Tracing the Language Roots and Migration Routes of Koreans from the Far East to Central Asia

In 1937, Soviet Koreans from the Far East were forcibly relocated by Stalin to Central Asia. This narrative of expulsion and deportation is used to explain the residence of Koreans in present-day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. First, this article maps out the historical backdrop that has broadly shaped the Kazakhstani Korean experience. Exploring the lived experiences of Central Asian Koreans then elucidates the heterogeneity which exists within this diasporic community. It is this heterogeneity that provides insight into how people navigated the central control of the Soviet apparatus and has shaped intergenerational attitudes about language and identity of this diasporic community. Subsequently, this article explores 26 Korean interviewees’ language attitudes, practices, and ideologies as they are situated in their historic diasporic narratives. More broadly, this article problematizes how diasporas are understood in post-Soviet contexts and the importance of historical narratives in challenging homogenizing nation-state discourses.