Valeriy S. Khan
Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan

Received January 28, 2018; Revised version received February 28, 2018; Accepted March 1, 2018

Abstract

The process of resettlement in 1937 and adaptation to new places in Central Asia had a dramatic character for Koreans. However, the Koryŏ saram’s history cannot be reduced to a plethora of sad pages. Koreans could and have achieved amazing results in many spheres and have obtained high status in the USSR and later, in Post-Soviet Central Asia. Among them there were/there are the Heroes of Socialist Labor (the highest non-military title in the USSR), Vice-Prime Minister, ministers and vice-ministers, senators, members of National parliament, winners of Olympic Games and World championships, rectors of universities, outstanding scholars and businessmen, etc. Koryŏ saram have lived in different political and economic systems, and in various ethnic environments. Their identity is composed of a multicultural character which includes elements of traditional Korean, Central Asian, Russian, Soviet and Western cultures. This has led to the flexible behavioral models. After collapse of the USSR, Koreans have faced with new challenges that imply new attitudes to the strategies of Koreans and Korean organizations. This article is based on the ideas that have been published and presented at various conferences and in the various works in the 1990s and the early 2000s. However, in the present article these ideas are generalized taking into consideration the changes over the past years.

Key Words : Koryŏ saram, Soviet and Post-Soviet Koreans, Diaspora, Minority, Identity, USSR, Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Korean Movement.