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 The
largest concentration of Koreans is in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous
Prefecture in eastern Jilin Province. Under its jurisdiction are
the cities of Yanji and Tumen, and the counties of Yanji, Helong,
Antu, Huichun, Wangqing and Dunhua, covering a total area of 41,500
sq. km.
The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
is a beautiful, majestic land of high mountains and deep valleys.
The land rises to 2,744 meters above sea level to the highest
peak of the Changbai Mountains -- White Head Summit. This is
an extinct volcano, from the crater lake of which spring the
Yalu and Tumen rivers, flowing south and north respectively,
and forming the boundary with the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea to the east.
The area is accessible nowadays by both road
and rail, except for the mountain-locked Hunchun District. The
prefecture has 1,600 km of railways and 3,700 km of highways
and branch roads.
Another community of Koreans lives in the
Changbai Korean Autonomous County in southeastern Jilin.
The area is one of China's major sources
of timber and forest products, including ginseng, marten pelts
and deer antlers. It is also a habitat for many wild animals,
including tigers.
Copper, lead,
zinc and gold have been mined here since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911),
and the area also has deposits of iron, antimony, phosphorus,
graphite, quartz, limestone and oil shale.
Yanbian is also
blessed with agricultural riches and is a major tobacco producer.
It is famous for apples and pears, which have been exported
since 1955.
The ancestors
of the Korean ethnic group migrated from the Korean peninsula
from about the late 17th century, mostly peasants fleeing from
their oppressive feudal landlords. Especially following a severe
famine in the northern part of Korea in 1869, they settled down
in large numbers in what is now the Yanbian area. Another wave
of migration took place in the early years of this century when
Japan annexed Korea and drove many peasants off the land. The
Japanese seizure of the Manchurian provinces further served
to drive landless Koreans to settle in Northeast China.
The Koreans
have their own spoken and written language, which is thought
to belong to the Altaic family. Their alphabet is a simple,
ingenious one, and the Koreans are very proud of it.
Customs
The traditional Korean dress is white, a
symbol of simplicity and serenity. Men wear baggy trousers fastened
at the ankles and a jacket which fastens on the right; sometimes
they wear a high-crowned black horsehair hat. Women wear voluminous
skirts and a tight jacket which reaches just below the armpits.
Their cuisine is very spicy and includes
kimchi (pickled vegetables), cold noodles, sticky rice cakes and dog meat.
Yanbian is fairly
evenly populated, with villages set a few miles apart from each
other and ranging in size from about a dozen households to several
scores. The houses are built of wood with low-eaved tile or
thatched roofs. They are heated by flues running under a raised
platform in the main rooms, which serves as a bed and also a
place to sit on. Shoes are removed before entering the house.
The Koreans
are very fond of music. They sometimes sing and dance to the
accompaniment of drums and flutes in the fields or on construction
sites. Traditional festivals are celebrated heartily, especially
the Lunar New Year, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Other occasions
for merriment are the 100th day after a baby's birth and a person's
60th birthday.
In the old days,
men labored in the fields while women worked around the house. The eldest son became the head of the family upon the
death or incapacitation of the father. Monogamy was practiced
but early marriage and adoption of child brides and boys to
carry on the family tree were common.
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