Germans in Korea

Germans in Korea

Total population
Total population not known
Regions with significant populations
South Korea	3,086 (2009)
North Korea	Unknown
Languages
German,Korean
Religion
Christianity,others
Related ethnic groups
Germans

Germans in Koreahave a long history, though they have never formed a significant population.

History

The firstGermanto set foot on Korean soil, in 1832, was theLutheranmissionaryKarl Gützlaff,who is also credited with importing thepotato.He was followed byShanghai-based businessmanErnst Oppert,who from 1866 to 1868 made three attempts to force Korea open to foreign trade, and German consul to JapanMax von Brandt,who in 1870 landed atBusanin an attempt to open negotiations, but was sent away by Korean officials there. Prussian orientalistPaul Georg von Möllendorfflived in Korea from 1882 to 1885 as the director general of the customs service. One German trading company, H. C. Eduard Meyer & Co., set up operations inIncheonat his suggestion in 1886. Several Germans also became prominent inEmperor Gojong's administration; Japan-based bandmasterFranz Eckertcomposed theAnthem of the Korean Empirefor the emperor in 1902, whileRichard Wunschserved as Gojong's personal physician from 1901 to 1905, andAntoinette Sontag(the former housekeeper ofKarl Ivanovich Weber) was hired asmajordomoin charge of the palace's household affairs.

After the signing of the 1905Eulsa Treaty,which deprived Korea of the right to conduct its own foreign relations, German diplomats in Korea were required to leave the country. Many more private individuals had departed by the time of the 1910Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty.However, whenHermann Lautensachvisited Korea in 1933, there were still a handful living there, including an entire monastery ofBenedictinemonks nearWonsan,Kangwon-do.They continue to operate a monastery atWaegwan,nearDaegu.

SomeKoreans settled in Germanyduring the 1960s and 1970s have begun returning toSouth Koreaafterretirement,bringing German spouses with them; this return migration has resulted in the creation of theNamhae German Villageof roughly 75 households inSouth Gyeongsang.The German population in South Korea shrank by roughly 25% between 1999 and 2005.

Education

Ferdinand Krienset up the Imperial German Language School inSeoul,which ran from 1898 to 1911.TheGerman School Seoul Internationalwas founded in 1976 for the families of German expatriatesin and near the South Korean capital.TheGoethe-Institutopened a reading room inPyongyangin 2004, but closed it in 2009 over censorship concerns.

Notable people

• Norbert Vollertsen,human rights activist who worked in North Korea from 1999 to 2001