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Korean Australians

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Korean Australians are Australian citizens who trace their Korean ancestry and identify themselves as an immigrant to or a descendant born in Australia.

Korean Australians
한국계 호주인
韓國系濠洲人
Total population
102,092 (by birth, 2021)[1]
102,745 (by ancestry)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide
Languages
Australian English, Korean
Religion
40.4% No religion
25.1% Protestant^
16.8% Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Korean diaspora
^ Includes Presbyterian (18.7%) and Uniting Church (6.4%)[2]
People with Korean ancestry as a percentage of the population in Sydney divided geographically by postal area, as of the 2011 census

History

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There is some evidence of the presence of a small number of Koreans in Australia as early as 1920. While it is unclear what prompted their arrival they may have been the children of Australian Protestant missionaries who began work in Korea around 1885. A few also came to Australia between 1921 and 1941 for education.[3] Additionally, scant evidence of individual Koreans living in areas of Australia like Broome in the years prior to the Second World War has also been recorded.[4] Three Korean speakers in the 2021 Australian census listed 1945 as their year of arrival in Australia, which could be further evidence of early Korean immigration to Australia.[5]

During World War II (1941–1945), an unknown number of Koreans who had been arrested in Allied countries across the Asia–Pacific Region were transported to Australia and interned alongside Japanese and Formosans for the duration of the war. Most Korean internees carried Japanese names, and were thus difficult to identify.

When the Korean War ended, in between 1951-1960, 20 Koreans came to Australia.[6] The relaxation of immigration restrictions in the late 1960s provided the first opportunity for larger numbers of Koreans to enter Australia. In 1969, the first Korean immigrants arrived in Sydney under the Skilled Migration Program. However, there were only 468 Korean born people recorded as living in Australia at the time of the 1971 Census.[3]

In the early 1970s, about 1000 Koreans arrived each year for short-term stays (mostly as students) and around 100 arrived for permanent residence. Some of these new arrivals subsequently sponsored family members for migration. Between 1976 and 1985, around 500 Korea-born immigrants arrived each year resulting in the number of Korea-born living in Australia increasing more than sixfold between the 1976 Census (1460) and the 1986 Census (9290).[3]

From 1986 to 1991, there was a further increase in settler arrivals, with an average of about 1400 each year, many coming under the Skilled and Business migration categories. More than half of the Korea-born in Australia have arrived in the last ten years, including as students.[3]

Historical population

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As of the 2021 census, 102,789 persons resident in Australia identified themselves as being of Korean ancestry. 102,096 persons resident in Australia had been born in South Korea. 49.6% declared holding Australian citizenship. 14.2% of them came to Australia in the 1990s, 36.4% in the 2000s, 17.6% in the 2011-2015, and 16.7% in 2016-2021s.[6] They make up 1.4% of the 7.5 million of the residents from overseas, and 0.4% out of the entire 25.7 million population.[7]

The majority reside in New South Wales. Few ethnic groups are as concentrated in one state as Koreans are in New South Wales, where 33% of Australia's population live.[8]

41,316 (40.5%) Korean-born Australian residents self-identified as "No Religion," 19,400 (18.7%) as Presbyterian or Reformed, 17,156 (16.8%) as Catholic, 6,506 (6.4%) as Uniting Church, and 4,244 (4.2%) as "Christianity, not further defined."[6] Disgruntled former members of Korean Christian churches sometimes join the handful of Korean Buddhist temples in the Sydney area.[9]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "2016 Census Community Profiles: Australia". abs.gov.au.
  2. ^ "2016 People in Australia who were born in Korea, Republic of (South), Census Country of birth QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics".
  3. ^ a b c d "The Korea-born Community | Department of Social Services, Australian Government". Department of Social Services, Government of Australia. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2019.   Material was copied from this source, which is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) license.
  4. ^ "Prisoner of War/Internee; (shun-Ra) aka na san, (san) Aka Shun". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. ^ "SBS Australian Census Explorer". SBS News. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "People in Australia who were born in Korea, Republic of (South)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2021.
  7. ^ "Australia's Population by Country of Birth". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2021.
  8. ^ "3101.0 – Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2006 (rebased on 2006 Census results)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2008. Estimated resident population, preliminary – 30 June 2006 in '000s were: NSW 6 817.2; Vic 5 128.3; Qld 4 091.5; SA 1 568.2; WA 2 059.0; Tas 489.9; NT 210.7; ACT 334.2; Australia 20 701.5
  9. ^ Han, Gil-Soo; Han, Joy J. (2010). "Koreans". dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  10. ^ Benns, Matthew (6 February 2005). "Man who shot at Prince Charles becomes barrister". The Age. Fairfax Press. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
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