Koreans in Africa form a very small population, estimated at only 9,200 people in 2005, with almost half of these living in South Africa. South Korean nationals can be found in 49 countries of Africa, including the continent and its surrounding islands; they have established schools in 19 of those countries. They form a small part of the Korean diaspora.
History
South Africa considered importing labourers from Korea as early as 1903 in order to control rising mining wages, but eventually decided on Chinese workers instead.
North Koreans In the past, North Korea ran several military and civil assistance programmes to some of Africa's more radical states, including Guinea, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Mali and Tanzania. North Korea, in return, was able to gain diplomatic recognition and other leverage; they were successful in ensuring South Korea was unable to join the Non-Aligned Movement. For Egypt, the relationship was especially close; North Korean pilots flew Egyptian fighters in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and Egypt exported Scud missiles to North Korea. Egypt even had diplomatic relations established with Israel before it had relations with South Korea.
North Korea was also involved in several armed insurgency movements in Angola, Rhodesia and in the Seychelles, and provided support to the African National Congress and South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). In 1984, 3,000 North Korean military advisers were dispatched to Angola, and later were reportedly engaged in combat operations with the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA). Around the same time there were some North Koreans in Lesotho involved in training for the Youth League of the Basotho National Party's Vincent Makhele faction, but they were expelled due to pressure from South Africa in early 1986.
In the 1990s and beyond, as governments in Africa became more pragmatic and South Korea's economic position became clearly superior to that of the North's, North Korea's influence in Africa declined.
South Koreans During the wave of Korean labour migration to the Arab world in the 1970s and 1980s, many Koreans went to Arab countries of North Africa, including Libya, and to a lesser extent, Egypt and Sudan. Though Libya did not receive its first South Korean workers until 1977, it was the only Arab country which experienced consistent growth in the number of Korean workers between 1981 and 1985. By 1985 it had already become the Arab world's second most popular destination, with 23,138 arrivals from South Korea. In total, from 1977 until 1985, 103,953 South Koreans went to Libya. The Korean community in Nigeria consists of 550 construction engineers from South Korean construction companies Daewoo and Hyundai Heavy Industries, 240 local residents, and 10 missionaries sent by Christian churches in South Korea. There is also a small population of roughly 200 Koreans in Botswana, largely formed by employees of South Korean automobile manufacturers; 154 live in the capital Gaborone. In late 2008, there were media reports that roughly 30 or 40 immigration brokers in Seoul's Gangnam-gu were helping South Korean parents to obtain permanent residency in Mali and other African countries so that they could enroll their children in international schools at home.
Education The Cairo Korean School, founded on 5 December 1979 is Africa's only Korean day school and the earliest registered Korean educational institution of any kind in Africa; it enrolled 84 elementary school students and 119 middle school students . Weekend Korean language schools for South Korean nationals have been established in eighteen other African countries as well, enrolling a total of 640 students. These are listed below (ordered by date of founding of the earliest school): CountryCityDateSchool name↓ TeachersStudents ↓LevelsRef.KenyaNairobi1 March 1981나이로비한인학교Nairobi Hanin HakgyoNairobi Koreans' School8 58 Kindergarten & elementaryGhana1 September 1981재 가나 토요한글학교Jae Gana Toyo Hangeul HakgyoGhana Saturday Hangul School6 72Kindergarten to high schoolEthiopia24 February 1984주 이디오피아한글학교Ju Idiopia Hangeul HakgyoEthiopia Hangul School2 13 ElementarySenegalDakar1 October 1986다카르한글학교Dakareu Hangeul HakgyoDakar Hangul School7 23 Elementary & middle schoolIvory CoastAbidjan8 July 1987아비쟝한글학교Abijang Hangeul HakgyoAbidjan Hangul School8 49 Kindergarten & elementaryMauritaniaNouadhibou15 April 1988누아디브한글학교Nuadibeu Hangeul HakgyoNouadhibou Hangul School2 9 Kindergarten to high schoolMoroccoRabat7 October 1989카사,라바트한글학교Kasa, Rabateu Hangeul HakgyoCasablanca-Rabat Hangul School5 22 Kindergarten to middle schoolAgadir12 January 1991아가딜한글학교Agadil Hangeul HakgyoAgadir Hangul School3 11 Kindergarten to middle schoolEgyptCairo1 September 1990카이로한국학교부설토요학교Kairo Hanguk Hakgyo Buseol Toyo HakgyoWeekend School of Cairo Korean School315ElementaryGabon21 January 1991가봉한글학교Gabong Hangeul HakgyoGabon Hangul School3 16 ElementaryNigeriaLagos21 January 1991재 나이지리아 토요한글학교Jae Naijiria Toyo Hangeul HakgyoNigeria Saturday Hangul School4 12 ElementaryTanzaniaDar es Salaam1 May 1993탄자니아한글학교Tanjania Hangeul HakgyoTanzania Hangul School5 27 Kindergarten to middle schoolTogoLomé2 July 1994재 토고 토요한글학교Jae Togo Toyo Hangeul HakgyoTogo Saturday Hangul School4 27 Kindergarten to high schoolSouth AfricaJohannesburg1 March 1992요하네스버그한글학교Yohaneseubeogeu Hangeul HakgyoJohannesburg Korean School22 110 Kindergarten to middle schoolPretoria4 February 1995프레토리아한글학교Peuretoria Hangeul HakgyoPretoria Hangul School8 46 Kindergarten to middle schoolCape Town10 March 2001케이프타운한글학교Keipeutaun Hangeul HakgyoCape Town Hangul School10 30 Kindergarten to high schoolUganda1 April 1995우간다한인학교Uganda Hanin HakgyoUganda Koreans' School6 26 Kindergarten & elementaryTunisiaTunis11 November 1996튀니스한글학교Twiniseu Hangeul HakgyoTunis Hangul School4 10 ElementaryZimbabweHarare3 March 1997하라레한글학교Harare Hangeul HakgyoHarare Hangul School4 10 Kindergarten & elementaryBotswanaGaborone10 January 1998보츠나와한글학교Bocheunawa Hangeul HakgyoBotswana Hangul School5 23 Elementary to high schoolCameroonDouala1 January 2000두알라한글학교Dualla Hangeul HakgyoDouala Hangul School4 25 Kindergarten to middle schoolYaoundé1 January 2000야운데한글학교Yaunde Hangeul HakgyoYaoundé Hangul School8 12 Elementary to high schoolLibya1 January 2000재리비아주말한글학교Jae Ribia Jumal Hangeul HakgyoLibya Weekend Hangul School?22 Kindergarten to high school
See also Asian Africans Asian South Africans
References Notes
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