Koreans in Ukraine

A significant group among them are ethnic Koreans called Koryo-saram: these people arrived in the former Soviet Union before and during the Japanese colonial period and spread throughout the region especially after their forced migration in 1937.

[1] A 2021 South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) report gave the number as 13,524.

[1] Work visas for ethnic Korean returnee workers are reportedly easy to obtain, which contributes to this phenomenon.

[1] In 1995, Kan Den Sik organized a Korean division at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

[4] One survey in South Korea found that 42.8% of Korean Ukrainians had a family member who died during the war.

[7] According to one interviewee in South Korea, they knew many ethnic Korean children who died in the conflict.

[8] However, refugees were made to pay fees to apply for their stay in South Korea; this requirement was eventually lifted on March 26, 2023.

[5] By March 2023, it was reported that 1,200 Ukrainian Koryo-saram refugees had entered South Korea since the beginning of the war.

The family had remained stateless after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, and did not have documents that proved their identity beyond a birth certificate.

[10] South Koreans volunteered to assist the refugees and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars for their expenses.

[8] They also faced a number of other challenges, including issues relating to visa renewal, language barriers, and finding employment.

The group has performed at the festival every year, and has traveled to South Korea to expand their repertoire.

[1] In 2017, an exhibition was held in South Korea, showing photographs of the daily lives of Korean Ukrainians.

[16] Koreans in Ukraine share the culture of Koryo-saram cuisine, including the staple side dish of morkovcha (a carrot-based variant of kimchi).