THE KOREAN MINORITY (COMMUNITY) IN UKRAINE. CHALLENGES AND REALITIES OF EVERYDAY

Abstract

The interest of the Ukrainian public in the Korean national minority (community) in Ukraine is growing in proportion to the strengthening of the Republic of Korea’s presence in the political, economic and cultural spheres of Ukraine, as well as in connection with the aggravation of the political situation in South Korea and the participation of North Korean soldiers in hostilities on the side of Russia against the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Over the past thirty years, Ukrainian Koreans have demonstrated and consolidated the results of the Ukrainian «hallyu» – the «Korean wave». This is the result of both the full integration of Koreans into various fields in Ukraine, from construction to the beauty industry, and the establishment of close contacts between the Ukrainian Korean diaspora and their historical homeland. The Koreans of Ukraine are firmly integrated into Ukrainian society, and the history of the Korean people of Ukraine, along with other minorities (communities), is a unique example of peaceful and conflict-free coexistence. The purpose and objectives of this study are to reveal the (un)legal ways of integrating Koreans into Ukrainian society, describe the stages of solving the problem of legalisation of Korean emigrants, analyse projects of international partners and representative offices in Ukraine aimed at improving the legal literacy of the Korean national minority, and support programmes for the business and agricultural sectors. The novelty of the study is related to the coverage and analysis of the problem of legalisation of Koreans in Ukraine and the contribution of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the economic education of Koreans in Ukraine over the past thirty years. Further scientific research related to the history of the study of the Korean national minority (community) in Ukraine seems promising.