| Group: | Korean Brazilians |
| Native Name: | Coreano-brasileiro 한국계 브라질인 |
| Population: | 51,550 |
| Popplace: | Foz do Iguaçu, Fortaleza, and São Paulo City |
| Langs: | Brazilian Portuguese and Korean |
| Rels: | Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism[1] |
| Related: | Other Korean and Brazilian people, Korean Americans and other Asian Brazilians |
Korean Brazilians (Portuguese: Coreano-brasileiro,) are Brazilians of full, partial or predominantly Korean ancestry or a Korean-born person residing in Brazil. The Korean population in Brazil, the largest in Latin America, is about 50,000.[2]
On 6 January 2010, per Municipal Law nº 15100, the São Paulo City Council officially recognised Bom Retiro as the Korean cultural neighbourhood.[3]
In terms of religion, the vast majority of Korean Brazilians are Protestant, with a minority of Catholics. There are more Korean churches than Korean restaurants in the Korean Brazilian community. There are also three Buddhist temples located in Korean communities in Brazil, which also attract non-Korean worshippers.[1] [4]
There were cases of Koreans immigrating to Brazil during the Japanese occupation of Korea such as Kim Soo Jo. In 1961, the Korean-Brazilian association made a deal to take Korean immigrants and the Korean-Brazilian cultural diplomatic group surveyed possible locations that would fit the Koreans.[5] Official agricultural immigration from South Korea to Brazil began in 1962, and the early Korean people who immigrated to Brazil were helped by anti-communist political prisoners. Korean immigrants soon abandoned their agricultural projects and moved to São Paulo, mainly to Bom Retiro, which was originally a Jewish area but became one of the centres of Korean residents. Most of the Korean residents began to work in the clothing industry.In 1976, the South Korean government built the "Cross saemaul farm" near Brasília to solve the illegal Korean immigrants problem in Brazil.[6] The Korean community was influenced by the 1994 economic policy Plano Real.[7]
Before 1985, daily newspapers existed such as the Hankook Daily or Chosun Daily, but these early newspapers ended up being a republishing of already existing Korean articles from South Korea.In 1985, the first Korean tabloid magazine "Newsbrazil" (published until 2011) was founded by Kim Jong Nam. The magazine helped the Korean-Brazilians, who were often illiterate in Portuguese, understand local economic policies and ads were placed. It also played as a role as a communication space.[8]
Colégio Polilogos (브라질한국학교), a South Korean international school, was located in Bom Retiro, São Paulo.[9] [10]
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