Koreans in Palau

Koreans in Palau first arrived after World War II. Korea and Palau had both been part of the Empire of Japan for decades by then; as the demand for labour increased sharply with the onset of war, Japanese authorities turned to the Korean peninsula as a source of cheap workers. [citation|url=http://h21.hani.co.kr/section-021046000/2007/12/021046000200712060688006.html|periodical=The Hankyoreh|date=2007-12-06|accessdate=2008-02-25|title=‘아이고다리’의 전설을 아십니까 (Do you know the legend of 'Aigotari'?)|issue=688] A 1943 census showed their total population at 2,458, or 7.3% of the population at the time; they were only one-tenth the size of the Japanese population. 864 lived on Babeldaob, another 721 were housed at the naval base on Malakal Island, 539 lived at Angaur, and the remaining 334 were scattered throughout other locations. Along with the Japanese, they were all repatriated after the surrender of Japan ended World War II. [citation|last1=Mason|first1=A.C.|last2=Corwin|first2=G.|last3=Rogers|first3=C.L.|last4=Elmquist|first4=P.O.|last5=Vessel|first5=A.J.|last6=McCracken|first6=R.J.|chapter=Introduction|title=Military Geology of Palau Islands, Caroline Islands|publisher=Intelligence Division, Office of the Engineer, U.S. Army Forces Far East|publication-place=Tokyo|date=1956|pages=14-15] Roman Tmetuchl, a Palauan recruited to work for the Kempeitai who later went on to become a major businessman, recalled in an interview some years later that the Japanese discriminated against the Koreans even more heavily than they did against the Palauans. [citation|editor-last=Petty|editor-first=Bruce M.|title=Saipan: Oral Histories of the Pacific War|contribution=I Worked for the Kempeitai|last=Tmetuchi|first=Roman|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786409916|publication-place=Jefferson, NC] Only about 130 South Korean expatriates lived in the country in 2004, including roughly 80 working on a construction project at Babeldaob. [citation|url=http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:3dQFg-WF1ckJ:www.hani.co.kr/section-009100002/2004/10/009100002200410281710162.html&hl=zh-TW&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=hk|title=팔라우는‥산호환초 거센 파도 막아줘|date=2004-10-28|accessdate=2008-02-25|periodical=The Hankyoreh] [citation|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade|url=http://www.mofat.go.kr/english/regions/asia/20071018/1_3751.jsp|title=The Republic of Palau|date=2007|accessdate=2008-02-25|publication-place=Seoul, South Korea] South Korea also ranked as the second-largest source country for tourists to Palau, behind the Republic of China on Taiwan; 5,507 South Korean tourists arrived in Palau in June 2006, an increase of 2% compared to June 2005. [citation|periodical=Radio New Zealand International|url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=26196|date=2006-08-17|accessdate=2008-02-25|title=More South Korean tourists visiting Palau]

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