A Nationality that Honors the Teacher and Reveres His Teachings

The Korean nationality is one of the minorities in China. It has a present population of more than 1.92 million, mainly distributed over Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning Provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Yanbian, Jilin Province, with more than 820,000 Koreans in 1990, which took up nearly 40% of the whole population in the Prefecture, is the largest region where the Koreans inhabit in compact communities.

The ancestors of the Korean nationality are the Koreans who settled in northeast China from the Korean Peninsula, which is to the south of the Yalu and Tumen River. The earliest Korean settlers can be traced back to more than 300 years ago.

The Korean nationality has her own language and characters. As to the question which family of languages the Korean language belongs to, it still remains disputed in the academic community. But most people are inclined to favor that it falls under the Altai family of languages.

Most of the Koreans are engaged in agricultural production, some in forestry or sideline production. They are exceptionally adept at growing paddy. The region around Yanbian is the main paddy producing area in northeast China.

The Korean nationality attaches special importance to culture and education, and is fond of singing, dancing and sports activities. At present, her average level of being educated ranks the highest among all the nationalities of the whole country. Diligence, frugality, plainness, tidiness, hospitality, respecting the aged and cherishing the young, as well as being united and helpful to each other are the good traditions and moral practices of the whole Korean nationality.

In the War of Resistance Against Japan, China's War of Liberation and the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the people of Korean nationality have performed immortal feats.

The Korean nationality is a trans-boundary nationality. In addition to the Koreans in China, there are also more than 60 million Koreans distributed in The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, The Republic of Korean and Japan.

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