How Chinese Reform Has Changed Ethnic Koreans in China

Still on Prof Kim Si Joong's article.

He noted that ethnic Koreans in China have enjoyed greater mobility since the reform and opening up of China.

The first wave was during the 1980s when they moved towards the coastal, urban and larger cities in Northeast China, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qinhuangdao and Shandong. There, they were either engaged in non-agricultural work or started small businesses, initially retailing in the Korean staple food kimchi (pictured).

The second wave was during the 1988 Seoul Olympics when South Korea received extensive media coverage in the Chinese media. More ethnic Koreans in China were exposed to information about South Korea that was different from the Chinese and North Korean propaganda which they were subjected to in the past.

When China and South Korea established diplomatic ties in 1992, many ethnic Koreans in China were allowed to visit relatives in South Korea. And with more South Korean visitors to China - businessmen, tourists, students etc (1.6 million visits in 2002) - ethnic Koreans in China played the role of translators, tour guides, information providers, and even business partners.

The role of ethnic Koreans as an intermediary between South Korea and China was indispensable due to their ability to speak both Korean and Chinese.

However, the assessment on their performance had not always been positive, according to Kim.

"Although there have been many success stories, there have also been many failures ending in serious conflicts between South Koreans and ethnic Korean-Chinese residents. The key problem in these failures seems to have been the differences between expectation and reality."

"Often, South Korean business people expected quite high levels of performance from their ethnic Korean workers or partners which were not met - such as a high proficiency in the Chinese language, sufficient understanding of Chinese government and laws, and even loyalty to the South Korean firm."

"Conversely, many ethnic Korean-Chinese residents working for South Koreans expected to receive a special award for their contributions at a similar level as did South Koreans, which was not possible."

"Also, the subtle differences between the two forms of the Korean language - particularly the use of foreign-language terminology by South Korean people that ethnic Koreans mostly do not understand had become a source of miscommunication and/or mistranslating."