Koreans in Indonesia numbered 78,676 individuals , making them the 13th-largest population of overseas Koreans, according to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

. The number has increased significantly from previous record, which was around 50,000 people. and

Migration history

One of the leading figures of the Indonesian independence movement,

Komarudin Komarudin (29 May 1919 – 10 August 1949) was an Indonesian freedom fighter during the skirmishes against the Dutch which took place shortly after WW2. It has since come to light that he was born in Korea. His real name is Yang Chil-seong (양칠 ...

(Korean name: Yang Chil-seong;

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: ;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: ) was an ethnic Korean. The Korean presence in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

goes back several decades. The

Jakarta International Korean School Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakart ...

East Jakarta ) in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), Jatinegara railway station and Museum of Transportation at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. , image_seal = Lambang Kota Jakarta Timur.png , motto = , image_map ...

opened on 1 February 1975, and as of 2007 enrolled 719 elementary school students, 357 middle school students, and 375 high school students. It is thus the largest Korean day school in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, at more than twice the enrollment of the one in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. A

Koreatown A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...

began to form in

South Jakarta South Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Selatan; bew, Jakarte Beludik ), colloquially known as ''Jaksel'', is one of the five administrative cities which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. South Jakarta is not self-governed and does not ...

Kebayoran Baru Kebayoran Baru is a district ( id, kecamatan) of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The name of the district was derived from an area which was developed in the post-war period as a new suburb town of Jakarta, Kebayoran Baru. Kebayoran Baru was the last r ...

subdistrict as early as 1982, when Kim Woo-jae opened a shop selling ''

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

'' and ''

doenjang ''Doenjang'' * (; "thick sauce") or soybean paste is a type of fermented bean paste made entirely of soybean and brine. It is also a byproduct of soup soy sauce production. It is sometimes used as a relish. History The earliest soybean fer ...

''. Between 2011 and 2013, their population increased by 11%. Nearly all (38,401, or 95%) are staying in Indonesia on ordinary residence visas. Other categories have shown rapid growth in recent years but remain small in absolute numbers: those on

international student International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying. In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...

visas number 664 people (up 137% since 2011), 814 (up 285%) have permanent residence status, and 405 (up 58%) have become Indonesian citizens. The

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of the community is unbalanced, with 1.3 men for every woman, similar to the pattern seen in most South Korean migrant communities in

n countries besides

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

; however, the imbalance has decreased from earlier years. Unlike Japanese expatriates of earlier years, most South Korean expatriates come accompanied by their families.

Business and employment

Most South Korean migrant workers in Indonesia are employees of South Korea multinational conglomerates with investments in Indonesia, or owners of

small and medium-sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...

. Labour relations at South Korean-owned factories were poor in the 1990s, but have improved in recent years.

Distribution

In 2005 there were about 30,000 South Koreans living in Indonesia, with most of them being in the Jakarta area. Of the rest, 1,200 lived in

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern border of Java island, on the M ...

, 600 lived in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

, 150 lived in

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and ...

, and 550 lived elsewhere. The main Korean areas in Jakarta proper are Cibubur in

and

Kelapa Gading Kelapa Gading or also known as KG, Gading, is a district (Indonesian: ''kecamatan'') of North Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. Kelapa Gading neighborhood is known to the local population as a city within a city, due to the integrated residential ...

and Sunter in

North Jakarta North Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Utara; bew, Jakarte Belilir) is one of the five administrative cities (''kota administrasi'') which form Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. North Jakarta is not self-governed and does not have a city counc ...

. There are also Korean populations in

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Cikarang Cikarang is a town serving the seat of Bekasi Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The biggest industrial estate in Southeast Asia, Kota Jababeka is located there. Industrial area Cikarang is an area located in Kota Deltamas that includes the gover ...

Bekasi Regency Bekasi Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Bekasi) is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' of West Java Province, Indonesia. Its regency seat is in the district of Central Cikarang. It is bordered by Jakarta and by Bekasi City (which is a separate administration ...

, and

Tangerang Tangerang ( Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest cit ...

. Most of the Bekasi Koreans work for the electronics industry. In Tangerang most Koreans work for manufacturing companies,Panggabean, Simon A.
Indonesia, the dream country of Koreans

. ''

The Jakarta Post ''The Jakarta Post'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Niskala Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian med ...

''. October 28, 2009. Retrieved on August 17, 2015. in particular those involved in the making of shoes, and many Korean-owned businesses are in

Lippo Village Lippo Karawaci or Lippo Village is a multiracial community in Tangerang, 23 km west of Jakarta, Indonesia. The township is within the Jakarta metropolitan area. Previously a swamp area, it opened in 1993 and is today a benchmark for Indonesia' ...

(Lippo Karawaci). 80% of the commercial buildings in Lippo Village are occupied by ethnic Koreans. Farther away from Jakarta, Korean nationals are also served by two other weekend schools, the

School (founded 1 January 1989, enrolling 42 students at the kindergarten and elementary levels), and the

Hangul School (founded 1 March 1992, enrolling 66 students at the kindergarten through middle school levels).

Semarang Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today ...

is another area mentioned as having a large number of Koreans, though they lack any Korean-language educational facilities there.

, a popular destination for Korean tourists, has also begun to attracting some scattered Korean workers.

Religion

The directory of the Korean Association in Indonesia listed 14 Korean churches (of various denominations including

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

) and one Buddhist temple of the

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1200 years to the Later Silla National Master Do ...

in the

Jabodetabek The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta–Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regency) ...

area. Muslims form a smaller minority of the Korean community. The Indonesian branch of the Korean Muslim Federation opened in 1982; they sponsored 22 Muslims from South Korea to come to Indonesia as students in 1983 and 1984 to study in local universities and better understand Islam. According to their figures, as of 2005, there were only 50 Korean Muslims in Indonesia, including those who had converted while living there.

References

External links

Jakarta International Korean School

InKiNet: Internet Community for Koreans in Indonesia
{{Ethnic groups in Indonesia