| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 29,167[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Paris, Nice, Villeurbanne, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Toulouse | |
| Languages | |
| Korean, French | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity and Mahayana Buddhism[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Korean diaspora, Koryo-Saram |
Koreans in France numbered 29,367 individuals as of 2014[update], making them the 3rd-largest Korean diaspora community in Western Europe, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.[3]
Korean migration to France began in 1919, when the government of France issued work permits to 35 Korean migrant labourers.[4] From a community of just 3,310 in 1988, their numbers more than tripled by 2000, and then grew a further 30% by 2007.[5][6] However, from 2009 to 2011, their population shrank by 14%.[3] The vast majority live in Paris — about two-thirds, according to 2011 data, compared with four-fifths a decade before — with the largest concentrations in the 15th arrondissement. There are more than twice as many women as men; the population has grown more gender-imbalanced as compared to a decade prior.[7][3] Unlike in the United States or Canada, with their large Korean American and Korean Canadian communities, few Koreans in France seek to naturalise as French citizens.[8] Among all South Korean nationals or former nationals in France, 786 (6%) have become French citizens, 2,268 (18%) are permanent residents, 6,325 (50%) are international students, and the remaining 3,305 (26%) hold other kinds of visas.[3]
Aside from South Korean expatriates, children adopted from Korea into French families form another portion of France's Korean population; most were adopted at between ages three and nine.[9] The number of North Korean refugees has also been on the rise.[10]
Koreans in France are served by five Korean-language weekend schools, the oldest and largest of which is the Paris Hangul School, established 18 August 1974; it enrolled 170 students as of 2007.[11] Four others, in Villeurbanne, Grenoble, Strasbourg, and Toulouse, were established between 1994 and 2000; they enrolled a further 78 students.[12][13][14][15] A significant number also attend French universities; in total, about half of the Korean population in France are estimated to be students, falling from two-thirds a decade ago.[7][3]
Not many French people know that their country has a Korean community at all.[4] In many cases, Koreans are mistaken for Chinese and thus lumped in as economic refugees.[16]
As of 2001, only about 200 of the South Koreans in France were members of internationally married couples consisting of a South Korean partner and a French partner.[7] Such couples experienced a number of cultural conflicts, most commonly over the rigour of their children's education.[8]
Portrayals in popular culture of Koreans in France include the 2004 South Korean television series Lovers in Paris; its popularity has resulted in an increase in the number of Korean tourists visiting France.[4] A more recent one is Hong Sang-soo's 2008 film Night and Day.[17]
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Further information: Category:French people of Korean descent |
