Brief History of Korean Diaspora and Educational Issues of Korean Diaspora Churches

According to the Overseas Koreans Foundation (OKF, 2010) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2010), Korean governmental organizations, approximately seven million Koreans, or about ten percent of the population of the Korean peninsula, live and work outside the peninsula as of 2009. Compared to the six million of 2001 (Choi, I., 2003; OKF, 2010), the number has increased by approximately one million. However, this number has decreased by about 220,000 from 2007.Unlike other ethnic diasporas, there are more than 5,000 Korean diaspora churches throughout the world for these seven million Koreans living abroad. However, several questions are raised about this number: Are they all first-generation Koreans, or do they include the 1.5, second, and third generations? Do they retain a Korean identity or not? What is their relationship with Korea? The purpose of this article is threefold. First, this study traces the brief historical development of the Korean diaspora. Second, this article seeks to understand the Korean diaspora and its churches from the perspective of the educational system rather than from a missiological perspective. Third, the study searches out the current educational issues among Korean diaspora churches and the role of these churches within the Korean diaspora community.