The Chinese Diaspora in North Korea: Selected Aspects

Abstract

North Korea was always considered as a strategic partner for China� Mao Zedong described the relation of his country with North Korea as follows: “If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold”, a reference to the strategic importance of the North as a geographical security buffer� Later, in spite of the closed nature of North Korea, Kim Ilsung visited China more than forty times� North Korea, a country considered to be homogeneous, seen from the outside but perhaps also from the inside, is confronted with a little-known cultural, linguistic and religious diversity� The major economic crisis in North Korea of the 1990s have led its authorities to rethink the advantages of its unknown heterogeneity� The main component of its heterogeneity is the Chinese diaspora, which migrated, through several waves, starting from the 1880s� This vibrant but limited in terms of number Chinese diaspora was initially recognized, but also discriminated, and due to — ABSTRAKT —