Social pressure

After the 1988 Olympics game held in Seoul, South Korea’s economy stabilized and increased rapidly. The “Korean Wind”, or “hanguk baram”, motivated Korean Chinese to return to their homeland and establish business there, earning housing and employment opportunities, thus inspiring more Chosonjok to follow the same path.

South Koreans have initially welcomed the ethnic Koreans from China. However, as the number of Korean Chinese increased rapidly throughout the years, various problems began to arouse. For example, cultural clashes began to arouse between the South Koreans and Korean Chinese. Korean Chinese felt that they aren’t treated equally as Koreans despite the fact that their ancestors were once part of the same Korean nation.

The South Korean government itself started to restrict entry visas of Korean Chinese due to potential labor market disruptions that may happen if immigrants continue to crowd into the country. Korean Chinese, seeing this change, claimed their right to return to their “homeland”, in this case China.