More About Ethnic Koreans in China

Still on Prof Kim Si Joong's article about ethnic Koreans in China.

Kim noted that ethnic Koreans in China comprised of 40 percent of all Koreans overseas - or 2 million out of 5.7 million.

He added that the role of ethnic Koreans in China have "become more substantial either as foreign labor or an intermediary in South Korea's contacts with China and even North Korea. "

"Therefore, ethnic Koreans in China have taken on a certain importance from the perspective of the South Korean government - economically, politically and diplomatically," Kim wrote.

97 per cent of all ethnic Koreans in China live in 43 ethnic Korean townships in Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces.

But the population of ethnic Koreans in Yanbian (pictured) - which has the largest concentration of ethnic Koreans, and was designated an ethnic Korean autonomous prefecture since 1952 - decreased in the 1990s.

This was mainly due to migration out of rural areas into larger Chinese cities - and even to South Korea - to seek non-agricultural work.

It is also due to low birthrates, and the migration of "many females of reproductive age" to South Korea either for work or for marriage.