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Editor's Note: Veteran journalist Kim Ho-jun, who was the chief editor of Seoul Newspaper, the editor of Munhwa Daily, and also the chairman of the Press Commission, recently published 150 Years of Koreans in Eurasia: A Tragic History of the Korean Diaspora (Juluesung Publishing). Based on the author's travels in Russia and Central Asian countries over the last decade or so, this book traces the tragic history of Koryo Saram (the ethnic Koreans living in Eurasia). In this essay written and contributed by the author of this book, we will learn about the origin of the immigration of Koryo Saram, the tough lives of Koryo Saram, and the author's writing of this book.

The Author of 150 Years of Koreans in Eurasia: A Tragic History of the Korean Diaspora Talks About the General History of Koryo Saram

The ethnic Koreans in Eurasia, commonly referred to as the 'Kareiskis, or Koryo Saram,' are pioneers in frontier exploration in the modern and contemporary history of Korea. They are the ones who expanded the horizons of the Korean people who had confined themselves to the Korean peninsular since the downfall of Balhae in 926 A.D. to include the vast Eurasian continent. Today, their living territory stretches from east to west across Central Asia for as long as 12,000 kilometers, from the Kamchatka Peninsula at the eastern tip of Russia to Ukraine in Eastern Europe. They are our 'guides in the continent' who will work with us fellow Koreans to open a new chapter in the 21st century.
A hundred and fifty years ago, the ancestors of Koryo Saram advanced into the continent by crossing the border (Duman River) to Primorsky Krai. As we celebrate this significant and historic event, I feel that we should at least hold a simple national ceremony to honor and remember their strong frontier spirit. Such a ceremony can also encourage Koryo Saram, who have been dispirited since the collapse of the Soviet Union, to get back on their feet. Hopefully, my book, 150 Years of Koreans in Eurasia: A Tragic History of the Korean Diaspora, the first of its kind that covered the 150 year-history of the journey of Koryo Saram, will be the torch held up high in that endeavor.

When Was the First Year of the Immigration of Koreans?

There is no consensus on the year that Koreans first started moving to Primorsky Krai. The widely accepted view in the Korean academia holds that 1863 was the year of the first immigration. This is based on the Russian border guards commander's report, which wrote that in September of that year, thirteen farming households from northeastern Korea (North Hamgyeong Province) built and settled in thatched houses by the Tizinkhe (地新墟) River in Primorsky Krai. On the other hand, the first year of the Korean immigration as determined by the czarist Russian government is 1864, the year that they officially authorized the immigration of Koreans. And the Koryo Saram community tends to agree with this view. Other views, which hold that 1853 or 1860 was the first year, have no conclusive evidence. As for us Koreans, I think we need to stick to the view that 1863 was the first year of immigration, for this is verified by the Russian document, as the origin of the history of the Korean people's frontier exploration that remains alive and dynamic to this day.

From the immigration of Koreans to Primorsky Krai to their encounter today with their 'historical homeland' Korea, the historical facts were forgotten but restored in 150 Years of Koreans in Eurasia: A Tragic History of the Korean Diaspora. This book presents the general history of the Koryo Saram community, summarizing the political, economical, social, and cultural changes that took place over the course of the past 150 years. It also covers the introduction of the ancient culture into the Korean peninsula through the ancient Western Regions (西域-present-day Central Asia), and traces whom I thought to be the fathers of Koreans in Central Asia, such as Koguryo envoys who traveled in the Western Regions, Silla monk Hyecho, and Koguryo migrant general Koseonji, and present them as a pre-history. And it chronicles what Koryo Saram went through afterward, their collaboration with Japan in the 1920s, their participation in the foundation of North Korea after independence, Kim Il-sung's purges, their pursuit of the Soviet Dream through the tenant farming system (Gobonjil), their relocation by nation after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and their strenuous efforts made in the 2000s to get back on their feet. The encounter between Koryo Saram and their 'historical homeland' Korea that was finally realized after the end of the Cold War is one of the most significant milestones in the modern history of Koryo Saram. In South Korea today, up to 10,000 Koryo Saram are employed, and 4,000 Koryo Saram have permanently returned. The phrase 'Koryo Saram within Korea' used in this book sums up that return to Korea has become the most important motivation for their migration.

The Life of Koryo Saram Riddled with Hardships

When we look back on history, we can see that the Koreans who left their homeland faced discrimination and persecution day after day from the very beginning. The Koreans in Primorsky Krai suffered under the Czar's oppression, the Koreans in the Soviet Union lived in fear of Stalin's 'Great Purge' until they were falsely accused of espionage for the Japanese Empire and deported to Central Asia, and the Eurasian Koreans thought they had settled in and achieved miraculous success there when they were scattered again across the continent with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Their unfortunate fate is simply heartbreaking to think about. This book is focused on describing the sufferings and hardships of these ethnic Koreans. In other words, this is no ordinary general history. This is a tragic history. What I mean to say is that the tragedy in our national history like the ruin of the Joseon Dynasty that turned Koryo Saram into people without a country should never be repeated again.

The 1937 deportation of about 180,000 ethnic Koreans living in the Russian Far East to Central Asia by the Soviet Union authorities is an example of state terrorism gone to extremes and an inglorious chapter in the history of mankind. Stalin had terrorized the Korean community by imprisoning 2,500 Korean leaders, and then carried out the deportation when the terror reached its peak. It is estimated that the deportation cost the lives of about 16,500 Koreans, or 10 percent of the total Soviet Korean population. Even today, those born between 1936 and 1938 are hard to find in the Koryo Saram society, which points to the gloomy fact that most infants at that time faced death.

The deportation that separated those ethnic Koreans from the Korean Peninsula, their homeland, and turned them into the 20th-century diaspora was an unprecedented, terrible event that changed their fate forever. In the subsequent fifty years, however, the Soviet Union authorities forced Koryo Saram to keep silent not only about the deportation but also about their root and home. As a result, too much of the history of persecution of Koryo Saram has been either forgotten or buried. The Soviet Union's national history textbook did not at all cover Koryo Saram numbering as many as 400,000 people, whereas it covered other ethnic minorities, some only remaining in the thousands. The full account of the deportation should have been revealed in The History of the Soviet Koreans (韓族史) by the ethnic Korean historian Kim Seung-hwa published in the 1960s, the book didn't even mention the subject. Kim simply wrote that the Korea Theater in Primorsky Krai had been relocated to Kyzylorda City in 1937 in order to serve Koryo Saram living in Kazakhstan. Koryo Saram couldn't speak about their tragic history until after perestroika in the 1980s. And the truths about the deportation weren't revealed until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In this respect, writing the general history of Koryo Saram is like restoring the lost history.

The Deportation of Koryo Saram Was Revealed, but Not Until After Perestroika

After perestroika, with the opening of communication channels and the release of the old secret documents of the Soviet Union, the Koryo Saram community started criticizing the deportation and pouring out tragic stories about their past. They also scrambled to discover the banned books that contained historical truths. South Korea has also shown an increasing interest in Koryo Saram, and produced research papers on the post-Soviet changes in the Koryo Saram community and the issue of their relocation. Unfortunately, however, there has been no follow-up effort to gather together a set of such fragmented information or single-topic papers as the basis of general history.

As the Korean saying goes, "It takes more than pearls to make a necklace." To make a 'necklace,' I have spent the past decade travelling in Russia and Central Asian countries for interview with the officials in charge and archival research. Especially, I have worked hard to collect materials including the photographs of major figures and events that appeared in the history of Koryo Saram, related maps, pictures, graphs, etc. I am a journalist who spent his youth on the scene for coverage. This career of mine may explain the jou rnalistic approach to writing this book. I would like to say that 150 Years of Koreans in Eurasia: A Tragic History of the Korean Diaspora is a result of active journalism rather than passive academism.