Gwangju community spotlights Korean diaspora history

Residents of Gwangju Koryoin Village in South Korea held their first domestic academic conference to explore the history of their community’s return and settlement over the past twenty years.

The Gwangju Koryoin Humanities Research Institute hosted the event, focusing on how people from the Koryoin community, descendants of Koreans who migrated to the former Soviet Union, built new lives after returning to the Korean peninsula.

Scholars presented research on the return of Koryoin people displaced by the war in Ukraine, and on the role of GBS Koryo Broadcasting (FM 93.5MHz) in maintaining their identity and connecting with the global Koryoin diaspora. The conference also examined the impact of the Gwangju Koryoin Clinic and volunteer medical services in providing healthcare and supporting the community’s stability. Researchers highlighted how these services addressed language barriers, financial hardship, and uncertain residency status faced by many newcomers.

The institute’s director, Ko Ga-young, stated the conference marked the first step in academically documenting the community’s history and plans to expand research on the Koryoin diaspora and Gwangju Koryoin Village.