Archive
World Ch. Schedule : WED 09:05 KST
* Date : 2016-09-03
This year marks the 150th anniversary of Koreans' emigration to Russia. How did these Koreans end up living in a foreign country despite the language barrier? A third generation Korean Russian Park Alex retraces the route of Korean Russian diaspora from Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Primorsky Krai in Russia. Through this journey, we listen to the stories of Korean Russians' unfinished diaspora as well as the hardships they had to endure.
Korean Russians were deported to Central Asia from Primorsky Krai in 1937, and it was only after Stalin's death that their talents were recognized. Park Ivan, the president of Korean Scientific and Engineering Society of Kazakhstan, reveals how Korean Russians came to be acknowledged. Furthermore, stories of jazz musician Khan Yakov, movie director Song Rabrenzi, and independence activist Han Seong-geol illustrate how Korean Russians of Central Asia have been continuing their Korean ethnicity and history.
Korean Russians who moved to Primorsky Krai in 1863 to escape Korea's famine were deported to a barren region in 1937. However, instead of getting discouraged, they built a canal and cultivated the land to survive. Their resilient diligence brought them and their farms much recognition. The Kim Byung Hwa Museum outlines the efforts of Korean-Russian deportees to settle down in their new environment. We also look at how Korean Russians were branded as a hostile minority and the discrimination they faced.
In 1991, just as Korean Russians were beginning to adapt to their new lives in Central Asia, the Soviet Union collapsed. Korean Russians were forced to leave and find a new course of life yet again as they could no longer use their Russian language in the newly independent republics. Choi Yekazerina, who moved to Primorsky Krai 10 years ago, talks about the difficult times her people went through.
Even now, countless Korean Russians in Central Asia are faced with the harsh reality of having to leave their homelands to make a leaving. "Outlanders: Unfinished Diaspora" shows their history of emigration and examines how these wanderers have been preserving their Korean ethnicity despite being unable to find a place to call their home.
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