The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria.
Etymology
South Koreans refer to themselves as Hanguk-in, or simply Han-in, or they refer themselves
as Hanguk-saram. North Koreans refer to themselves as Chosŏn-in
or Chosŏn-saram, both of which literally mean "Joseon people." Using similar words,
Koreans in China refer to themselves as Chaoxianzu in Chinese or Joseonjok in Korean, which are
cognates that literally mean "Joseon ethnos." Ethnic Koreans living in Central Asia refer
to themselves as Koryo-saram, alluding to Goryeo, a Korean dynasty spanning from 918
to 1392. Origins
Linguistic and archaeological studies Koreans are the descendants of the peoples
of Korean Peninsula, often said to be Altaic- or proto-Altaic-speaking tribes. Archaeological
evidence suggests proto-Koreans were migrants from South-Central Siberia who populated ancient
Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age.
The same tomb style is an indication telling who lived there. The largest concentration
of dolmen in the world is found on the Korean peninsula. In fact, with an estimated 35,000
dolmen Korea counts for nearly 70% of the world's total. Similar dolmens can be found
outside of Korea, in Manchuria, Shandong Peninsula, and Kyushu, yet it is unclear why this culture
only flourished so extensively on the Korean peninsula compared to the area of Northeastern
Asia. Genetic studies
Studies of polymorphisms in the human Y-chromosome have so far produced evidence to suggest that
the Korean people have a long history as a distinct, mostly endogamous ethnic group,
with successive waves of people moving to the peninsula and three major Y-chromosome
haplogroups. Y-DNA haplogroups
Korean males display a high frequency of Haplogroup O2b*, a subclade of possibly Manchurian origin,
and O3, a common Y-DNA haplogroup among East Asians in general. Haplogroup O2b* occurs
in approximately 14% to 33% of all Korean males, while haplogroup O3 has been found
in approximately 40% of sampled Korean males. Korean males also exhibit a moderate frequency
of Haplogroup C-M217. Korean males sporadically show Haplogroup
D-M174, 8/506 = 1.6% D1b-M55, 3/154 = 1.9% DE, 5/164 = 3.0% D-M174, 1/75 D1b*-P37.1(xD1b1-M116.1)
+ 2/75 D1b1a-M125(xD1b1a1-P42) = 3/75 = 4.0% D1b-P37.1, 3/45 = 6.7% D-M174), with a mean
frequency of about 1.9%. The D1b-M55 subclade has been found with maximal frequency in a
small sample of the Ainu of Japan, and is generally frequent throughout the Japanese
Archipelago. Other haplogroups that have been found less commonly in samples of Korean males
are Y-DNA C-RPS4Y(xM105, M38, M217), C-M105, J, Y*(xA, C, DE, J, K), L, O1, O2(xO2b), N,
Q and R. mtDNA haplogroups
Studies of Korean mtDNA lineages have shown that there is a high frequency of Haplogroup
D4, ranging from approximately 23% among ethnic Koreans in Arun Banner, Inner Mongolia to
approximately 32% among Koreans from South Korea. Haplogroup D4 is the modal mtDNA haplogroup
among Koreans and among Northeast Asians in general. Haplogroup B, which occurs very frequently
in many populations of Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and the Americas, is found in approximately
10% to 20% of Koreans. Haplogroup A has been detected in approximately 7% to 15% of Koreans.
Haplogroup A is the most common mtDNA haplogroup among the Chukchi, Eskimo, Na-Dene, and many
Amerind ethnic groups of North and Central America.
The other half of the Korean mtDNA pool consists of an assortment of various haplogroups, each
found with relatively low frequency, such as G, N9, Y, F, D5, M7, M8, M9, M10, M11,
R11, C, and Z. Autosomal studies
The distribution of Y-chromosomal variation from the 12 Y-SNP and 17 Y-STR markers was
determined in six major provinces to evaluate these populations’ possible genetic structure
and differentiation in Korea. As part of the present study, a 10-plex SNaPshot assay and
two singleplex SNaPshot assays were developed. Based on the result of 12 Y-SNP markers, almost
78.9% of tested samples belonged to haplogroup O-M175, and 12.6% of the tested samples belonged
to haplogroup C-RPS4Y. A total of 475 haplotypes were identified using 17 Y-STR markers included
in the Yfiler kit, among which 452 were individual-specific. The overall haplotype diversity for the 17
Y-STR loci was 0.9997 and the discrimination capacity was 0.9387. Pairwise genetic distances
and AMOVA of the studied Korean provinces reflected no patrilineal substructure in Korea,
except for Jeju Island. Thus, this survey shows that the present data of Korean individuals
could be helpful to establish a comprehensive forensic reference database for frequency
estimation.] A 2009 genetic study showed that Koreans have
no Austronesian DNA, whereas the Japanese and Chinese have some Austronesian DNA in
their genome. Among the East Asians, Koreans share the least DNA with the Austronesians,
while the Han Chinese have the most DNA in common with Austronesians, indicating some
interaction between Austronesians and Han Chinese.
Culture
North Korea and South Korea share a common heritage, but the political division since
1945 has resulted in some divergence of modern culture.
Language
The language of the Korean people is the Korean language, which uses Hangul as its main writing
system. There are more than 78 million speakers of the Korean language worldwide.
North Korean data
Estimating the size, growth rate, sex ratio, and age structure of North Korea's population
has been extremely difficult. Until release of official data in 1989, the 1963 edition
of the North Korea Central Yearbook was the last official publication to disclose population
figures. After 1963 demographers used varying methods to estimate the population. They either
totaled the number of delegates elected to the Supreme People's Assembly or relied on
official statements that a certain number of persons, or percentage of the population,
was engaged in a particular activity. Thus, on the basis of remarks made by President
Kim Il Sung in 1977 concerning school attendance, the population that year was calculated at
17.2 million persons. During the 1980s, health statistics, including life expectancy and
causes of mortality, were gradually made available to the outside world.
In 1989 the Central Statistics Bureau released demographic data to the United Nations Fund
for Population Activities in order to secure the UNFPA's assistance in holding North Korea's
first nationwide census since the establishment of the state in 1948. Although the figures
given to the United Nations might have been distorted, it appears that in line with other
attempts to open itself to the outside world, the North Korean regime has also opened somewhat
in the demographic realm. Although the country lacks trained demographers, accurate data
on household registration, migration, and births and deaths are available to North Korean
authorities. According to the United States scholar Nicholas Eberstadt and demographer
Brian Ko, vital statistics and personal information on residents are kept by agencies on the ri
level in rural areas and the dong level in urban areas.
Korean diaspora
Large-scale emigration from Korea began as early as the mid-1860s, mainly into the Russian
Far East and Northeast China or what was historically known as Manchuria; these populations would
later grow to nearly three million Koreans in China and several hundred thousand Koryo-saram.
During the Colonial Korea of 1910–1945, Koreans were often recruited and or forced
into labour service to work in mainland Japan, Karafuto Prefecture, and Manchukuo; the ones
who chose to remain in Japan at the end of the war became known as Zainichi Koreans,
while the roughly 40 thousand who were trapped in Karafuto after the Soviet invasion are
typically referred to as Sakhalin Koreans. Korean emigration to America was known to
have begun as early as 1903, but the Korean American community did not grow to a significant
size until after the passage of the Immigration Reform Act of 1965; as of 2010, excluding
the undocumented and uncounted, roughly 1.7 million Koreans emigrants and people of Korean
descent live in the United States according the official figure by the US Census. A realistic
figure is probably well over 2 million. The Los Angeles and New York City metropolitan
areas in the United States contain the largest populations of ethnic Koreans outside of Korea
or China. Significant Korean populations are present in China, Japan, and Canada as well.
There are also Korean communities in Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil,
and Mexico. During the 1990s and 2000s, the number of Koreans in the Philippines and Koreans
in Vietnam have also grown significantly. Koreans in the United Kingdom now form Western
Europe's largest Korean community, albeit still relatively small; Koreans in Germany
used to outnumber those in the UK until the late 1990s. In Australia the Korean Australian
community comprise a modest minority. Koreans have migrated significantly since the 1960s.
Now they form an integral part in society especially in Business, Education and Cultural
areas. The Korean population in the United States
is a small share of the US economy, but it has a disproportionately favorable impact.
Korean Americans have a savings rate double that of the average American and also graduate
from college at a rate double that of the average American, providing a highly skilled
and educated addition to the U.S. workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Census
2000 data, mean household earnings for Koreans in the U.S. were $59,981, approximately 5.1%
higher than the U.S. average of $56,604. Gallery
See also Demographics of North Korea
Demographics of South Korea Korean diaspora
Koreatown List of Korea-related topics
Korean nationality References
Notes This article incorporates public domain
material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
서의식 and 강봉룡. 뿌리 깊은 한국사, 샘이 깊은 이야기: 고조선, 삼국,
ISBN 89-8133-536-2 Barnes, Gina. The Rise of Civilization in
East Asia: the Archaeology of China, Korea and Japan, ISBN 0-500-27974-8
External links Korean American Museum
Korean Residents Union in Japan