Koreans in Kamchatka

There is a population of North Koreans in Russia on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The largest concentration of Koreans currently lives in Yelizovo.

The population first came to the area as contract workers from 1946 to 1949. According to one estimate, during that time period, 50,000 North Korean workers arrived. They mostly left upon the conclusion of their contracts. However, several thousand refused to repatriate back to North Korea. By 2020, their population was around 1,800, making them 0.43% to 0.49% of the total population of the peninsula. By that year, almost all of the original settlers had died out, and the remaining Koreans were second- or third-generation.

Since the late 1980s, the population has aligned itself more with South Korea. This is mainly due to South Korea's stronger economy and democracy. Many have since visited and worked in the South.