2409:4072:6D82:B098:2D59:5D0C:C134:4CC4 at 09:39, 31 July 2021

2021-07-31T09:39:43Z

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{{Infobox Ethnic group
|group = Koreans in India
|population=10,397 (2013)<ref name="MOFA">{{citation|chapter-url=http://www.mofa.go.kr/webmodule/common/download.jsp?boardid=232&tablename=TYPE_DATABOARD&seqno=fcefeefd6f8e05d012031027&fileseq=00b03707a059027fc7069fbf|script-chapter=ko:남아시아태평양|script-title=ko:재외동포현황 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date=2013-09-30|access-date=2015-04-30|page=97}}</ref>
|region1=[[Tamil Nadu]]
|pop1=4,550
|ref1=<ref name="MOFA"/>
|region2=[[National Capital Region (India)|National Capital Region]]
|pop2=3,545
|ref2=<ref name="MOFA"/>
|region3=[[Maharashtra]]
|pop3=3,934
|ref3=<ref name="MOFA"/>
|region4=[[Karnataka]]
|pop4=880
|ref4=<ref name="MOFA"/>
|region5=[[West Bengal]]
|pop5=209
|ref5=<ref name="MOFA"/>
|region6=Elsewhere
|pop6=785
|ref6=<ref name="MOFA"/>
|religions=[[Korean Buddhism]], [[Christianity]]<ref name="BRICS">{{citation|url=http://www.bricsinfo.org/bricsinfo/business/download.jsp?seq=2696|access-date=2009-04-29|script-chapter=ko:기타 정보 |trans-chapter=Other information |script-title=ko:인도 투자핵심가이드 |trans-title=India Core Investment Guide |publisher=Korea Institute for International Economic Policy|year=2006}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|related-c=[[Korean diaspora]]
}}

There is a small '''Korean community in India''', consisting largely of [[South Korea]]n expatriate professionals and their families, as well as some missionaries and [[international student]]s at [[List of universities in India|Indian universities]].<ref name="TimesOfIndia2006">{{citation|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Consumer_Life/Food__flavour_beyond_Kimchi/articleshow/3110468.cms|periodical=The Times of India|title=Food & flavour beyond Kimchi|date=2008-06-08|access-date=2009-04-29|last=Doctor|first=Vikram}}</ref>

==Migration history==

In 526 CE, Korea monk [[Gyeyul|Gyeomik]], went to India to learn [[Sanskrit]] and study the monastic discipline [[Vinaya]], and founded the [[Gyeyul]] ({{Ko-hhrm|hanja=戒律宗|hangul=계율종|rr=Gyeyuljong}}) branch of Buddhism that specializes in the study of Vinaya which derives directly from the Indian ''Vinaya School''.<ref>The Buddhist Religion: a historical introduction. [[Richard Robinson (Buddhism scholar)|Richard H. Robinson]], Willard L. Johnson, Sandra Ann Wawrytko. Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1996</ref>

In 673 CE, Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]] who reached India, recorded that the people of [[Indian subcontinent]] were familiar with Korea's customs and beliefs and they regarded Koreans as "worshipers of the rooster". This concept about Koreans was grounded in a legend of the [[Silla]] dynasty.<ref>[https://www.ekoreajournal.net/issue/index2.htm?Idx=328# Korea Journal Vol.28. No.12 (Dec. 1988)]</ref>

By early 1950s, migration of Koreans to India had commenced; the Korean Association of India was founded in that decade in New Delhi by three South Koreans who had gone into exile after being released from prison in their home country. However, large-scale growth in the community did not begin until the 1990s.<ref name="Mint">{{citation|periodical=[[Mint (newspaper)|Live Mint]]|url=http://www.livemint.com/2008/05/01235900/The-hurricane-bombers.html|date=2008-05-02|access-date=2009-04-29|title=The hurricane bombers: With a plethora of new Korean companies coming to India, Delhi and Bangalore are becoming the new hubs of Korean culture|last=Bell|first=Melissa A.}}</ref> In 1997, the Korean community in India numbered just 1,229 people, according to South Korean government statistics; it grew somewhat by 42% to 1,745 people by 2003, but then in the next six years it nearly quintupled in size, making them the 25th-largest Korean community in the world, behind [[Koreans in Guatemala]] and ahead of [[Koreans in Paraguay]].<ref name="MOFA"/><ref name="OKF">{{citation|url=http://www.okf.or.kr/data/status_AS.jsp|script-title=ko:재외동포현황 - 아시아 |trans-title=Status of overseas compatriots - Asia |publisher=Overseas Korean Foundation|year=2005|access-date=2008-10-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212042424/http://www.okf.or.kr/data/status_AS.jsp|archive-date=2006-02-12}}</ref>

==Population distribution==

===South Koreans ===

[[Chennai]] was the earliest hub of the Korean community in India, thanks to [[Hyundai Group|Hyundai]]'s decision to open factories there in 1995. Koreans concentrated largely in the [[Kilpauk]] township, which has acquired the nickname of "Little Korea" as a result.<ref>{{citation|title=Growing expat community favour cluster {{sic|accom|odation|nolink=y}}|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3983788.cms|access-date=2009-04-29|periodical=The Times of India|date=2009-01-15|first=Hemamalini|last=Venkatraman|first2=Nandini|last2=Sivakuma}}</ref><ref name="Hindu">{{citation|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/02/14/stories/2009021451450800.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220112344/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/02/14/stories/2009021451450800.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-02-20|date=2009-02-14|access-date=2009-04-29|title=Meet Chennai's Kim Madam: Korean Kim Myoungsuk has successfully made the transition from Ansan to the Tamil Nadu capital|last=Sanghi|work=[[The Hindu]]|first=Seema}}</ref> Later communities in Delhi and Bangalore experienced rapid growth in the 2000s.<ref name="Mint"/> According to the 2013 statistics of [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (South Korea)|South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], 4,550 lived in [[Tamil nadu]], 3,934 lived in [[Maharashtra]], 3,545 lived in the [[National Capital Region (India)|National Capital Region]] (mainly in [[New Delhi]], [[Gurgaon]], and [[Noida]]), 1,042 in [[Goa]], 880 in [[Karnataka]], and 209 in [[West Bengal]]. Only 11 held Indian citizenship.<ref name="MOFA"/>

===North Koreans in India===
There is a small population of North Koreans present in India. They are centered in New Delhi, where North Korea has an embassy.

==Business and employment==
Most corporate expatriates come for maximum three- to five-year stints before returning home.<ref name="Mint"/> In New Delhi, major employers of South Korean expatriates include [[Samsung]] and [[LG Electronics]].<ref name="IndianExpress">{{citation|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=148105|periodical=Indian Express|title=Seoul of Delhi: The 2,000-odd South Korean community prefers to lead a quiet life in the city|date=2005-09-12|access-date=2009-04-29|last=Kowshik|first=Priyamvada}}</ref> In the [[Chennai]] area, many work for [[Hyundai Motors]] and its suppliers.<ref name="NYT">{{citation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/business/worldbusiness/12auto.html?fta=y|date=2006-09-12|access-date=2009-04-29|periodical=The New York Times|title=Foreign Automakers See India as Exporter|last=Ghiridharadas|first=Anand}}</ref> After [[Kia Motors]] opened its production unit in Bagepalli in [[Andhra Pradesh]] more than 1200 Koreans arrived in India and mostly reside in North Bengaluru. Some expatriates have also opened Korean restaurants, aimed largely at their co-ethnics rather than local Indians, in [[Chennai]], [[New Delhi]], and [[Bangalore]], though not in [[Mumbai]].<ref name="TimesOfIndia2006"/>

==Education==
According to MOFA's statistics, 109,000 of the South Koreans in India in 2015 held student visas.<ref name="MOFA"/> As early as 2002, roughly 200 South Koreans were studying at local universities in New Delhi, mainly the [[University of Delhi]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi|Jawaharlal Nehru University]].<ref name="TimesOfIndia2002"/> At Delhi University, with roughly 90 students from South Korea, they have even formed a Korean Students Union as well as a traditional [[Korean drum]] group.<ref name="Shoba">{{citation|title=Beating their drum: A band of Korean students from Delhi University is drumming up some attention|last=Shoba|first=V.|periodical=Indian Express|date=2008-12-28|access-date=2009-04-29|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/beating-their-drum/403682/}}</ref> The Korean Association, with an office in the [[Hauz Khas Complex]], also holds extracurricular Korean-language classes for Korean expatriate children.<ref name="IndianExpress"/> South Korean information technology students have also been attending courses at private institutes in the Pune area since 2002.<ref name="TimesOfIndia2002">{{citation|title=The Koreans have arrived in Hinjewadi!|date=2002-04-07|access-date=2009-04-29|last=Vaidya|first=Abhay|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-04-07/pune/27131130_1_korean-students-i2it-information-technology|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023194828/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-04-07/pune/27131130_1_korean-students-i2it-information-technology|url-status=dead|work=[[The Times of India]]|archive-date=2012-10-23}}</ref> There are also some North Korean students studying in New Delhi as well.<ref>{{cite web|language=ko |script-title=ko:김용환 인도한인회 사무국장-북한 "힌디어 배워라" 김일성대 교수 파견 |trans-title=Kim Yong-hwan, president of the Korean Association of India: Kim Il-Sung University professor dispatched to India|publisher=[[Voice of America]]|url=http://www.rfa.org/korean/weekly_program/callin_show/calling_show-02182009150826.html|date=2009-02-17|access-date=2009-04-29|last=No|first=Jeong-min}}</ref>

There is also an increasing number of South Korean primary and secondary students entering India on student visas; their parents send them unaccompanied to international [[boarding school]]s there in order to take advantage of inexpensive English-medium education, at roughly half the price of comparable schools in the United States or United Kingdom. In addition to language proficiency and cost, the reputation of Indian [[mathematics education]], seen as even more rigorous than that in South Korea, let alone the US or UK, is another draw for parents. In 2006, there were 1,435 South Korean primary and secondary visa students in India, according to the Indian embassy in Seoul.<ref name="CI20080228">{{citation|url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200802/200802280018.html|date=2008-02-28|access-date=2009-06-18|periodical=Chosun Ilbo|title=India Draws More and More Korean Students|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605004256/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200802/200802280018.html|archive-date=2008-06-05|url-status=dead}}</ref> For example, South Korean children comprised 16% of all students at the [[American Embassy School]] in New Delhi, making them the largest nationality behind Americans, and 20% of the students at the [[Woodstock School]] in [[Landour]], [[Uttarakhand]].<ref name="CI20080228"/><ref name="DailyStar">{{citation|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/11/d70311050266.htm|date=2007-03-11|periodical=The Daily Star|title=S. Koreans drawn to India's business opportunities|access-date=2009-04-29}}</ref> Many students are studying in [[Trio World Academy]], Bengaluru as its offer extended Korean school program and closer to the establishment of [[Kia Motors]].

In New Delhi, many South Korean adult expatriates have joined in [[Hindi]] classes; about half of all foreign students enrolled in advanced Hindi classes or certificate or degree courses are Koreans, and major employers such as Samsung have organised year-long Hindi courses for their employees.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.korea.net/News/news/NewsView.asp?serial_no=20070108019&part=110&SearchDay=|title=Korean professionals seeing big 'I' in BRIC|periodical=Korea.net|date=2007-01-08|access-date=2009-04-29}}; cites {{citation|first=Anuradha|last=Mukherjee|title=Koreans invade DU Hindi class|periodical=Hindustan Times|date=2007-01-04}}</ref>

==Media==
The Korean Association of India publishes a bimonthly magazine in Korean, ''Namaste India''.<ref name="Mint"/>

==Religion and pilgrimage to India==
[[File:Buddhist Expansion.svg|thumb|right|[[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|Buddhist expansion in Asia]], from Buddhist heartland in [[northern India]] (dark orange) starting 5th century BCE, to Buddhist majority realm (orange), and historical extent of Buddhism influences (yellow). The overland and maritime "Silk Roads" were interlinked and complementary, forming what scholars have called the "great circle of Buddhism".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Acri |author-first=Andrea |date=20 December 2018 |title=Maritime Buddhism |url=https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-638 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.638 |isbn=9780199340378 |doi-access=free |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219153342/https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-638 |archive-date=19 February 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref>]]
[[file:Suriratna_2019_stamp_of_India.jpg|thumb|right|A commemorative [[Indian rupee|Rs.]] 25.00 postage stamp on Princess Suriratna (Queen Heo Hwang-ok ) was issued by India in 2019.]]
[[file:Queen_Heo_2019_stamp_of_India.jpg|thumb|right|A commemorative [[Indian rupee|Rs.]] 5.00 postage stamp on Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Princess Suriratna) was issued by India in 2019.]]

[[Sarnath]], where [[Gautama Buddha]] first taught the [[Dharma]], has long been a popular destination for travelling [[Buddhism in Korea|Korean Buddhists]], as in the case of [[Hyecho]]'s 8th-century pilgrimage there.<ref>{{citation|last=Jan|first=Yun-hua|title=On Hyech'o: The Korean Record on Varanasi and Sarnath|journal=Korea Journal|volume=10|issue=9|pages=28–31|year=1966}}</ref>

[[Memorial of Heo Hwang-ok, Ayodhya|Memorial of Heo Hwang-ok]] in [[Ayodhya]], is visited by a large number of Koreans, especially around [[jesa]] in April, to pay tribute to Queen [[Heo Hwang-ok]] as she is considered an ancestor to large number of Koreans. She was supposedly of Indian-origin from Ayodhya and had traveled to Korea to marry King [[Suro of Geumgwan Gaya]] in 48 CE.<ref name=Upgrade1>[https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2018/12/16/des6-korea-ayodhya%20memorial.html Work on Queen Heo Memorial in Ayodhya likely to be completed in 2 years], [[The Week (Indian magazine)]], 18 December 2018.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Samguk Yusa |author=[[Il-yeon]] (tr. by Ha Tae-Hung & Grafton K. Mintz) |publisher=Yonsei University Press |location=Seoul |isbn=89-7141-017-5 |year=1972}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-46055285 The Indian princess who became a South Korean queen], 4 November 2018, [[BBC]]</ref><ref>[http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/why-60-lakh-koreans-consider-lord-rams-ayodhya-their-maternal-home_1862213.html/amp Why 60 lakh Koreans consider Lord Ram's Ayodhya their maternal home?], 4 March 2016, [[Zee News]]</ref> Over 6 million Koreans, especially of [[Gimhae Gim clan]], [[Gimhae Heo clan]], and [[Incheon Lee clan|Incheon Yi clan]], believe Queen Heo to be their ancestor.<ref name=ancest1>[http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2017/04/162_219704.html Legacy of Queen Suriratn], [[The Korea Times]], 16 April 2017.</ref> Her association with Ayodhya is based on the book ''"Heo Hwang-ok Route: From India to Gaya of Korea"'' by a Senior Archeologist and Emeritus Professor at Hanyang University, Kim Byung-mo,<ref name=ancest1/> which has been called speculative by some critics.

Koreans have formed a number of Christian churches in India, including three in New Delhi, two in Chennai, and one in Mumbai.<ref name="BRICS"/> Local Christian denominations also have Korean members, as in Pune, where the [[Church of North India]] began offering Korean-language services from 2005. Some Koreans also attend English-language Christian services, but where numbers permit, they have broken off to hold their own services in Korean.<ref>{{citation|last=Deshmukh|first=Vinita|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/67176/|periodical=Indian Express|date=2005-03-26|access-date=2009-04-29|title=Korean mass at Deshpande church}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Heo Hwang-ok]], the Indian Queen of 48 CE Korea
* [[Memorial of Heo Hwang-ok, Ayodhya]]
* [[Korean_Buddhism|Buddhism in Korea]]
* [[Hinduism in Korea]]
* [[Indians in Korea]]
* [[India–South Korea relations]]
* [[India – North Korea relations]]
* [[History of Korea]]

==References==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==External links==
*[http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25video3.htm Koreans start hugging campaign in Varanasi], a January 2008 video report from [[Rediff.com]]

{{Korean diaspora}}
{{Immigration to India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koreans In India}}
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Korean diaspora in Asia|India]]
[[Category:Overseas Korean groups|India]]
[[Category:Indian people of Korean descent| ]]
[[Category:South Korean expatriates in India| ]]
[[Category:Immigration to India]]

Koreans in India - Revision history

2409:4072:6D82:B098:2D59:5D0C:C134:4CC4 at 09:39, 31 July 2021