Koreans in Transnational Diasporas of the Russian Far East and Manchuria, 1895–1920

This is a study of Korean transnational diaspora people, the Arirang People, in the Russian Far East and Manchuria before, during, and after the Russo-Japanese War, driven by their struggle for survival and better lives amid conflicts and dissatisfaction in Korea's yangban society.

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Much attention has been paid to the Japanese deployment of Koreans in their war efforts during WWII. Much less attention, however, has been given to the subject prior to 1910. This book will: 1) present the evidence which reveals the presence of Koreans in the Japanese military during the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905, as seen by an American novelist Jack London, before the formal annexation of Korea by Japan; 2) analyze the presence of Koreans on the Japanese and the Russian sides of the war; and 3) investigate why and how these Koreans became involved in someone else’s war.

Arirang, a Korean folksong favored and sung by Koreans at home and in exile, has sustained the Korean people in a shared, collective spirit throughout their lives in transnational diasporas in the Russian Far East, Manchuria, and Japan as well as in Korea. This is a study of transnational Koreans as the Arirang people: Chapter 1: Introduction, Chapter 2: Koreans in the Russian Far East and Manchuria, Chapter 3: Koreans in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905, Chapter 4: Korean Transnationals as Stateless People, 1906–1920, and the Conclusion.