Автор: Хам Анастасия Чонг-Ёнг
Identity — what is it? What is the identity of ethnic Koreans interesting and remarkable? South Korea is an amazing country with its own rich history and culture. Many Koreans and foreigners live in this place. But there is also such a group of people as ethnic Koreans or Koryo-saram «고려 사람». Native Koreans refer to people who grew up outside of Korean culture as kyeoppo «교포». There are different types of gyeoppo: jaeil-kyoppo (재일교포) — Koreans who grew up in Japan, jaemi-kyoppo (재미교포) — American Koreans, joseonchok-kyoppo (조선족교포) — Chinese Koreans, and many others. All of these peoples have their own history of origin, traditions, culture and mentality. Ethnic Koreans are Koreans who, due to various circumstances, ended up in Russia and other CIS countries. A distinction is made between North and South ethnic Koreans. Southern ethnic Koreans moved to the CIS much later. Basically, they live on the island of Sakhalin. Because of this, indigenous Koreans call them Sakhalin-hanin ( 사할린한인). Since they are former residents of South Korea, they have much more privileges compared to North ethnic Koreans. The South Korean government can provide such people with housing, a monthly allowance and health insurance. But despite the services provided, native Koreans perceive ethnic Koreans as foreigners. Some Koreans don’t even know who kyeoppo are. Since over time, the connection between the indigenous Koreans and the Koryo-saram weakened. A huge split formed between them. There were significant differences in language, cuisine, names and mentality. As a result, the problem of the identity of ethnic Koreans arose. They face difficulties in preserving their Korean roots among the vast diversity of societies in which they live. Integration into a new environment has led to difficulties with self-determination and the perception of belonging.