[4] South Africa had considered importing labourers from Korea as early as 1903 to control rising mining wages, but eventually decided on Chinese workers instead.

[6] In 1930, when then-Minister of the Interior D. F. Malan made the decision to exclude Japanese from the "prohibited immigrants" category as defined by the 1913 Act, Koreans remained prohibited immigrants, though Jan Smuts angrily protested that the exemption represented a precedent for opening the door to Koreans and Chinese as well.

A number of independent migrants came as well; they typically set up small businesses in the import/export, hospitality, car repair, and photography sectors.

South Korean tourists generally choose Cape Town as their primary destination, due to the Table Mountain and other famous natural attractions.

[13][14] However, in interviews with South African media, project managers at the sites in question denied the reports.

[19] In total, more than a quarter of the Korean population in South Africa may consist of students or family members who moved to the country primarily to give their children the opportunity for an English-language education.

The Johannesburg Hangul School was the earliest; it was founded in March 1992 by Jeong Eun-il, who continues to serve as principal.

[26][27] At one point, prosecutors even claimed to have evidence implicating a Zimbabwean businessman with close ties to Robert Mugabe in the killing.

[28] In 2007, a Korean woman was found dead in her Cape Town home with her hands and feet bound with rope.