Koreans in the Arab world
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 24,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United Arab Emirates
|
10,356 |
 Saudi Arabia
|
5,189 |
 Qatar
|
3,000 |
 Algeria
|
1,158 |
 Kuwait
|
1,000 |
 Egypt
|
995 |
 Jordan
|
592 |
 Oman
|
468 |
 Morocco
|
369 |
 Bahrain
|
282 |
 Tunisia
|
196 |
 Syria
|
162 |
 Iraq
|
113 |
 Yemen
|
112 |
 Libya
|
111 |
 Sudan
|
101 |
 Lebanon
|
76 |
 Mauritania
|
43 |
 Palestine
|
13 |
| Languages | |
| Korean, Arabic, English, French | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism, Christianity, Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Korean diaspora | |
Koreans in the Arab world used to form a major part of the worldwide Korean diaspora. Koreans started coming to the Arab world in large numbers in early 1970s as migrant labourers; between 1975 and 1985, 1.1 million Koreans came for work, which made it the third-most popular destination for Korean emigrants. Eventually, most returned home or moved on to other countries, and as of 2014[update], the South Korean government's own figures showed over 24 thousand of their nationals living in the region. However, South Korean nationals are present in all of the region's countries, and North Korean workers also have a growing presence in several of them.
Though Korea had a long history of trading contact with the Arab world by means of intermediaries, there were no recorded Korean visitors before 1959, when two Korean Muslims went to Mecca for the hajj. In 1974, the first South Korean firm won a contract in the region, for highway construction in Saudi Arabia, and imported 218 South Korean construction workers, the first Korean residents, to assist in the project. The following year, 3,593 South Koreans went to Saudi Arabia for work. By 1977, migrants to Saudi Arabia alone composed nearly one-fifth of all registered emigration from South Korea, making it the third-most popular destination for emigrants (the top two being Japan and the United States, each of which had longstanding Korean communities, Korean Americans and Zainichi Koreans).
The growth in the South Korean migrant worker population reflected a deliberate policy of the government to promote manpower exports; they had established a special department for this purpose as early as the mid-1960s, and in the 1970s, construction enterprises were given priority in order to facilitate their entry into overseas markets. Over two dozen South Korean companies employed migrant labour, the largest such employer being Hyundai Construction; Koreans were described as having a "competitive advantage" over workers of other nationalities due to their discipline and level of skill, which some commentators attributed to South Korea's practise of universal male conscription. Unlike their Western competitors, Koreans worked around the clock in shifts; huge lighting systems were installed to facilitate night work. A survey of migrants showed that 73% were between 25 and 40 years old; under half (48%) of the regular workers were married, while 69% of contract workers were.
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Wikipedia