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. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

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

Migration history

One of the leading figures of the Indonesian independence movement, Komarudin (Korean name: Yang Chil-seong; ) 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 Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

goes back several decades. The

Jakarta International Korean School Jakarta Indonesia Korean School (JIKS, ), formerly Jakarta International Korean School, is a South Korean international school in East Jakarta, Indonesia.

East Jakarta East Jakarta (; ), abbreviated as Jaktim, is the largest of the five administrative cities (''kota administrasi'') which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia, with a land area of 188.03 km2 (72.6 sq.miles). It had a population ...

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 is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, at more than twice the enrollment of the one in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. A

Koreatown A Koreatown (), 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 only been in existence s ...

began to form in

South Jakarta South Jakarta (; ), abbreviated 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 have a city council, hence it is not classified as a ...

Kebayoran Baru Kebayoran Baru is a List of districts of Jakarta, district () in the administrative city of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The name was derived from a planned satellite city of the same name which was developed in the Aftermath of World War II, post-wa ...

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

kimchi Kimchi (; ) is a traditional Korean side dish (''banchan'') consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

'' and ''

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

''. 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 exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

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 A sex ratio is 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. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

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. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

; 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 many national agencies and international organiza ...

Labour relations Labour relations in practice is a subarea within human resource management, and the main components of it include collective bargaining, application and oversight of collective agreement obligations, and dispute resolution. Academically, employe ...

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 is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

, 600 lived in

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

, 150 lived in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, 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 o ...

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

and

Kelapa Gading Kelapa Gading or also known as KG or Gading, is a district () of the administrative city of North Jakarta, Indonesia. The district is known to the local population as a city within a city, due to the integrated residential-commercial plannin ...

and Sunter in

North Jakarta North Jakarta (; ), abbreviated as Jakut, 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 council, hence it is ...

. There are also Korean populations in

Bogor Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, 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 large industrial, commercial and residential town which includes the administrative headquarters of Bekasi Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The biggest industrial estate in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical Unite ...

Bekasi Regency Bekasi Regency () is a regency () of West Java Province, Indonesia. Its regency seat is in the district of Central Cikarang. It is bordered by Jakarta Special Region (the administrative cities of North Jakarta and East Jakarta) and by Bekasi ...

, and

Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese script, Sundanese: , ) is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the sixth largest city proper in ...

. Most of the Bekasi Koreans work in 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 Bina Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian media ...

''. 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). 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

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

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 (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...

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 historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

) and one Buddhist temple of the

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially known as the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the leading order of traditional Korean Buddhism, with roots dating back 1,200 years to the late Silla period. Around ...

in the

Jabodetabek The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as ''Jabodetabekpunjur'' (an acronym of Jakarta–Bogor– Depok– Tangerang– Bekasi further extended to include Puncak region of Bogor Regency and portions 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.

Notable people

* Ji Da-bin, footballer * Yoo Hyun-goo, former footballer * Yoo Jae-hoon, former football player and manager * Lee Jeong-hoon, actor, singer, television personality * Komarudin (born Yang Chil-seong), freedom fighter * Ranty Maria, actress * Lee Yu-jun, footballer

References

External links

Jakarta International Korean School

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

Immigration to Indonesia

Ethnic groups in Indonesia Indonesia–South Korea relations