The Chinese Diaspora in North Korea: Selected Aspects

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 the economic context of the 1990s, recognized as a strength of the North Korean economy.

DIASPORA CHIŃSKA W KOREI PÓŁNOCNEJ – WYBRANE ASPEKTY

Korea Północna była zawsze uważana za strategicznego partnera Chin. Mao Zedong opisał stosunki swojego kraju z Koreą Północną w sposób następujący: „Jeśli usta znikną, zęby będą zimne”, nawiązując do strategicznego znaczenia Północy jako geograficznego bufora bezpieczeństwa. W późniejszym okresie, pomimo zamkniętego charakteru Korei Północnej, Kim Ir Sen odwiedził Chiny ponad czterdzieści razy. Korea Północna, kraj uznawany za jednorodny, widziany z zewnątrz, ale może także od wewnątrz, boryka się z mało znaną różnorodnością kulturową, językową i religijną. Poważny kryzys gospodarczy w Korei Północnej w latach 90. XX wieku skłonił jej władze do ponownego przemyślenia zalet jej nieznanej heterogeniczności. Głównym składnikiem tej heterogeniczności jest chińska diaspora, która emigrowała w kilku falach, począwszy od lat 80. XIX wieku. Ta prężna, choć ograniczona liczebnie chińska diaspora od początku była dostrzegana, ale też dyskryminowana, natomiast dopiero ze względu na kontekst gospodarczy lat 90. ubiegłego stulecia uznana została za mocną stronę północnokoreańskiej gospodarki.

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