Koryo-saram, commonly called Koreyskii refers to the ethnic Koreans living in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and nations near the former Soviet Union. During the Korean empire and Japanese colonization our nation suffered through many economical hardships, Independence movements and political issues and because of these many problems huge number of Koreans migrated.
From a small number of migrants beginning in 1863 the numbers grew to approximately 4,500 migrants. Many independence movement members were forced to migrate as refugees. The many Koryo people who migrated were met with a harsh fate duringthe reign of Stalin. Stalin’s severe discrimination policies upon the minority groups forced migration upon the people. The estimated 172,000 Koryo-saram were thrown like luggage into vans that carried them to central Asia, they had to suffer the sorrow of being left to die in wastelands. Yet the Koryo-saram through tenacity and strong will survived within the wastelands of central Asia and were even able to cultivate the land through rice fields and collective farming. Thus the Koryo people were able spread their roots upon the land and are now one of the most well settled, well off people in the area.