Koreans in Micronesia

Koreans in Micronesia used to form a large population before World War II, when most of the region was ruled as the South Seas Mandate of the Empire of Japan; for example, they formed 7.3% of the population of Palau in 1943. However, after the area came under the control of the United States as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, most Koreans returned to their homeland. As of 2013, about seven thousand South Korean workers & immigrants and Korean Americans lived in the Marianas (Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), which have remained under U.S. control.

Koreans in Micronesia

Total population
7,512 (2013)
Regions with significant populations
Guam	5,016
Northern Marianas	2,281
Palau	122
F. S. of Micronesia	47
Marshall Islands	45
Kiribati	1
Languages
Korean, Japanese
Related ethnic groups
Korean diaspora

Japanese colonial era (1914–1945)

As the demand for work increased largly with the start of war, Japanese authorities turned to the Korean head as a supply of cheap workers. The first Korean workers came in January 1939, a group of 500; they were hired by Hōnan Sangyō K.K. (豊南産業株式会社).

A 1943 survey showed Palau's total Korean population at 2,458, or 7.3% of the population at the time; they were only one-tenth the size of the Japanese population. 864 lived on Babeldaob, another 721 were housed at the naval base on Malakal Island, 539 lived at Angaur, and the remaining 334 were found throughout other locations.

There were about 2,400 Koreans on Tinian at the time of the eponymous July 1944 battle which brought the island under U.S. control.

Along with the Japanese, the Koreans were all banished after the surrender of Japan ended World War II. The process of banishment began in September 1945 and lasted until May 1946. The total number who were banished to Korea from Palau was recorded at greater number than 3,000 people. In total, across all of the islands, U.S. records show 10,966 Korean banished (6,880 civilians, 3,751 military servicemen, and 190 soldiers), while Japanese records show just 7,727.

Recent years (1945–present)

U.S. territories

Based on the information from South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are 5,016 Koreans residing in Guam (1,933 Korean Americans, 1,426 with immigrant status, 133 international students, and 1,524 South Korean expatriates with other types of visas) and 2,281 in the Northern Mariana Islands (159 Korean Americans, 102 with immigrant status, 214 international students, and 1,806 with other types of visas).

In Marpi, Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a remembrance for Korean soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army who died during the Battle of Saipan was built in 1978.

Elsewhere

Only about 120–130 South Korean newcomers live in Palau, including about 80 working on a construction project at Babeldaob. South Korea also seen as the second-largest country for tourists to Palau, behind the Republic of China on Taiwan.

References

Sources

• Mason, A.C.; Corwin, G.; Rogers, C.L.; Elmquist, P.O.; Vessel, A.J.; McCracken, R.J. (1956), "Introduction", Military Geology of Palau Islands, Caroline Islands, Tokyo: Intelligence Division, Office of the Engineer, U.S. Army Forces Far East
• Peattie, Mark (1988), Nan'Yo: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 1885-1945, Pacific Islands Monograph Series, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 0-8248-1480-0
• Gim, Do-hyeong (2006), 중부태평양 팔라우 군도 한인의 강제동원과 귀환 [Forced Mobilisation and Repatriation of Koreans in the Palauan Archipelago] (PDF), Collected Papers, vol. 26, Seoul: Korea Research Foundation, retrieved 2009-05-04
• Petty, Bruce M., ed. (2001), Saipan: Oral Histories of the Pacific War, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-0991-4
• 재외동포현황 [Status of Compatriots Abroad], Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2013-09-30, retrieved 2015-04-30

Further reading

• Franklin, Rose Marie T. (1975), The United States' "guest workers": a case study of Korean temporary workers on Guam, Ph.D. thesis, Western Michigan University, OCLC 17756668