Koreans are an East Asian ethnicity native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 million ethnic Korean diaspora. Koreans are also an officially recognised ethnic minority in other several Continental and East Asian countries, including China, Japan, Koryo-saram, Koryo-saram, and Koryo-saram. Outside of Continental and East Asia, sizeable Korean communities have formed in Germany, the British Koreans, France, the Korean Americans, Korean Canadians, Australia, and New Zealand.
North Koreans refer to themselves as Joseon-in or Joseon-saram, both of which literally mean "people of Joseon". The term is derived from Joseon, the last dynastic kingdom of Korea. Similarly, Koreans in China refer to themselves as Chaoxianzu in Chinese or Joseonjok, Joseonsaram in Korean, which are that literally mean "Joseon Ethnicity". Koreans in Japan refer to themselves as group=lower-alpha in Japanese or Jaeil Joseonin, Joseonsaram, Joseonin in Korean. Ethnic Koreans living in Russia and Central Asia refer to themselves as Koryo-saram, alluding to Goryeo, a Korean dynasty spanning from 918 to 1392, which also spawned the word 'Korea'.
In the chorus of the Aegukga, Koreans are referred to as Daehan-saram ("people of the great han").
In an inter-Korean context, such as when dealing with the Koreanic languages or the Korean ethnicity as a whole, South Koreans use the term .
Koreans were suggested to have originated from a similar source as Central Asian Mongolians from a genetic perspective.
*Molecular Biology and Evolution, 9*(5), 547-553. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040753Archaeological evidence suggests that Proto-Koreans were migrants from Manchuria during the Bronze Age. The origins of the Korean language and people are subjects of ongoing debate. Some theories suggest connections to the Altaic region, proposing links with languages and populations in Northern Asia, including Mongolic, Turkic, and Tungusic groups. However, these claims remain inconclusive, and many scholars argue that Korean belongs to its own distinct Koreanic family, with unique linguistic and cultural origins.
*ResearchGate.*
Scholars suggest that Koreanic speakers came from Northeast Asia and migrated southwards to the Korean Peninsula, where they replaced or assimilated the local Japonic speakers. Whitman (2011) suggests that the arrived in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BCE and coexisted with the descendants of the Japonic Mumun cultivators (or assimilated them). Vovin suggests Proto-Korean is equivalent to the variant of Koreanic languages spoken in southern Manchuria and northern Korean Peninsula by the time of the Three Kingdoms of Korea period and spread to southern Korea through influence from Goguryeo. Linguistic evidence indicates speakers of The arrival of early Koreans can be associated with the Bronze Age dagger culture, which expanded from the West Liao River region. Archaeologic evidence points to a connection between the pottery-making style of the Late Neolithic to Bronze Age cultures in the West Liao River basin and the Korean Peninsula. Miyamoto 2021 similarly argues that Proto-Koreanic arrived with the "rolled rim vessel culture" (Jeomtodae culture) from the Liaodong Peninsula, gradually replacing the Japonic speakers of the Mumun-Yayoi period.
However, some scholars reject the notion that the Korean speakers were not native to the Korean Peninsula, and argue that no solid evidence of such linguistic migration/shift as well as population and material change in the peninsular region has ever been found to support later migrations.
The largest concentration of in the world is found on the Korean Peninsula. In fact, with an estimated 35,000-100,000 dolmens, Korea accounts for nearly 40% of the world's total. Similar dolmens can be found in Northeast China, the Shandong Peninsula and the island of Kyushu, yet it is unclear why this culture only flourished so extensively on the Korean Peninsula and its surroundings compared to the bigger remainder of Northeast Asia.
Modern Koreans primarily descend from Bronze Age farmers from the West Liao River. These farmers can be modeled as having Ancient Northern East Asian ancestry, related to Yellow River farmers from the Middle to Late Neolithic period, and Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry, related to Amur hunter-gatherers. Bronze Age West Liao River ancestry is also associated with the Upper Xiajiadian culture, which can represent the ancestral source for Bronze Age and modern Koreans.Koreans also have affinities with populations from the Neolithic Devil's Gate at the Amur region, similar to modern Japanese and certain Tungusic groups, such as Ulch people, Nanai people, and Oroqens. These populations were an admixture of Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian sources although the study's authors acknowledge that the sample size is too small to make this conclusion. According to Kim et al. (2020), present Koreans were formed through a mixture of Devil's Gate and Mán Bạc ancestries, which was common for the rest of Eastern Asia until the Neolithic period. After the Bronze Age, combined Vat Komnou and Nui Nap ancestries were introduced to Korea from southern China, significantly contributing to the genetic variation within present Koreans. Wang and Wang (2022) states that Koreans from the Neolithic to the Three Kingdoms Period, a span covering roughly 6000 BC to AD 500, also have Jōmon ancestry, which ranged from 10% to 95%, and significantly contributed to the genetic makeup of modern Koreans. But subsequent arrivals of newcomers from Manchuria 'diluted' this Jōmon ancestry and made the Koreans genetically homogenous. According to Lee at al. (2022), there is genetic continuity between early medieval Koreans and present Koreans, who predominantly have Bronze Age West Liao River ancestry. However, this does not disprove the possibility of further foreign interaction, especially with Japan. Present Koreans also cluster with Three Kingdoms individuals who have slightly more input from Han Chinese-related populations than from Siberian or Jōmon-related populations. Overall, present Koreans can be modeled as a mixture of Bronze Age West Liao River-related ancestry (85%) and Taiwan Hanben-related ancestry (15%) although Chinese Koreans can be modeled as having Bronze Age West Liao River-related ancestry only. Jōmon ancestry in present Koreans is additionally estimated to be about 5%. Similar to present Japanese, Koreans possess genetic components related to Ancient Northeast Asians, especially those from Mongolia and the Lake Baikal, and Papuans, which are associated with Yayoi people and Jōmon populations respectively.
Koreans display high frequencies of the Y-DNA haplogroups O2-M122 (approximately 40% of all present-day Korean males), O1b2-M176 (approximately 30%), and C2-M217 (approximately 15%). Some regional variance may exist; in a study of South Korean Y-DNA published in 2011, the ratio of O2-M122 to O1b2-M176 is greatest in Seoul-Gyeonggi (1.8065), with the ratio declining in a counterclockwise direction around South Korea (Chungcheong 1.6364, Jeolla 1.3929, Jeju 1.3571, Gyeongsang 1.2400, Gangwon 0.9600). Haplogroup C2-M217 tends to be found in about 13% of males from most regions of South Korea, but it is somewhat more common (about 17%) among males from the Gyeongsang region in the southeast of the peninsula and somewhat less common (about 7%) among males from Jeju Province, located off the southwest coast of the peninsula. Haplogroup C2-M217 has been found in a greater proportion (about 26%) of a small sample ( n=19) of males from North Korea.Hua Zhong, Hong Shi, Xue-Bin Qi, Chun-Jie Xiao, Li Jin, Runlin Z Ma, and Bing Su, "Global distribution of Y-chromosome haplogroup C reveals the prehistoric migration routes of African exodus and early settlement in East Asia." Journal of Human Genetics (2010) 55, 428–435. doi:10.1038/jhg.2010.40Hua Zhong, Hong Shi, Xue-Bin Qi, Zi-Yuan Duan, Ping-Ping Tan, Li Jin, Bing Su, and Runlin Z. Ma (2011), "Extended Y Chromosome Investigation Suggests Postglacial Migrations of Modern Humans into East Asia via the Northern Route." Mol. Biol. Evol. 28(1):717–727. doi:10.1093/molbev/msq247 However, haplogroups are not a reliable indicator of an individual's overall ancestry; Koreans are more similar to one another in regard to their autosomes than they are similar to members of other ethnic groups. Studies of polymorphisms in the human Y-chromosome have so far produced evidence to suggest that the Korean people have a long history as a distinct, mostly Endogamy ethnic group, with successive prehistoric waves of people moving to the peninsula and two major Y-chromosome haplogroups.
The mitochondrial DNA markers (mtDNA haplogroups and HVR-I sequences) of Korean populations showed close relationships with Manchurians, Japanese, Mongolians and Northern Chinese but not with Southeast Asians. Y-chromosomal distances showed a close relationship to most East Asian population groups, including Southeast Asian ones.
Koreans share a close genetic relationship with Yamato Japanese and Manchu populations, as well as other Tungusic-speaking groups, reflecting shared ancestry and historical interactions. Additionally, they exhibit genetic affinity with Northern Han Chinese populations, though to a lesser degree compared to Manchu and Japanese populations. These relationships are supported by genome-wide analyses highlighting the complex genetic structure of East Asian populations. The study "Genomic insights into the formation of human populations in East Asia" states that Koreans are genetically closest to Yamato Japanese based on FST genetic distance measurements. The research highlights the complex genetic structure of East Asian populations, shaped by historical migrations and admixture events. The reference population for Koreans used in Geno 2.0 Next Generation is 94% Eastern Asia and 5% Southeast Asia & Oceania.Reference Populations - Geno 2.0 Next Generation . (2017). The Genographic Project. Retrieved 15 May 2017, from link.
In 1989, the Central Bureau of Statistics released demographic data to the United Nations Population Fund in order to secure the UNFPA's assistance in holding North Korea's first nationwide census since the establishment of the state in 1948. Although the figures given to the United Nations might have been distorted, it appears that in line with other attempts to open itself to the outside world, the North Korean regime has also opened somewhat in the demographic realm. Although the country lacks trained demographers, accurate data on household registration, migration, and births and deaths are available to North Korean authorities. According to the United States scholar Nicholas Eberstadt and demographer Brian Ko, vital statistics and personal information on residents are kept by agencies on the ri ("village", the local administrative unit) level in rural areas and the dong ("district" or "block") level in urban areas.
Significant Overseas Korean populations are also present in China, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, and Canada as well. The number of Koreans in Indonesia grew during the 1980s, while during the 1990s and 2000s the number of Koreans in the Philippines and Koreans in Vietnam have also grown significantly. In Central Asia, significant populations reside in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, as well as parts of Russia including the Far East. Known as Koryo-saram, many of these are descendants of Koreans who were forcely deported during the Soviet Union's Stalin regime. The Korean overseas community of Uzbekistan is the 5th largest outside Korea.
British Koreans now form Western Europe's largest Korean community, albeit still relatively small; Koreans in Germany used to outnumber those in the UK until the late 1990s. In Australia, Korean Australians comprise a modest minority. Koreans have migrated significantly since the 1960s.
are people of mixed Filipinos and Korean descent. The 'Mixed Filipino Heritage Act of 2020' estimated there were around 30,000 Kopinos.
Lai Đại Hàn is a Vietnamese term referring to mixed children born to South Korean men and South Vietnamese women during the Vietnam War. These children were largely conceived as the result of wartime rape. No exact data is available on the number of Korean-Vietnamese because many of them choose to conceal their roots, but an estimate by a Korean scholar says the number of Lai Dai Han around the world is at least 5,000 to as many as 150,000.A. Kameyama, Betonamu Sensou, Saigon Souru, Toukyou Vietnam, Iwanami Shoten Publishing, 1972, p. 122
Genetics
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Korean diaspora
Part-Korean populations
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