Koreans Among North Ossetia Terrorists

[freeandfun1]

An interesting "twist" to the Russian school massacre.

Koreans Among North Ossetia Terrorists

MOSCOW -- The Korean Embassy in Moscow has learned that at least some of the terrorists involved in the recent hostage drama in the Russia republic of North Ossetia were Korean. Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that the terrorist group involved in the hostage taking was the most international ever -- it included Chechens, Dagestanis, Tatars, Kazakhs and even Koreans. The agency quoted Sergei Fridinsky, deputy prosecutor general for the Southern Federal District, in reporting the above, and confirmed that nine Arabs and one black man were among the attackers.

Of the attackers, the identities of a couple of the Chechens have been revealed, but as for the Koreans, it has not been revealed whether they were Korean-Russian (Korean: Goryeo-in), South Koreans or North Koreans.

The Korean Embassy has requested confirmation from the government and police, while working to confirm with police and the local Korean-Russian association whether the individuals mentioned by police were ethnic Koreans.

Recently, there have been frequent terrorist attacks against Africans, Asians and other non-whites in Russia, and if the report turns out to be true, it would probably have a significant impact on local expatriate Koreans. Since the Aug. 24 bombings of two Russian passenger aircraft, the Korean Embassy has been placing warnings in expatriate publications asking Koreans residing in Russia to take special care of their personal safety.

 

[onedomino]

It is possible (not confirmed) that Koreans associated with the Beslan attack are from the Goryeo group:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409/200409210026.html

http://www.korea.net/news/issues/issueDetailView.asp?board_no=1352

Koreans of the Former USSR Fourth Largest Group of Overseas Koreans

About 0.55 million Koreans of the former Soviet Union (or Goryeo-in) are scattered in places in Russia, Central Asia and Ukraine. It is the fourth largest group of Koreans abroad, following the U.S. with 2.15 million, China with 2.14 million and Japan with 0.63 million.
Most Goryeo-in live in the Central Asian region, concentrated in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Their ancestors lived in the the Maritime Provinces of the Soviet Union but were forced by late Soviet leader Josef Stalin to leave the region in late 1937. They had to suffer in unknown lands and later became a model minority people by seeking economic stability through work on collective farms.
The spread of the Korean people throughout the Soviet Union started from the end of 1950s, when they were given jobs and educational opportunities.
Most Koreans in Moscow, St. Petersburg and southern Siberian cities such as Khabarovsk and Irkutsk are the people who settled down at that time. Most of them work as professionals and are well off.
Soviet Koreans experienced another migration with the start of the 1990s.
A huge number of people moved to the Maritime Provinces, southern Ukraine or Volgograd in southern Russia to find places to farm.
The Maritime Provinces were where their ancestors used to live and areas such as Volgograd were where they used to go for seasonal farm work. Some of them moved to Russian cities where their family and friends were.
The case of Koreans living on Sakhalin Island is exceptional. In a strict sense, they are not Korean-Russians because they are the descendants of those who were forcibly drafted at the end of the Japanese colonization. They joined Korean-Russians when they were allowed to move to the Maritime Region of Siberia after the 1960s.
At present, most Goryeo-in are going through many difficulties. Those who live in Central Asia have faced hardships since the Central Asian nations became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as those newly independent nations have put emphasis on their own religious (Islam) and linguistic identity.
Most people who served as public servants lost their jobs. Immigrants to farming regions in the Maritime Provinces, Volgograd, and Ukraine are suffering due to their unstable legal status. The Russian government once gave the opportunity to register their residencies, but Koreans who were living in solated rural areas missed the opportunity.
Also, most Koreans in the former Soviet Union are suffering from economic hardships due to low pay and lack of jobs.
Above all, what Goryeo-in are worried about is the education of their children. In particular, those who moved to other regions since the 1990s are having a hard time providing good education to their children because they are busy making a living, thus making it difficult for them to maintain their identity as Koreans.
Dr. Hwang Young-sam, who has conducted a study on Goryeo-in in Central Asia and engaged in activities to support them, said, “Most Goryeo-in eagerly want to teach their children the Korean language and culture.”