The Huaqiao Community in Korea: Its Rise, Demise, and Reemergence

Abstract

This paper attempts describe the fall from grace and the future positive outlook of the Chinese Community (the Huaqiao)¹ in Korea. Many specialists on Diaspora studies seem to recognize the conditions under which the Huaqiao live in Korea as that of misery. due mostly to the oppression exerted upon it by the policies of the Korean government. Considering the existing negative stigma regarding this issue by foreign scholars, this paper tries to test whether the stigmatized argument is objectively concluded or just an unfounded prejudice. By interviewing many local Chinese in Korea and re-migrants in foreign countries, this paper claims that a combination of the transitional attitudes of the Huaqiao themselves, reinforced by suppressive governmental policies, resulted in the relatively poor economic situation of the current Chinese community in Korea. In the future, however, the role of Chinese in Korea is expected to enlarge with the increased importance of Mainland China, even in the face of the reality where most of the Huaqiao in Korea still hold Taiwanese passports.