Korea is known as homeogenous nations throughout the history. But Korea’s
long history of being a homogeneous nation is facing a rapid change as Korea
is fast becoming a multi-ethnic society with a growing number of foreign
migrant workers, international students, and inter-racial marriages. About
a decade ago, Korea was a country where foreigners stood out among the
crowd. But now, it is easy to see foreign communities scattered around the
Seoul metropolitan area and outside the capital. There is even a prime time
talk show solely dedicated to what foreign residents in Korea think about
the country. With the growing number of foreign brides, migrant workers and
foreign students, the number of foreign residents exceeded the 1 million
mark as of August 2007. Considering that the number stood at a mere 40,000
in 1990, it is truly a dramatic change. Although multi-cultural Korean
society is the fastest growing debate in the Korean society, there is a big
lackness that deals on the muslim community or immigrant in Korea.
According to immigration office data, among 1 million foreign immigrants in
Korea, there are an estimated 104,427 Muslims living in Korea, occupying
10% of foreign residents. Considering the high birth rates among muslim
immigrants and stagnated birth rates of Koreans, it is worthwhile to
investigate muslim communities in Korea. Perhaps, it is the right time to
research on Muslim immigrants in Korean society.
Considering the mentioned above, this research focuses on the influx,
adaptation, and social network of Muslim Immigrants in Korea as the first
year subject of the government sponsored project on “Acculturation and
Adaptation of Immigrant Muslims in Korean Society: Coexisting with Koslims
(Korean-Muslims) in a Multi-Cultural Society”. To investigate and to
collect data from various muslim groups in Korea, this study divided the
Koslims into five categories; Arab Muslims, non Arab Middle East Muslims,
Central Asian Muslims, South Asian Muslims, and South East Asian Muslims.
In order to outline the Muslim communities in Korea, initially, this
research has employed various statistic data as qualitative method.
However this study was done mainly through field research using survey
method. Questionnaire and a face-to-face interview were used to explain the
peculiarity of the different Muslim communities in Korea. Questionnaire
and interview questions were prepared in 10 different languages. Collected
data were carefully analyzed through SPSS program with cross tabulation
and frequencies analysis. Based on fieldwork among Arab, non Arab Middle
East, Central Asian, South Asian, and South East Asian Muslim communities
in Korea, this article examines the present condition and social network
of the Muslim immigrants in Korea. It investigates not only the general
situation of the Koslims in Korea but also explores their adaptation and
attitude toward the Korean community.
Korea is known as homeogenous nations throughout the history. But Korea’s
long history of being a homogeneous nation is facing a rapid change as Korea
is fast becoming a multi-ethnic society with a growing number of foreign
migrant workers, international students, and inter-racial marriages. About
a decade ago, Korea was a country where foreigners stood out among the
crowd. But now, it is easy to see foreign communities scattered around the
Seoul metropolitan area and outside the capital. There is even a prime time
talk show solely dedicated to what foreign residents in Korea think about
the country. With the growing number of foreign brides, migrant workers and
foreign students, the number of foreign residents exceeded the 1 million
mark as of August 2007. Considering that the number stood at a mere 40,000
in 1990, it is truly a dramatic change. Although multi-cultural Korean
society is the fastest growing debate in the Korean society, there is a big
lackness that deals on the muslim community or immigrant in Korea.
According to immigration office data, among 1 million foreign immigrants in
Korea, there are an estimated 104,427 Muslims living in Korea, occupying
10% of foreign residents. Considering the high birth rates among muslim
immigrants and stagnated birth rates of Koreans, it is worthwhile to
investigate muslim communities in Korea. Perhaps, it is the right time to
research on Muslim immigrants in Korean society.
Considering the mentioned above, this research focuses on the influx,
adaptation, and social network of Muslim Immigrants in Korea as the first
year subject of the government sponsored project on “Acculturation and
Adaptation of Immigrant Muslims in Korean Society: Coexisting with Koslims
(Korean-Muslims) in a Multi-Cultural Society”. To investigate and to
collect data from various muslim groups in Korea, this study divided the
Koslims into five categories; Arab Muslims, non Arab Middle East Muslims,
Central Asian Muslims, South Asian Muslims, and South East Asian Muslims.
In order to outline the Muslim communities in Korea, initially, this
research has employed various statistic data as qualitative method.
However this study was done mainly through field research using survey
method. Questionnaire and a face-to-face interview were used to explain the
peculiarity of the different Muslim communities in Korea. Questionnaire
and interview questions were prepared in 10 different languages. Collected
data were carefully analyzed through SPSS program with cross tabulation
and frequencies analysis. Based on fieldwork among Arab, non Arab Middle
East, Central Asian, South Asian, and South East Asian Muslim communities
in Korea, this article examines the present condition and social network
of the Muslim immigrants in Korea. It investigates not only the general
situation of the Koslims in Korea but also explores their adaptation and
attitude toward the Korean community.