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Noteworthy Names: The Top 10 Koreans People You Should Know

By - December 31, 2023, 9:40 pm

Here are 10 popular celebrities and notable individuals of Korean ethnicity:

  • BTS – The globally renowned and Grammy-nominated South Korean boy band has captured hearts worldwide with their music, choreography, and philanthropic efforts.
  • Park Chan-wook – Renowned South Korean film director known for critically acclaimed movies such as “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden.” He has received international recognition and numerous awards for his work.
  • Son Heung-min – A professional footballer who plays for the South Korean national team and Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League. He is considered one of the best Asian footballers of his generation.
  • Song Hye-kyo – A popular South Korean actress known for her roles in hit dramas like “Full House” and “Descendants of the Sun.” She has gained international fame and has been named one of Korea’s most beautiful women.
  • Michelle Lee – A Korean-American professional golfer who became the youngest player to win a major title in the LPGA Tour. She has achieved remarkable success in her career and continues to inspire young golfers.
  • Steven Yeun – A Korean-American actor known for his role as Glenn Rhee in the hit TV series “The Walking Dead.” He has been praised for his acting skills and representation of Asian characters in Hollywood.
  • CL – A South Korean singer, rapper, and songwriter who was the leader of the girl group 2NE1. She has released successful solo music and has been recognized for her fashion and style influence in the industry.
  • Park Jisung – A former professional footballer who is one of the greatest athletes in South Korean history. He represented his country in multiple FIFA World Cup tournaments and had a successful career in Europe’s top leagues.
  • Yuna Kim – A retired South Korean figure skater who is a two-time Olympic medalist and 2010 Olympic champion. She is highly regarded for her elegance and technical excellence on the ice.
  • Park Jihoon – A popular South Korean singer and actor who gained fame through the reality show “Produce 101.” He has since released successful music and appeared in various dramas, capturing the hearts of fans.

These individuals have not only achieved great success in their respective fields but have also become cultural icons, inspiring people around the world and contributing to the global reach of Korean entertainment and talent.

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea's border with South Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city. The history of present-day Korea began with the foundation of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the mythic king Dangun, but no archaeological evidence and writing was found from this period. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Unified Silla in 668 AD, Korea was subsequently ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). In 1897, King Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire, which was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. In 1945, after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two zones along the 38th parallel, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States. In 1948, separate governments were formed in Korea: the socialist and Soviet-aligned Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the capitalist, Western-aligned Republic of Korea in the south. The Korean War began when North Korean forces invaded South Korea in 1950. In 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire and established a demilitarized zone (DMZ), but no formal peace treaty has ever been signed. Post-war North Korea benefited greatly from economic aid and expertise provided by other Eastern Bloc countries. However, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's first leader, later purged both pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese elements from the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and promoted his personal philosophy of Juche as the state ideology. Pyongyang's international isolation sharply accelerated from the 1980s onwards as the Cold War came to an end. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 then brought about a sharp decline to the North Korean economy. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered a famine that resulted in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people, and the population continues to suffer from malnutrition. North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship with a comprehensive cult of personality around the Kim family. The country is widely considered to have the worst human rights record in the world. Officially, North Korea is an "independent socialist state" which holds democratic elections; however, independent observers have described the elections as sham elections. The Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling party of North Korea and leads the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, the sole legal political movement in the country. According to Article 3 of the constitution, Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism is the official ideology of North Korea. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms. Most services—such as healthcare, education, housing, and food production—are subsidized or state-funded. North Korea follows Songun, a "military first" policy which prioritizes the Korean People's Army in state affairs and the allocation of resources. It possesses nuclear weapons, and is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel. Its active-duty army of 1.28 million soldiers is the fourth largest in the world. In addition to being a member of the United Nations since 1991, North Korea is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, G77, and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Most Famous Koreans People

Koreans’s Three Pinnacle Historical Inheritances

The Korean community is known for its rich cultural heritage which spans thousands of years. From its ancient traditions and values to its unique language and customs, Koreans have a sense of pride in preserving their historical inheritances. Let’s take a closer look at three of the most well-known historical inheritances associated with Korean heritage.

1. Hanbok:

One of the most recognizable symbols of Korean cultural heritage is the traditional attire known as the Hanbok. The Hanbok is a vibrant and elegant costume worn by Koreans for centuries. It consists of a wrap-around skirt (chima) for women and baggy pants (baji) for men, paired with a jacket (jeogori). The colors and patterns of the Hanbok often represent the wearer’s social status, age, and occasion. Despite the rise of modern fashion, the Hanbok continues to be worn on special occasions, weddings, and traditional festivals, showcasing the Koreans’ pride in their cultural identity.

2. Hangul:

The Korean language, known as Hangul, is a unique and distinct feature of Korean heritage. Created during the 15th century by King Sejong the Great, Hangul is a phonetic writing system that is renowned for its simplicity and scientific approach to representing sounds. It consists of individual characters called “jamos” that combine to form syllable blocks. Hangul played a crucial role in increasing literacy rates in Korea, making education more accessible to the general population. Today, Hangul remains the official alphabet of South Korea and is considered one of the world’s most efficient writing systems.

3. Traditional Music and Dance:

Korean traditional music and dance form an integral part of the country’s cultural heritage. The traditional music, called Gukak, encompasses a variety of genres, including court music (jeongak), folk music (minyo), and ritual music (musok). Instruments such as the gayageum (a zither-like instrument), the daegeum (a large bamboo flute), and the janggu (a double-headed drum) are commonly used in traditional Korean music. Korean traditional dance, known as Buchaechum, is a visually stunning performance that involves dancers wearing vibrant costumes adorned with large, colorful fans. These artistic expressions reflect the Koreans’ deep respect for their history, as well as their appreciation for the beauty and grace of their cultural traditions.

Key cultural inheritances associated with Korean heritage:

  • Hanbok – traditional Korean attire
  • Hangul – unique phonetic writing system
  • Traditional music and dance – Gukak and Buchaechum

Korean cultural heritage holds a special place in the hearts of Koreans, serving as a reminder of their ancestors’ legacy and a celebration of their unique identity. Whether it’s through the colorful Hanbok, the efficient Hangul, or the captivating traditional music and dance, Koreans continue to honor and preserve their historical inheritances, ensuring that future generations can also take pride in their rich cultural heritage.

Factsheet About Koreans People

Koreans Ethnicity Demographics and Distribution

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Country Population Percentage of Total Population
South Korea 51,780,579 100%
United States 1,874,674 3.6%
China 1,347,890 2.6%
Japan 875,000 1.7%
Canada 250,000 0.5%
Australia 169,407 0.3%
Russia 153,600 0.3%
Uzbekistan 150,000 0.3%
Kazakhstan 106,200 0.2%
Germany 100,000 0.2%
Korean ethnic nationalism (Korean: 한국의 민족주의), or Korean racial nationalism, is a racist, chauvinist, and ethnosupremacist political ideology and a form of ethnic and racial identity that is widely prevalent amongst Koreans, particularly in South Korea. It is based on the belief that Koreans form a nation, a race, and an ethnic group that shares a unified bloodline and a distinct culture. It is centered on the notion of the minjok (Korean: 민족; Hanja: 民族), a term that had been coined in Imperial Japan ("minzoku") in the early Meiji period. Minjok has been translated as "nation", "people", "ethnic group", "race", and "race-nation".This conception started to emerge among Korean intellectuals after the Japanese-imposed protectorate of 1905, leading to Korea's colonization by Japan. The Japanese then tried to persuade the Koreans that both nations were of the same racial stock to assimilate them, similar to what they did with the Ainu and Ryukyuans. The notion of the Korean minjok was first made popular by essayist and historian Shin Chae-ho in his New Reading of History (1908), a history of Korea from the mythical times of Dangun to the fall of Balhae in 926 CE. Shin portrayed the minjok as a warlike race that had fought bravely to preserve Korean identity, had later declined, and now needed to be reinvigorated. During the period of Japanese rule (1910–1945), this belief in the uniqueness of the Korean minjok gave an impetus for resisting Japanese assimilation policies and historical scholarship.In contrast to Japan and Germany, where such mainstream race-based conceptions of the nation were discredited after World War II because they were associated with Japanese ultranationalism or Nazism, with such views leading to the Holocaust, postwar North and South Korea continued to proclaim their ethnic homogeneity and pure bloodline. In the 1960s, South Korean president Park Chung Hee strengthened this "ideology of racial purity" to legitimize his authoritarian rule. Contemporary South Korean historians continue to write about the nation's "unique racial and cultural heritage", with some even going further to add that Koreans are generally more "superior" than other ethnic groups and nations.This shared conception of a racially defined Korea continues to shape Korean politics and foreign relations, gives Koreans an impetus to national and racial pride, and feeds hopes for the reunification of the two Koreas. In recent decades, statistics has showed that South Korea is becoming an increasingly multi-ethnic society. Nevertheless, the South Korean population continues to identify itself as "one people" (단일민족; 單一民族; danil minjok) joined by a common "bloodline". As a result, renewed emphasis on the purity of the Korean "blood" has caused tensions, leading to renewed debates on multi-ethnicity and racism both in South Korea and abroad by Koreans. Korean racial nationalism has also been described as constituting a civic religion of sorts.

The Ancient Heritage of Koreans Ethnic Groups

Koreans Ethnicity: References and Resources

References and resources to delve deeper into the Korean ethnic group can provide a wealth of information about their history, culture, traditions, and more. Here are some valuable sources:

  • Encyclopedia Britannica – Korean: This comprehensive resource offers an overview of Korean history, culture, society, and language.
  • Korea.net: The official website of the Korean government provides useful information about the country, its people, and various aspects of Korean culture.
  • The Korea Herald: A leading English-language newspaper in South Korea, The Korea Herald covers a wide range of topics related to Korea, including news, culture, and society.
  • The Korea Times: Another major English-language newspaper in South Korea, The Korea Times offers news, analysis, and opinion pieces on various aspects of Korean society.
  • Modern Korean Literature Translation Institute: This institute aims to introduce Korean literature to the world. Their website offers translations of Korean literary works, providing insights into Korean culture, values, and perspectives.
  • The Korea Society: Based in the United States, The Korea Society promotes understanding and cooperation between the U.S. and Korea. Their website offers resources on Korean history, culture, and current affairs.

Exploring these references and resources can deepen your understanding of the Korean ethnic group, shedding light on their rich history, vibrant culture, and unique traditions.

Explore other famous people with Assiniboine, Botlikhs and Idoma roots, showcasing the diversity of ethnic backgrounds. Delving into the lives of notable figures from various ethnic backgrounds associated with these Koreans roots reveals the intricate web of connections between global cultures and their significant contributions to the world.

As we continue to celebrate diversity and embrace the richness of different cultures, let us honor and draw inspiration from these remarkable individuals who have shaped our world. Thank you for joining us on this captivating journey.

Famous peopleKoreans
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