Among the Chinese Minority in South Korea

Many South Koreans do not know they exist, and almost no westerners know they exist. They are the invisible ethnic minority that has existed in Korea and South Korea for over 140 years. They are the ethnic Chinese; South Korea's invisible minority. Born and raised on the Korean peninsula, their ancestors first came in 1882. They have shared the fate of the Koreans from the late Joseon period to the short-lived Korean Empire, the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War, and the birth pains of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Even though they have lived side-by-side with the Korean people through all of this, they are very little understood outside of South Korea and their history and very identity is basically unknown to the West. The author came across this widely disbursed community through good Chinese friends like Mr. Wang and Mr. Chen who helped Nardini see a people who have been as much part of modern Korean history as the Koreans themselves. Through his friendship with Mr. Wang especially, the author saw through Mr. Wang's eyes a community that has survived the fire of modern Korean history. The Chinese come from all walks of life just like Koreans, and they are as much a part of Korean society and the very fabric that is the country, the people, and the history that is the Korean peninsula just like the Koreans themselves.