The Formation of Koryo Saram Identity under Soviet Nationality Policy
Session Number
3
Advisor(s)
Dr. Patrick Buck, IMSA
Location
B115
Discipline
History
Start Date
15-4-2026 2:15 PM
End Date
15-4-2026 3:00 PM
Abstract
This study examines the historical development and social position of the Koryo Saram, the community of ethnic Koreans who lived within the Soviet Union and later across post-Soviet states. Beginning with Korean migration to the Russian Far East in the late nineteenth century the project analyzes how these communities were incorporated into the Soviet system of nationality classification. Soviet governance organized society through administrative categories such as nationality, citizenship, territory, and class, which directly affected how populations were managed. Although Koreans were formally recognized as a nationality, they were not granted territorial autonomy or the institutional structures that supported many other national groups, and were deported in 1937 to Central Asian republics. By examining nationality policy, personal experiences from primary sources, and present-day cultural practices, this study illustrates how deportation, divided families, labor migration, and language loss shape everyday experiences and collective memory within the community. This study, based on academic historical articles and recorded oral interviews, argues that Koryo Saram were recognized as an ethnic group but lacked the territorial and institutional foundations that defined most Soviet nationalities. Therefore, their identity was built on displacement, community, and preservation of culture across multiple regions of Soviet and post-Soviet world.
The Formation of Koryo Saram Identity under Soviet Nationality Policy
B115
This study examines the historical development and social position of the Koryo Saram, the community of ethnic Koreans who lived within the Soviet Union and later across post-Soviet states. Beginning with Korean migration to the Russian Far East in the late nineteenth century the project analyzes how these communities were incorporated into the Soviet system of nationality classification. Soviet governance organized society through administrative categories such as nationality, citizenship, territory, and class, which directly affected how populations were managed. Although Koreans were formally recognized as a nationality, they were not granted territorial autonomy or the institutional structures that supported many other national groups, and were deported in 1937 to Central Asian republics. By examining nationality policy, personal experiences from primary sources, and present-day cultural practices, this study illustrates how deportation, divided families, labor migration, and language loss shape everyday experiences and collective memory within the community. This study, based on academic historical articles and recorded oral interviews, argues that Koryo Saram were recognized as an ethnic group but lacked the territorial and institutional foundations that defined most Soviet nationalities. Therefore, their identity was built on displacement, community, and preservation of culture across multiple regions of Soviet and post-Soviet world.