Koreans in Thailand consist mainly of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n refugees and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n expatriates, along with a tiny number of South Korean immigrants who have naturalised as citizens of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and their descendants. According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in 2013 there were about 20,000 Koreans living in the country.

Overview

North Korean refugees

's Chiang Rai province is a popular entry point for North Korean defectors into the country. Most of these defectors have escaped economic hardship in North Korea and traveled to Thailand for temporary refuge in the hope of being able to resettle in third countries, usually South Korea. Thailand is the easiest route to access and the most accommodating, compared to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, where border security is tighter and in some cases, those fleeing have been sent back to North Korea to face harsh punishment.

South Korean expatriates

A variety of factors have drawn

n expatriates to Thailand including the country's golf courses, as well as the cuisine, the weather, and business opportunities. There were an estimated 20,000 South Korean nationals or former nationals in Thailand as of 2011. Among them, 53 had obtained Thai nationality, 114 were permanent residents, 2,735 were

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 ...

s, and the remaining 16,000-odd South Korean residents had other kinds of visas. Their population fell by about 13 percent from 20,200 since 2009. 14,900 live in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, 2,000 in Chiang Mai, 1,800 in Phuket Province, and 1,300 in

Chonburi Province Chonburi (, , ) is a province of Thailand (''changwat'') located in eastern Thailand. Its capital is also named Chonburi. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise from north) Chachoengsao, Chanthaburi, and Rayong, while the Bay of Bangkok is to ...

. Their community exhibits a significantly lopsided

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 d ...

, with 11,843 men as compared to just 8,657 women, a ratio of about 1.4:1.

has 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 ...

in the Sukhumvit Plaza area near Sukhumvit Soi 12.

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

also has a Koreatown and numerous Korean restaurants. There has been controversy over South Koreans working as tour guides without holding proper employment visas. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Korean Association in Phuket, and the South Korean consulate in Phuket signed an agreement in 2007 to promote the hiring of Thai tour guides instead. Korean culture is popular throughout the country thanks to the Korean Wave.

Education and language

There is also a South Korean school in Bangkok, the

Korean International School of Bangkok Korean International School of Bangkok (, , ) is a Korean international school in Nongchok, Bangkok, Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located ...

. South Korean children born in Thailand to South Korean expatriates show little

language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are percei ...

towards Thai.

Religion

There were two Korean Buddhist temples and thirteen Korean Christian churches in Bangkok as of 2008. The Korean Union Church at

Ratchadaphisek Road Ratchadaphisek Road ( th, ถนนรัชดาภิเษก, ) is a major road in Bangkok, Thailand. Conceived in 1971 and opened in 1976, it connects earlier portions including Asok Montri, Wong Sawang and Charan Sanitwong Roads to for ...

is the most popular. The average Korean church in Bangkok has an attendance of about one to two hundred worshippers.

In popular culture

Thai martial arts film '' The Kick'' follows a family of South Korean Taekwondo experts who move to Thailand.

Notable people

* Aree Song, South Korean professional golfer * Naree Song, South Korean professional golfer * Park Jongbae, South Korean singer. He is a member of Thai boyband, K-Otic (Originally from

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, South Korea)

References

External links

방콕 한국 국제학교 – Korean International School of Bangkok
{{Ethnic groups in Thailand

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...