Koryo-saram

Koryo-saram (Koryo-mar: 고려사람; Russian: Корё сарам) or Koryoin (Korean: 고려인) are ethnic Koreans of the former Soviet Union, who descend from Koreans that were living in the Russian Far East.

Koreans first began settling in the Russian Far East in the late 19th century. Their numbers increased as Koreans fled the Japanese colonization of Korea beginning in 1910. A number of Koryo-saram became significant Korean independence activists, such as Hong Beom-do and Chŏng Sangjin. In 1937, they were all deported to Central Asia. They have since dispersed throughout the former Soviet Union, with significant populations in Siberia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

Approximately 500,000 Koryo-saram reside in the former Soviet Union, primarily in the now-independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in Southern Russia (around Volgograd), the Russian Far East (around Vladivostok), the Caucasus, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and southern Ukraine. While the ability to speak Korean has become increasingly rare amongst modern Koryo-saram, they have retained some elements of Korean culture, including Korean names. Koryo-saram cuisine has become popular throughout the former Soviet Union, with the dish morkovcha now widely available in grocery stores there. A significant number of Koryo-saram have either moved temporarily or permanently to South Korea for economic or cultural reasons. The Russo-Ukrainian War, especially the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, has motivated several thousand Korean Ukrainians to move to South Korea for safety.

Sakhalin Koreans also exist on the island of Sakhalin in Russia, but they are often considered a separate ethnic group. They arrived when Sakhalin was partially under Japanese rule, and were never subjected to the forced deportation to Central Asia. Some of them identify as Koryo-saram, but many do not. This has led to the term materikovye (материковые) for Koryo-saram, meaning "continentals".