Koreans in Taiwan - History

History

Though a few Korean fishermen lost at sea during the Joseon Dynasty settled in Taiwan, they never formed a significant population. Even with the 1910 onset of Japanese rule in Korea, Korean migration to Taiwan was minimal; it was only in the aftermath of the March 1st Movement and the associated economic difficulties it caused that Korean migration to Taiwan became a mass phenomenon. Most settled in Keelung and other port cities, where they made a living by fishing. During World War II, some Koreans were also conscripted into labour service and brought to Taiwan. After Japan's defeat in the war ended Japanese rule in Taiwan, an estimated 1,300 Korean soldiers serving with the Imperial Japanese Army and 2,000 civilians organised their own repatriation to the Korean peninsula, and by 1946, only 400-500 Koreans were recorded as living in Taiwan.

The incoming Kuomintang government established comparatively rigid requirements for residence in Taiwan, and so the only Koreans who were able to obtain residence cards were officials and those with skills that would be useful in the postwar reconstruction, such as engineers. Those who remained founded the Korea Association in Taiwan in 1947. Due to the government's policy of discrimination in favour of native fishermen, most Koreans were forced out of the fishing industry, and in to agriculture and commerce; they slowly moved away from Keelung, towards other major urban areas such as Taipei and Kaohsiung.