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
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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
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