Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group indigenous to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 million ethnic Koreans resided outside of Korea. Koreans are also an officially recognised ethnic minority in other several Continental and East Asian countries, including China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Outside of Continental and East Asia, sizeable Korean communities have formed in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Etymology
South Koreans refer to themselves as Hanguk-in or Hanguk-saram, both of which mean "people of the Han". The "Han" in the names of the Korean Empire, Daehan Jeguk, and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Daehan Minguk or Hanguk, are named in reference to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula. Members of the Korean diaspora often use the term Han-in.
North Koreans refer to themselves as Joseon-in or Joseon-saram, both of which literally mean "people of Joseon". The term is derived from Joseon, the last dynastic kingdom of Korea. Similarly, Koreans in China refer to themselves as Chaoxianzu in Chinese or Joseonjok, Joseonsaram in Korean, which are cognates that literally mean "Joseon ethnic group". Koreans in Japan refer to themselves as in Japanese or Jaeil Joseonin, Joseonsaram, Joseonin in Korean. Ethnic Koreans living in Russia and Central Asia refer to themselves as Koryo-saram, alluding to Goryeo, a Korean dynasty spanning from 918 to 1392, which also spawned the word 'Korea'.
In the chorus of the South Korean national anthem, Koreans are referred to as Daehan-saram ("people of the great han").
In an inter-Korean context, such as when dealing with the Koreanic languages or the Korean ethnicity as a whole, South Koreans use the term .
Origins The origin of Koreans has not been well clarified yet. Based on linguistic, archaeologic and genetic evidence, their place of origin is located somewhere in Northeast Asia, but its exact pattern of expansion and arrival into the Korean peninsula remain unclear.
Archaeological evidence suggests that Proto-Koreans were migrants from Manchuria during the Bronze Age. The origins of the Korean language and people are subjects of ongoing debate. Some theories suggest connections to the Altaic region, proposing links with languages and populations in Northern Asia, including Mongolic, Turkic, and Tungusic groups. However, these claims remain inconclusive, and many scholars argue that Korean belongs to its own distinct Koreanic family, with unique linguistic and cultural origins.
Scholars suggest that Koreanic speakers came from Northeast Asia and migrated southwards to the Korean Peninsula, where they replaced or assimilated the local Japonic speakers. Whitman suggests that the Proto-Koreans arrived in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BCE and coexisted with the descendants of the Japonic Mumun cultivators (or assimilated them). Vovin suggests Proto-Korean is equivalent to the variant of Koreanic languages spoken in southern Manchuria and northern Korean Peninsula by the time of the Three Kingdoms of Korea period and spread to southern Korea through influence from Goguryeo migrants. Linguistic evidence indicates speakers of The arrival of early Koreans can be associated with the Bronze Age dagger culture, which expanded from the West Liao River region. Archaeologic evidence points to a connection between the pottery-making style of the Late Neolithic to Bronze Age cultures in the West Liao River basin and the Korean Peninsula. Miyamoto similarly argues that Proto-Koreanic arrived with the "rolled rim vessel culture" (Jeomtodae culture) from the Liaodong Peninsula, gradually replacing the Japonic speakers of the Mumun-Yayoi culture.
However, some scholars reject the notion that the Korean speakers were not native to the Korean Peninsula, and argue that no solid evidence of such linguistic migration/shift as well as population and material change in the peninsular region has ever been found to support later migrations.
The largest concentration of dolmens in the world is found on the Korean Peninsula. In fact, with an estimated 35,000-100,000 dolmens, Korea accounts for nearly 40% of the world's total. Similar dolmens can be found in Northeast China, the Shandong Peninsula and the island of Kyushu, yet it is unclear why this culture only flourished so extensively on the Korean Peninsula and its surroundings compared to the bigger remainder of Northeast Asia.
Genetics
According to Sun et al., modern Koreans primarily descend from Bronze Age farmers from the West Liao River. These farmers can be modelled as having Ancient Northern East Asian ancestry, related to Yellow River farmers from the Middle to Late Neolithic period, and Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry, related to Amur hunter-gatherers. West Liao River ancestry is associated with the Upper Xiajiadian culture, which can represent the ancestral source for Bronze Age and modern Koreans. According to Kim et al. (2020), most genetic variation within modern Koreans is attributed to the introduction of combined Vat Komnou and Nui Nap ancestries from Southern China after the Bronze Age. Other studies also show this Southeast Asian contribution in proto-Koreans. Wang and Wang (2022) states that Koreans from the Neolithic to the Three Kingdoms Period, a span covering roughly 6000 BC to AD 500, have Jōmon ancestry, which ranged from 10% to 95%, and significantly contributed to the genetic makeup of modern Koreans. But subsequent arrivals of newcomers from Manchuria 'diluted' this Jōmon ancestry and made the Koreans genetically homogenous. Because of this, Koreans are closely related to Korea TK_1 individuals, who additionally exhibit affinities with Eastern Chinese, due to their lower Jōmon ancestry. Other studies suggest long-term continuity between Bronze Age West Liao River populations and modern Koreans, similar to Japanese. Koreans are also closely related to modern Manchus and Yamato Japanese but possess more Siberian ancestry than Manchus. According to Sun et al. (2023), modern Koreans can be modelled as having Bronze Age West Liao River ancestry (100%) or as a mixture of Bronze Age West Liao River (85%) and Taiwan Hanben ancestry (15%). Jōmon ancestry in modern Koreans is estimated to be about 5%. Koreans also have close affinities with the Doigahama Yayoi individual, who are closely related to ancient (e.g. Yayoi, Kofun etc.) and modern Japanese populations, and Yellow River populations from the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age.
Koreans display high frequencies of the Y-DNA haplogroups O2-M122 (approximately 40% of all present-day Korean males), O1b2-M176 (approximately 30%), and C2-M217 (approximately 15%). Some regional variance may exist; in a study of South Korean Y-DNA published in 2011, the ratio of O2-M122 to O1b2-M176 is greatest in Seoul-Gyeonggi (1.8065), with the ratio declining in a counterclockwise direction around South Korea (Chungcheong 1.6364, Jeolla 1.3929, Jeju 1.3571, Gyeongsang 1.2400, Gangwon 0.9600). Haplogroup C2-M217 tends to be found in about 13% of males from most regions of South Korea, but it is somewhat more common (about 17%) among males from the Gyeongsang region in the southeast of the peninsula and somewhat less common (about 7%) among males from Jeju, located off the southwest coast of the peninsula. Haplogroup C2-M217 has been found in a greater proportion (about 26%) of a small sample (n=19) of males from North Korea. Koreans have also been identified as belonging to the C2b1a1 sublineage specifically, indicating shared ancestry with Han and Mongolic-speaking populations on the paternal line. However, haplogroups are not a reliable indicator of an individual's overall ancestry; Koreans are more similar to one another in regard to their autosomes than they are similar to members of other ethnic groups. Studies of polymorphisms in the human Y-chromosome have so far produced evidence to suggest that the Korean people have a long history as a distinct, mostly endogamous ethnic group, with successive prehistoric waves of people moving to the peninsula and two major Y-chromosome haplogroups. The mitochondrial DNA markers (mtDNA haplogroups and HVR-I sequences) of Korean populations showed close relationships with Manchurians, Japanese, Mongolians and Northern Chinese but not with Southeast Asians. Y-chromosomal distances showed a close relationship to most East Asian population groups, including Southeast Asian ones.
Koreans share a close genetic relationship with Yamato Japanese and Manchu populations, as well as other Tungusic-speaking groups, reflecting shared ancestry and historical interactions. Additionally, they exhibit genetic affinity with Northern Han Chinese populations, though to a lesser degree compared to Manchu and Japanese populations. These relationships are supported by genome-wide analyses highlighting the complex genetic structure of East Asian populations. Among Han Chinese, Koreans are closely related to Han Chinese from Inner Mongolia, Northeastern China (e.g. Liaoning, Shandong etc.) and Shaanxi. The study "Genomic insights into the formation of human populations in East Asia" states that Koreans are genetically closest to Yamato Japanese based on FST genetic distance measurements. The research highlights the complex genetic structure of East Asian populations, shaped by historical migrations and admixture events. The reference population for Koreans used in Geno 2.0 Next Generation is 94% Eastern Asia and 5% Southeast Asia & Oceania.Reference Populations - Geno 2.0 Next Generation . (2017). The Genographic Project. Retrieved 15 May 2017, from link.
Genealogy