Koreans in China 
cctv.com 03-24-2005 17:11
In some cities of China, Koreans make up a large proportion in the local communities. So, in these areas, in many stores and small shopping centers Korean goods are appearing.
People describe the Korean culture trend as 鈥渢he Korean tide鈥 In China, people can easily feel the impact of the Korean tide: from the popular Hyundai and Daewoo automobiles to electrical home appliances; from computers to exquisite 鈥楢nycall鈥 cell phones; from popular Korean TV operas, to the opening up of many Korean beauty parlors to the frequent appearances of Korean stars.
As more and more Koreans come to live in China, many super markets begin to specialize in Korean daily goods and food in the Korean communities in China. All the goods in these super markets are from Korea. These super markets provide Koreans in China great convenience, making them feel at home.
As Korean stores begin to open up in China, all kinds of fashionable Korean clothes, shoes and daily appliances are making an appearance in China, satisfying the needs of both Koreans in China and the young fashionable Chinese people.
Today, a 鈥淐hina Trend鈥 is also making an impact on the South Korean peninsula: The flight of Shenzhou-5 impressed Koreans with China鈥檚 cutting-edge technology; the mediation of the Chinese government made it possible for another round of 6-party talks. As the number of Koreans who come to China increases, more Korean Villages appear in Beijing, Shanghai and Qingdao.
In August 1992, China and Korea established diplomatic relations. The relationship between the two countries developed greatly. Every year, the most visited country by Koreans is China. More than 2 million Koreans come to visit China each year and the number at present has totaled to over 10 million. In every four Koreans, there is one who has been to China. Nowadays, there are around 200,000 Koreans who have been living in China for a long time. Most of them have settled down in big cities like Qingdao, Beijing and Yantai.
China and Korea frequently exchange friendly visits. For the Chinese, traveling to Korea has become a fashion. There are over 500,000 Chinese people who travel to Korea every year. And the Chinese language has been added to road signs in Korea. Airlines, train stations and subways have also added Chinese instructions. The 鈥淐hina wind鈥 is blowing harder and harder in Korea, making more and more Koreans wanting to find out more about China.
In the Korean Villages in China, there鈥檚 nearly everything. Living there, Koreans can lease apartments from house leasing companies run by Koreans, can buy Korean goods, can enjoy Korean food or go to KTVs of Korean style. In such an environment, they will never feel that they are in a foreign country.
The number of Koreans who live and work in Beijing now is huge. It has exceeded 20,000. In communities where Koreans live, Korean villages have formed. For example, some CEOs of Korean companies live in the villa area in the suburbs of Beijing; a great many Koreans live in the Asian Games Village and Wangjing; and most Korean students live around the Beijing Language and Culture University. In these Korean villages, the stores and restaurants have both Korean and Chinese signs, and all the staff understand Korean.
In Korean villages there are house-leasing companies run by Koreans, serving the Koreans nearby and solving the housing problems of many Koreans.
The commercial apartments in Wangjing Area have very high quality. Besides the top-grade apartments and A-level houses, there are also normal houses. The range of selection is very wide. The house leasing companies can arrange apartments according to the requests of Korean customers. The apartments are well furnished. This is also the reason why many Koreans would like to live here
Around the Korean village, there are many Korean restaurants. Korean food is characterized by pickles. A traditional Korean would have pickles for all three meals every day. Koreans who are used to home food usually come to enjoy Korean food with their family.
Bookchang Food is a restaurant in Wangjing Korean Town. Its business is flourishing. Usually, there is not a single empty seat during meal time and there are always people queuing up outside the restaurant.
Most of the Korean restaurants in Beijing situate at the place where Korean companies and Korean students mass such as Wangjing Korean village. The Korean restaurant street also formed around the Beijing Language Institute and Beijing University.
In universities in Beijing, you can easily see some young people in very fashionable clothing. Most of them are students from Korea, just like me. Nowadays, it is getting more and more popular for Koreans to study Chinese in China.
鈥淟earn Chinese, study in China鈥 has become a popular topic among Korean youths. In universities in China, the number of Korean overseas students is the greatest and has exceeded 50,000. Most of them major in Chinese.
In Korea, although it is hard to find a job even for a brand new university graduate, you can see 鈥渢he person who knows Chinese language has priority鈥 in job ads. People who know Chinese become very popular when applying for jobs. And the experiences in China also become an advantage.
Korean Culture and Contents Agency gives lectures about Chinese and Korean cultures. They invite experts on certain topic every week.
At the moment, many Koreans still don't know China very well. In order to make more Koreans understand China thoroughly, some Korean culture departments are introducing Chinese politics, economy, culture, society and all kinds of facts to the Koreans here in China.
The Korean government is developing towards producing a country of culture in Asia, in order to become a major cultural industry country. Their music, cartoons, games and TV operas have gained popular acknowledgements in China.
there are more than 100 Korean media in China. This is making more and more Koreans come to know about China.
In recent years, the cultural exchange between China and Korea has become more frequent. TV programs and magazines in Korea introducing China are increasing continuously. Statistics show, 17 big media companies including the KBS have built offices in China.
Morning Beijing is a magazine published by a Korean, serving Koreans in China. It provides information for city life and introduces Chinese culture.
For many Koreans, China is not only the students鈥 favorite country to study; but also a great place to develop their business.
There are many schools for Korean children in China. This solved the problem for many Korean parents. There are kindergartens, elementary schools and middle schools. The schools mainly adopt Korean course sets. Additionally, they emphasize the student鈥檚 Chinese and English education. At present, there are around 600 Korean students in the Korea International School in Beijing.
Mr. kim is an English teacher in the Korea International School in Beijing. He is also responsible for English teaching and researching of the school. His family has lived in Beijing for half a year. Now he is used to the life in Beijing.
When live in Beijing, Mr. kim also finds a tutor to teach him Chinese. For he wants to further understand and explore the glamour of the Chinese culture.
Today, China has become the most important trading partner of Korea. China is also the biggest overseas investment country. Big Korean enterprises prefer China even more. Some famous companies like Daewoo Heavy Industries, Hyundai Motor and Samsung have built research centers in China.
With the sustainable development of China's accession to the WTO and economy, in the economic field, Korea and China have become one another鈥檚 most important cooperative partners. A lot of Koreans come to China to look for a business opportunity. Among the 250,000 Koreans who are in China, there are 150,000 residing trading company worker s, investment enterprise staff members and their relatives.
In the Sino-Korean joint ventures, you will often see such a lens: The workers of two countries harmoniously working together.
The advanced technology and management of Korea combined with the abundant resources and outstanding human resources in China have formed the ideal cooperative mode.
Hyundai Motor is the biggest automobile corporation of Korea and also the seventh major motor corporation in the world. In 2002, Hyundai Motor and holding Co. Ltd. auto industry of Beijing jointly built Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.. At present, the latest Sonata model can be seen in every main city of China and will soon rapidly be covering the whole of China.
China and Korea share the same Confucius culture. The Korean trend comes from the west while the China wind blows east. The Korean trend is making the Chinese understand Korea and the Korean people more and more. At the same time, at the source of this trend鈥擪orea, a strong 鈥淐hina wind鈥 is blowing. Under its influence, more and more Koreans are coming to China, to feel China and to know China. Thanks for watching Rediscovering China; I鈥檓 ___ See you next time!
Editor:Hu Hang Source:CCTV.com
