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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «ISTORIYA»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «HISTORY»
ISSN 2222-9124 (Print)

List of issues > Series «History». 2021. Vol 38

Registration of the Legal Status of Korean Migrants in Russia in the 80s 19th Century

Author(s)
E.S. Burdin
Abstract
After the start of Korean migration to Russia in 1864, the Russian authorities began to make attempts to formalize the legal status of the arrived migrants in order to protect them from persecution by the Korean government and its patron China. Areas of compact residence of Korean immigrants were separated into a separate administrative-territorial unit – Suifun District, where the post of “head of Koreans” was established. Separate elements of local self-government were introduced in the Korean settlements. After the establishment of official diplomatic relations with Korea in 1884, the problem of the legal status of Korean migrants in Russia became one of the important topics on the agenda of Russian-Korean negotiations. Due to its decision, Petersburg wanted to stop the uncontrolled transfer of the population from Korea to the Russian Far East and prevent the unauthorized seizure of state lands by Korean settlers. In 1888, the Russian authorities managed to partially resolve the issue of citizenship of the Korean settlers who settled in Russia. From now on, measures to formalize their legal status were carried out on the basis of the norms of the Russian-Korean convention on border relations of 1888, as well as an oral (gentleman's) agreement between K.I. Weber and Kim Yun Sik. An agreement was reached that the Koreans who settled in Russia before the establishment of Russian-Korean diplomatic relations were recognized as equal with Russian subjects. Migrants who settled in the region after the conclusion of this agreement were to liquidate their farms and return to their homeland. The issue of the status of Korean immigrants was finally settled only in 1900. Russian citizenship was granted to all migrants, including those who resettled after 1884. The author comes to the conclusion that the Far Eastern authorities initially perceived the Korean settlers who settled in the South Ussuriysk Territory as subjects of Russia, but could not provide them with all the benefits in accordance with Russian law, since such a step could cause protests from Korea and China.
About the Authors
Burdin Evgeny Sergeevich, Postgraduate, Far-East Institute of Management, Branch of RANEPA, 33, Muravyov-Amursky st., Khabarovsk, 680000, Russian Federation, e-mail: burdin-1955@mail.ru
For citation

Burdin E. S. Registration of the Legal Status of Korean Migrants in Russia in the 80s 19th Century. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series History, 2021, vol. 38, pp. 95-101. https://doi.org/10.26516/2222-9124.2021.38.95 (in Russian)

Keywords
Far East, Korea, Korean migration, South Ussuri region
UDC
325.1(519:470)(091)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2222-9124.2021.38.95
References
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