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RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0474/01 2110646
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300646Z JUL 07
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6082
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1295
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0794
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0772
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0792
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0910
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0082
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC 0007
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 6524

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SHANGHAI 000474 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ETRD EINV KIRF CH KS KN
SUBJECT: EAST CHINA'S SOUTH KOREAN COMMUNITY 
 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified - please protect accordingly. 
Not for dissemination outside USG channels. 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Since the establishment of diplomatic 
relations in August 1992, South Koreans have flocked to Shanghai 
in search of economic and educational opportunities.  More than 
110,000 South Koreans live in east China (Anhui, Jiangsu and 
Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai), with some 70,000 in Shanghai 
alone.  The community has its own schools, churches and business 
organizations.  Major concerns include ongoing frictions with 
the local authorities, particularly environmental concerns for 
businesses and the extent of religious freedom for different 
churches, and access to education.  Despite these problems, most 
people with whom we met predicted that the South Korean 
community in Shanghai and the surrounding regions would continue 
to grow and contribute to closer relations between the two 
countries.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
Exploding Migrant Community 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) From late June to mid July, Poloff met with various 
representatives from South Korean communities in Shanghai and 
surrounding regions to find out more about their experience in 
East China.  For Korea in the modern times, there is no other 
foreign city more important as a historical landmark than 
Shanghai.  The Korean Provisional Government was founded in 
Shanghai in 1919, and Shanghai was a major center of Korean 
nationalist resistance against the Japanese occupation of Korea. 
 With the establishment of formal ties between Seoul and Beijing 
in 1992, finally ending the long Cold War hiatus between the two 
countries, South Koreans began to flock to Shanghai again in 
search of various commercial and/or educational interests and 
opportunities. 
 
¶3.  (U) While estimates vary, according to the June 2007 
quarterly report released by the joint Korean Chamber of 
Commerce in East China (covering Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang 
provinces and Shanghai), there are around 70,000 South Korean 
nationals residing in Shanghai, and the number is expected to 
reach 100,000 by the year 2010.  In addition to Shanghai, other 
cities in the region with a significant South Korean population 
include Suzhou (25,000), Yiwu (7,000), Wuxi (7,000) and Nanjing 
(5,000).  According to Mr. Jae-won Jun, a Consul at the South 
Korean Consulate in Shanghai, 3.9 million visited China in 2006, 
with 1 million to Shanghai alone. 
 
¶4.  (U) According to the Shanghai Korean United Church's 
Reverend Um Ki Young, South Koreans in Shanghai are concentrated 
in the Minhang district (around 85 percent of the population) 
and Pudong district (around 15 percent).  Numbers residing 
outside of Minhang and Pudong districts are negligible.  Prior 
to China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, 
the Chinese government had designated all the foreign nationals 
in Shanghai to live in the Gubei area.  After the restriction 
was lifted, most South Koreans moved to the adjacent and newly 
developing Minhang district, just outside of Gubei and began to 
concentrate in that area.  Availability of different South 
Korean churches, food stores, restaurants and schools made 
living in the Minhang district appealing for many South Koreans. 
 
¶5.  (U) Many interviewees commented that perhaps the most 
important characteristic that distinguishes South Koreans in 
Shanghai and rest of China from many South Korean communities 
abroad was the fact that their stay in China was never meant to 
be permanent.  The Chinese government does not recognize any 
sort of permanent immigration by foreigners, unlike their 
counterparts in places like the United States and Canada, and 
South Koreans defined their stay in China as wholly temporary. 
 
---------------------- 
Economic Opportunities 
---------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Most South Koreans residing in Shanghai and surrounding 
areas came to China for commercial interests.  According to the 
joint Korean Chamber of Commerce in East China's June 2007 
report, there are over 8,000 South Korean companies in the 
region, and around 3,200 in Shanghai alone.  Other cities in the 
region with significant number of South Korean businesses are 
Yiwu (3,000), Suzhou (890), Nanjing (200), Wuxi (200), Ningbo 
(120), Hefei (100), Zhangjiagang (83), Lianyungang (78), Jiaxing 
 
SHANGHAI 00000474  002 OF 005 
 
 
(60), Yancheng (53), Hangzhou (50) and Nantong (50).  According 
to Mr. Jun, the size of these businesses ranged from giants like 
Samsung and LG to small shops selling trinkets.  Typically 
larger businesses were concentrated in Shanghai, while smaller 
ones dotted the cities in the interior. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Poloff attended the joint meeting of the Korean 
Chamber of Commerce in East China from June 29-July 1 and met 
with many Korean business representatives.  Many of these 
representatives identified the prospective Free Trade Agreement 
(FTA) between South Korea and China as a major issue for South 
Korean businesses in China.  An official representative of the 
South Korean Ministry of Foreign Relations and Trade from Seoul 
briefed the participants on the prospective China-South Korea 
FTA.  Although the new administration in power after the 
December 2007 South Korean Presidential Election may change 
direction, the current South Korean government was cautiously 
pushing for FTAs with the European Union and China to follow the 
FTA agreement with the United States.  China was the most 
important economic partner for South Korea and its significance 
was even greater considering the entities under its sphere, Hong 
Kong, Macao and Taiwan.  South Korea had its biggest trade 
surplus with China and around 24 percent of South Korea's total 
foreign investments went to China.  However, the presenter also 
spoke of concerns and potential dangers of the FTA with China. 
Agriculture and manufacturing industries were expected to be hit 
hard, and there were also fears that the FTA may help China to 
catch up technologically with South Korea at a faster rate. 
Furthermore, there were worries that South Korea may become too 
economically dependent upon China. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The presenter said that there were two main 
motivations behind Beijing's endorsement of the FTA between 
China and South Korea.  First, China wanted to establish Chinese 
leadership/hegemony in Northeast Asia by drawing South Korea 
into its sphere and increasing its influence in East Asia's 
political economy.  Second, China would like to eventually have 
FTAs with the United States and European Union and was using the 
FTA with South Korea as an experiment.  Beijing was also 
expecting that the FTA with South Korea would help to modernize 
the Chinese economy.  On Seoul's side, the presenter expected an 
increase in the South Korean GDP and trade with China.  For 
specific industries, including automobiles, mechanical and 
petrochemicals, the South Korea-China FTA was expected to be 
beneficial, while damaging for the steel and textile industries. 
 The presenter expected the negotiations between Beijing and 
Seoul to begin within the next five years. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Relations between local governments and Korean 
businesses varied.  In Wuxi, where there was an algae outbreak 
in May that polluted the water, companies were under significant 
pressure to conserve water.  Hynix Semiconductors (formerly a 
part of the Hyundai Group), for instance, was blamed by the 
local people for overusing water and causing pollution in the 
area.  The Lianyungang authorities began issuing warnings 
against companies without sufficient wastewater treatment 
facilities, and even forced some companies to move out.  On the 
other hand, South Korean companies in Yiwu launched an 
environmental preservation movement which not only made the 
Korean companies more popular in the region, but appeared in a 
Beijing television program, improving the overall image of 
Korean businesses in China.  The Yancheng representative said 
that the general image of Korean businesses and businesspersons 
was so positive in Yancheng that the local government even put 
up road signs in Korean.  He was once caught speeding but the 
policeman let him go without issuing a traffic ticket after he 
found out that he was a Korean businessman.  However, many 
Korean businesspersons also damaged the reputation of Koreans in 
China by reneging on business deals and fleeing China.  Another 
topic that came up was the issue of prostitution.  The Chinese 
police were on the alert about prostitution and several Korean 
businessmen were jailed or deported from China because of 
illegal activities. 
 
-------------- 
Religious Life 
-------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Religious activities were important for the South 
Korean community, and have been growing despite the Chinese 
government's wary attitude.  There are three Buddhist, one 
Catholic, and around 20 Protestant churches catering to the 
South Korean population in Shanghai, and many expected that the 
number of religious centers would continue to increase in the 
near future.  According to Mr. Jun, churches, temples and other 
 
SHANGHAI 00000474  003 OF 005 
 
 
religious centers were often the place where many South Koreans 
socialize, and especially important for newcomers who often find 
help at these places in adjusting to the new life in China. 
Rev. Um said the Korean United Church, for example, was playing 
a big role in the community by providing a place where Koreans 
could gather together to cultivate national identity and carry 
out cultural programs.  The Korean United Church operates a 
kindergarten as well, providing daycare services for young 
children.  He also mentioned that the Church played a role in 
policing and providing advice to the deviant teenagers, and was 
in fact a significant help to the Chinese police. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The Korean United Church (Protestant) in the Minhang 
district was the largest and the only officially recognized 
South Korean church in Shanghai with around 3,500 regular 
attendees.  Rev. Um said that the first Protestant gathering was 
in 1993, when a small group of families regularly got together 
for services.  This group grew to about 300 to 400 people by the 
year 2000, and joined the Three-Self Patriotic Movement/China 
Christian Council (TSPM/CCC), the official Protestant Church of 
China, and conducted services under its supervision.  There were 
significant cultural differences between the TSPM/CCC and the 
South Korean Protestant Church, and the TSPM/CCC often tried to 
impose its standards on the South Korean Church.  While the 
South Korean Church regularly carried out late night or early 
morning services and had many programs for children, the 
TSPM/CCC Church did not have such programs nor did it understand 
 
SIPDIS 
them.  In 2004, the South Korean church moved to a new building 
for themselves, after winning a concession from the local 
government and the TSPM/CCC that allowed them to conduct 
services without TSPM/CCC input or representatives from the 
TSPM/CCC. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶12.  (SBU) In addition to the Korean United Church, there were 
approximately 20 smaller Protestant groups gathered in groups of 
families independent of the Korean United Church.  Dr. Choi 
BooDeuk, an architect and a representative of the South Korean 
Catholic Church, said that there were about 1,500 registered 
regular attendees and around 500 irregular attendees for the 
South Korean Catholic Church.  Unlike the South Korean 
Protestants, the Catholic Church worked with the Chinese 
Catholic Church in conducting their services.  According to Mr. 
Jun, there were three South Korean Buddhist temples in Shanghai 
catering to the current few hundred -- but nevertheless rapidly 
growing -- South Korean Buddhist population. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) All of the religious representatives noted that there 
were ongoing missionary activities by South Korean missionaries 
in China.  However, they were reluctant to discuss this issue 
and said that the missionaries' activities had little to do with 
their operations.  Missionaries came to China from abroad and 
were not affiliated with the local churches.  Mr. Jun said that 
while he had heard of few cases of missionaries getting caught 
by the Chinese authorities and being jailed or deported from 
China in other provinces, he has not heard of any case in 
Shanghai.  Religious representatives also said that the Chinese 
government had restricted them to cater only to the South Korean 
population, and to exclude both the Korean-Chinese and North 
Koreans from services. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Although the South Korean protestant group was able 
to get their own church and practice their faith with little 
interference, tensions remained.  Rev. Um mentioned that the 
Protestants, for example, were still upset about the Chinese 
government's policy of grouping all Protestants into one group, 
arguing that there were often incompatible differences among the 
different Protestant groups.  However, religious representatives 
noted that the situation had progressively improved and they 
were hopeful for the future.  Dr. Choi stated that the Chinese 
government was troubled by the widespread materialistic 
attitudes in society after the implementation of economic 
reforms, and may utilize religions to reestablish moral values 
in the society as other countries had done.  He also mentioned 
that the establishment of full diplomatic relations between 
China and the Vatican, if it occurred, may also significantly 
improve the religious situation in China. 
 
--------- 
Education 
--------- 
 
¶15.  (U) Education was a big concern for South Koreans, and a 
significant number came to Shanghai and its surrounding areas 
just for study.  The growing number of South Korean students in 
China reflected increasing influence and importance of China and 
 
SHANGHAI 00000474  004 OF 005 
 
 
Chinese language in the world, especially to the geographically 
proximate South Koreans.  Although the measurements varied, 
there were between some 6,000 to 8,500 South Korean students in 
different colleges and universities in Shanghai.  According to 
the June 7 joint Korean Chamber of Commerce in East China 
report, other cities in the region with significant Korean 
college/university student population are Nanjing (1,000), 
Suzhou (500) and Yiwu (200). 
 
¶16.  (SBU) According to Professor Sun Kezhi, an ethnic Han 
Chinese scholar specializing in Korean history at Fudan 
University, there are approximately 1,000 South Korean students 
in Shanghai and the surrounding regions.  Despite the large and 
growing number of South Korean students at Fudan University, 
South Korean students, in general, lagged behind their peers and 
frequently did not attend class.  Professor Sun opined that most 
of the South Korean students at Fudan could not gain admission 
to first-rate schools in South Korea but still wanted to go to a 
big name school such as Fudan.  It was relatively easy for 
foreigners to gain admission to the Chinese universities. 
Professor Sun said that while there were some South Korean 
students who worked hard, they constituted a small minority. 
The South Korean Students Union functioned largely as a social 
club.  The non-participating South Korean students were often 
ostracized by their South Korean classmates, and those who did 
participate often progressively lost their Chinese language 
skills as they were surrounded by South Koreans and did not mix 
with Chinese students.  According to Sun, such trends among 
South Korean students were observed by his colleagues teaching 
in other colleges and universities in Shanghai and elsewhere. 
 
¶17.  (U) While most primary and secondary South Korean students 
in Shanghai and surrounding areas were children of those who 
came to China for business, there are also a few primary and 
secondary school students who came by themselves to acquire 
proficiency in Mandarin by living and attending school in China. 
 According to Mr. Lee Kil Hyun, the principle of the South 
Korean school (grades 1 to 12), about one-third of South Korean 
children attend the South Korean school and the remaining 
two-thirds either attend local Chinese schools or other 
international schools (including the American School).  Mr. Lee 
added that different schools offered different advantages.  Many 
students and parents choose the American or British school to 
teach their children English and to send them off to colleges 
and universities in the United States or the United Kingdom. 
The Chinese schools offered an opportunity to gain fluency in 
Mandarin.  The South Korean school's appeal was the chance to 
learn or retain Korean language skills and an opportunity to 
gain admissions at South Korean colleges and universities. 
There were also several weekend Korean language schools in 
Shanghai and other cities for young children. However, as the 
Zhangjiagang representative of the Korean Chamber of Commerce 
mentioned, in areas where there are not many Koreans around, 
like Zhangjiagang, many Korean children cannot speak Korean 
because there are no Korean teachers or schools nearby. 
 
¶18.  (U) The South Korean school in Shanghai was among the 28 
officially-recognized South Korean schools abroad.  Nine of the 
28 are located in China.  The school, with more than 1,000 
students, has grown significantly since it was established in 
1999 with 43 students.  There are currently 647 students in the 
elementary division (grades 1 to 6), 180 in the middle division 
(grades 7 to 9) and 248 in the high division (grades 10 to 12). 
Because of rapidly increasing enrollment, the school just 
finished constructing a new building complex and moved in last 
year.  The South Korean school caters exclusively to the South 
Korean nationals and is an important community institution for 
the South Koreans in Shanghai.  Teachers mentioned that one goal 
of the South Korean school was, due to China's rise in the 
international scene and its growing relationship with South 
Korea, to develop the South Korean students as the next 
generation's China experts.  Teachers also noted that many 
students experienced confusion growing up in a foreign setting, 
and the problem was amplified by the general lack of cultural 
activities specifically for Korean students and advising by 
trained adults. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Korean Chinese and North Koreans 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶19.  (SBU) Although miniscule in number compared to their South 
Korean counterparts, there reportedly are a small number of 
North Koreans living in Shanghai and the surrounding areas.  In 
separate interviews on June 15 and 18, Gong Keyu, Yu Yingli and 
 
SHANGHAI 00000474  005 OF 005 
 
 
Xue Chen of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies 
said that there are around seven North Korean restaurants in 
Shanghai, and North Korean scholars and officials sometimes 
visited Shanghai for research and exchange with their Chinese 
counterparts.  They noted that North Koreans always traveled in 
groups in order to keep an eye on each other, and they were 
difficult to contact.  Professor Sun mentioned that while there 
were some North Korean students studying in the Shanghai area 
before, none remained after the economic reforms were 
implemented, and this was also the case for other parts of 
southern China.  He said that there currently are some North 
Korean students studying in Beijing and few other places in the 
Northeast.  None of the interviewees spoke of any real contacts 
between North Koreans and South Koreans. 
 
¶20.  (SBU)  All the interviewees spoke of Korean-Chinese as a 
staunchly closed and distinct group which often stayed aloof 
from both the South Korean and the Han Chinese communities.  As 
Chinese nationals, Korean-Chinese were not permitted to join 
their South Korean counterparts in many educational and 
religious programs exclusively designated for the South Korean 
nationals.  However, many Korean businesses and educational 
institutions hired Korean-Chinese especially because of their 
fluency in both the Korean and Mandarin languages.  Professor 
Sun mentioned that Korean-Chinese students and professors at 
Fudan University tended to be a closed group with limited 
interaction with either the Han Chinese or the South Koreans. 
There was little cooperation between the History Department, 
where Prof. Sun teaches Korean history, and the Korean language 
program, which was completely dominated by the Korean-Chinese 
scholars, because Korean-Chinese professors tended to be 
uncooperative and did not want to work with Han Chinese scholars 
in Korean Studies. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶21.  (SBU) While sharing many common problems and concerns with 
other foreign communities living in Shanghai and surrounding 
areas, the South Korean community nevertheless constituted a 
unique group among the foreigners in Shanghai.  One notable 
difference was the physical distance between China and South 
Korea, which is much less, when compared to Europe or the United 
States.  Shanghai is less than a two hour flight from Seoul, 
making communication and travel relatively easy and convenient 
for the South Koreans.  In addition, the general perception 
among Chinese of the South Koreans is different from their 
perception of Westerners and the Japanese.  In contrast to the 
bitter historical memories the Chinese have towards the British, 
French, German, Americans, Russians and the Japanese, South 
Koreans are free from such historical "guilt" and resulting 
suspicion that taints the other communities in the Chinese eyes. 
 According to Mr. Xue, "hallyu" or the "Korean culture wave" in 
China has also influenced Chinese popular culture in important 
ways and improved the overall image of South Koreans in China. 
 
¶22.  (SBU) The existence of a significant native Korean 
population in China, some two million Korean-Chinese, mostly 
concentrated in Northeast China but with a significant number in 
Shanghai, who are mostly raised bilingual in both Korean and 
Chinese cultures, is an important asset for the South Koreans. 
Despite some tensions between Korean-Chinese and South Koreans, 
Korean-Chinese have provided invaluable help for many South 
Korean businesses with their language skills as well as their 
knowledge and understanding of the Chinese society and culture. 
Despite the long Cold War hiatus, the South Korean-China 
relations have become increasingly important for both countries, 
and the rapidly growing South Korean population in Shanghai and 
elsewhere in China is testimony to such development. 
SCHUCHAT