Notable people
- Usun Yoon, actress and reporter.
- Ahn Eak-tai, composer of Aegukga, died in Majorca.
- Kimera (singer), singer who worked mostly in Spain and France.
- Marvin Park
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 4,080 (2011) [1] | |
| Languages | |
| Korean, Spanish [2] | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism, [3] Protestantism, [2] Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Korean diaspora |
Koreans in Spain form one of the country's smaller Asian populations. [4]
2006 statistics from Spain's Instituto Nacional de Estadística showed 2,873 registered residents of Spain born in South Korea, of whom 514 held Spanish nationality, while 2,359 held other nationalities. Among Spanish nationals, men outnumbered women by a ratio of 1.3:1, which was almost exactly reversed among non-Spanish nationals. Between 1980 and 2004, a total of 696 people originally holding South Korean nationality became Spanish citizens. [4] South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, whose statistics are based largely on registrations with consulates and count locally born persons of Korean descent as well as South Korean-born individuals, recorded a somewhat higher count of 3,769 individuals in 2005; of those, 2,538 resided in, with another 1,231 in Las Palmas. This made Koreans in Spain the fifth-largest Korean diaspora population in Western Europe, behind Koreans in the United Kingdom, Koreans in Germany, Koreans in France, and Koreans in Italy. [5]
The most recent statistics of the South Korean government, issued in July 2011, show only slight growth compared to the 2005 statistics. Of the 4,080 Koreans recorded as living in Spain, 929 had Spanish citizenship, 2,108 had permanent residence, 216 were on student visas, and the remaining 727 had other kinds of visas. [1]
Koreans in Las Palmas form a community distinct from that on the Spanish mainland. Theirs is the only concentration of Koreans in Spain whose presence has resulted in a recognisable Koreatown. [6] They trace their origins to South Korean migrant workers who worked on deep-ocean fishing boats based on the island starting in the 1960s. [7] Fishing, along with construction, was one of the main sources of overseas employment for South Koreans for decades; by the 1970s, nearly 15,000 Koreans resided in Las Palmas, making them about 4% of the city's population of 350,000. Many brought their families over and became rooted in Spain, sending their children to local schools. [8] However, with the decline of South Korea's ocean fisheries industries in the 1990s, their population shrank, from 2,283 individuals in 1997 to just 1,292 by 1999, a number which decreased at a slower rate over the following decade to reach 1,197 by 2011. [1] [8] Most of the remaining Korean population have shifted away from the fishing industry, and their children have largely entered professional fields, achieving relative affluence. [8]
The Korean community on the Spanish mainland consists mainly of two groups: primarily male small business owners and executives of South Korean companies along with their spouses and children, and primarily female international students at Spanish universities. [9] Korean martial artists, though a smaller group, are also well represented; they either run their own dojang , or work for private security companies. [7] They do not trace their origins exclusively to South Korea; some members of the communities of Koreans in Argentina and other Latin American countries have also settled in Spain, and South Korean businessowners often employ joseonjok from China in their businesses. Their population peaked in the 1990s and then decreased due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, during which many South Korean companies, anxious to cut costs, shifted operations out of Western Europe into the cheaper countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America, and China. [9]
Overseas Chinese refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.
The Japanese diaspora and its individual members, known as Nikkei (日系) or as Nikkeijin (日系人), comprise the Japanese emigrants from Japan residing in a country outside Japan. Emigration from Japan was recorded as early as the 15th century to the Philippines, but did not become a mass phenomenon until the Meiji period (1868–1912), when Japanese emigrated to the Philippines and to the Americas. There was significant emigration to the territories of the Empire of Japan during the period of Japanese colonial expansion (1875–1945); however, most of these emigrants repatriated to Japan after the 1945 surrender of Japan ended World War II in Asia.
Overseas Vietnamese refers to Vietnamese people who live outside Vietnam. There are approximately 5 million overseas Vietnamese, the largest community of whom live in the United States.
Latin Americans are the citizens of Latin American countries.
Asian Argentines, are Argentine citizens or residents of Asian ancestry. The vast majority trace their ancestry to West Asia, primarily Lebanon and Syria, and East Asia, namely China and Japan. Though there are other communities of South Asian or Southeast Asian origin as well. Asian-Argentines settled in Argentina in large numbers during several waves of immigration in the twentieth century.
Burmese people or Myanma people are citizens or people from Myanmar (Burma), irrespective of their ethnic or religious background. Myanmar is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. The Burmese government officially recognises 135 ethnic groups, who are grouped into eight 'national races,' namely the Bamar (Burmans), Shan, Karen, Rakhine (Arakanese), Mon, Kachin, Chin, and Kayah (Karenni). Many ethnic and ethnoreligious communities exist outside these defined groupings, such as the Burmese Chinese and Panthay, Burmese Indians, Anglo-Burmese, and Gurkhas.
Koryo-saram or Koryoin are ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states that descend from Koreans who were living in the Russian Far East during the late 19th century.
Koreans in Taiwan are the 30th-largest population of overseas Koreans and the 9th-largest foreign community in Taiwan.
Korean Canadians are Canadian citizens of full or partial Korean ancestry, as well with immigrants from North and South Korea. As of 2016, Korean Canadians are the 8th largest group of Asian Canadians.
Koreans in Argentina form the second-largest Korean diaspora community in South America and the 16th largest in the world, according to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Their population declined by more than 50% between 1997 and 2003. Despite the small rebound in their numbers since then, they have been surpassed in size by the rapidly growing Chinese Argentine community. In the 2010s decade, the Korean community in Argentina has fallen behind Korean communities in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, The United Arab Emirates, and Southeast Asia.
Koreans in Peru formed Latin America's seventh-largest Korean diaspora community as of 2011, according to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They are relatively small in size compared to the other Asian communities in Peru.
Koreans in the United Kingdom include Korean-born migrants to the United Kingdom and their British-born descendants tracing ancestries from North Korea and South Korea.
Overseas Pakistanis, or the Pakistani diaspora, refers to Pakistanis who live outside of Pakistan. These include citizens that have migrated to another country as well as people born abroad of Pakistani descent. According to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, approximately 8.8 million Pakistanis live abroad according to December 2017 estimates. According to the Ministry of Emigration and Overseas Employment, data released in 2023 states that more than 10.80 million people have moved abroad since 1990. beoe.gov.pk
Spanish people of Filipino ancestry are an ethnic and multilingualistic group in Spain, consisting of the descendants of early migrants from the Philippines to Spain, as well as more recent migrants. Some 200,000 Filipinos are estimated to live in Spain, including 37,000 expatriates from the Philippines living in Spain who do not hold Spanish citizenship.
Indians in Spain form one of the smaller populations of the Indian diaspora. According to the statistics of India's Ministry of External Affairs, they number only 35,000, or 0.07% of the population of Spain. 2009 statistics of Spain's Instituto Nacional de Estadística showed 35,686 Indian citizens in Spain; this figure does not include persons of Indian origin holding other citizenships. Most Indians originally migrated to Spain from Africa, while others came from India and even Japan and Southeast Asia. The overwhelming majority of Indians in Spain live in the Barcelona area. According to data from 2021, Indians in Spain number more than 57,000.
Japanese people in Spain consist largely of expatriate managers in Japanese corporations, as well as international students. There are also some people of Japanese ancestry in Spain, including descendants of 17th-century migrants to Spain, as well as migrants from among Nikkei populations in Latin America. According to Spain's National Statistical Institute, 4,898 Japanese citizens resided in the country as of 2009; Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave a higher figure of 8,080 as of 2015.
Koreans in Chile formed Latin America's sixth-largest Korean diaspora community as of 2011, according to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Koreans in Paraguay formed one of the earliest Korean diaspora communities in Latin America. However, they were always overshadowed by the larger Korean communities in neighbouring Brazil and Argentina and since the late 1990s, their population has fallen significantly.
Korean Uruguayans, numbering 130 individuals, formed the 19th-largest Korean community in Latin America as of 2005, according to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Overseas Indians, officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are Indians who reside or originate outside of India. According to the Government of India, Non-Resident Indians are citizens of India who currently are not living in India, while the term People of Indian Origin refers to people of Indian birth or ancestry who are citizens of countries other than India. Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is given to People of Indian Origin and to persons who are not People of Indian Origin but married to People of Indian Origin. Persons with OCI status are known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). The OCI status is a permanent visa for visiting India with a foreign passport.
| Africa |   | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | |||||||||
| South America | |||||||||
| Asia |
| ||||||||
| Europe |
| ||||||||
| Oceania | |||||||||
| Related topics |
| ||||||||
1 An autonomous community of Spain off the northwest coast of Africa | |||||||||
