MULTINATIONAL PATRIOT: Korean Diaspora Flags by Onjena Yo
/ Onjena YoThe more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know...
I was informed by family members that the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is no bigger than the state of Ohio with a population of 50 million (Having grown up in Ohio, I knew first hand how small this was). It wasn't that long ago that Korea could barely feed their citizens just after the Korean War of the 1950's. Now, they are the 13th largest economy in the world. And their cultural output... K-Pop, Korean dramas, movies (um, Joon-ho Bong, yes, please)... I am just at the beginning of my binge...
A recent conversation with a new friend prompted me to research the Korean diaspora. According to Wikipedia, there are over 7 million Koreans, give or take, living abroad. Here are the Top 10:
China (2.54 Million)
United States (2.09 Million)
Japan (893,000)
Canada (206,000)
Russia (176,000)
Uzbekistan (174,000)
Australia (157,000)
Kazakhstan (105,000)
Philippines (88,000)
Vietnam (86,000)
50,000 Koreans were living in Mexico and Brazil. The United Kingdom was 13th (45,000) which surprised me. And Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in the Top 10? Who knew?
I had to look up "Korean Diaspora Africa" to find the numbers for African countries:
South Africa (4,000)
Libya (< 1000)
Nigeria (< 800)
Kenya (< 800)
Egypt (< 700)
It seems I may know more about North Korea than South because of the news... I have much to learn and thanks to organizations such as the Orange County Korean American Cultural Exchange (OCKACE), I've already begun the process with some new friends.
We designed our Korean-American flag many years ago and, based on direct feedback, it appears to have resonated with Koreans in the United States. It's been a long time coming, but we've now expanded our designs to reflect the Korean diaspora for the other 5 million Koreans living outside the U.S. & Korea.
Always lovely to hear from you. Connect with us at @MultiPATRIOT.
Thanks for reading.
~ Onjena Yo
#MultinationalPatriot #HonorBoth #OurPatriotism #OurGateways
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