Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union, originally conceived in 1926, initiated in 1930, and carried through in 1937, was the first mass transfer of an entire nationality in the Soviet Union. Almost the entire Soviet population of ethnic Koreans (171,781 persons) were forcefully moved from the Russian Far East to unpopulated areas of the Kazakh SSR in October 1937. The official reason for the deportation was to stem "the penetration of the Japanese espionage into the Far Eastern Krai", as Koreans were at the time subjects of the Empire of Japan, which was hostile to the Soviet Union. The deported Koreans were allowed to take moveable property and livestock, and were compensated for what they could not take with them. The descendants of these migrants today have intermarried with Russians and Kazakhs, and fully consider themselves citizens of Kazakhstan.
Read more about Deportation Of Koreans In The Soviet Union: Background, Resolution No. 1428-326CC : Planning The Forced Relocation, The Deportation, Experience in Exile, Life in Central Asia, Korean Culture in Kazakhstan, Relationship With Korea Today, Notable Soviet Koreans
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