuses liberals of leading nation in wrong direction
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Song Joong-ki marries British woman, expects babySong Joong-ki marries British woman, expects baby
2Kim Jung-hyun returns to small screen with 'Kokdu: Season of Deity' Kim Jung-hyun returns to small screen with 'Kokdu: Season of Deity'
3'Someday or One Day' cast says film spin-off has new plot 'Someday or One Day' cast says film spin-off has new plot
4K-pop releases for February K-pop releases for February
5Itaewon music fest brings love to the healing process Itaewon music fest brings love to the healing process
DARKROOM
  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

  • World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

    World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group