| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 34,217[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Russian Far East | |
| Languages | |
| Korean, Russian | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Koryo-saram |
North Koreans in Russia consist mainly of three groups: international students, guest workers, and defectors and refugees. A 2006 study by Kyung Hee University estimated their total population at roughly 10,000.[2]
Aside from North Korean citizens living in Russia, there has also historically been significant migration from the northern provinces of Korea, especially Hamgyong, to the Russian Far East; this population of migrants became known as the Koryo-saram.[3] 65% of the Sakhalin Koreans also took up North Korean citizenship in the 1950s and 1960s in order to avoid statelessness; roughly one thousand even repatriated to North Korea, though their ancestral homes were in the southern half of the Korean peninsula.[2][4] In addition, various senior members of the Workers' Party of Korea, including Kim Il Sung himself, lived in Russia prior to Korean independence and the establishment of North Korea.[5][6]
- ^ "ФМС России". Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
- ^ a b Lee, Jeanyoung (2006), "Migration, Ethnicity and Citizenship: Ethnic-Korean Returnees in the Russian Far East" (PDF), Asia Culture Forum, Inha University, retrieved 2006-11-23[permanent dead link]
- ^ Lee Kwang-kyu (2000), Overseas Koreans, Seoul: Jimoondang, pp. 7–15, ISBN 89-88095-18-9
- ^ Ishikida, Miki (2005), Toward Peace: War Responsibility, Postwar Compensation, and Peace Movements and Education in Japan, Center for US-Japan Comparative Social Studies, p. 51
- ^ Chung, Byoung-sun (2002-08-22), "Sergeyevna Remembers Kim Jong Il", The Chosun Ilbo, archived from the original on 2007-03-11, retrieved 2007-06-01
- ^ Sheets, Lawrence (2004-02-12), "A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace", National Public Radio, retrieved 2007-06-01