The Korean nationality is distrib-uted mainly over Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin Province and also over Heilongjiang, Liaoning provinces and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. The population is about 1.9 million.

　　In history, Koreans immigrants have been filteringsintosChina for centuries. They began in the seventeenth century, but did not occur in sizable numbers until the nineteenth. The ancestors of the Korean ethnicsgroupsmigrated from the Korean peninsula from about the late 17th century, mostly peasants fleeing from their oppressive feudal landlords. Especially following a severe famine in the northern part of Korea in 1869, they settled down in large numbers in what is now the Yanbian area. Another wave of migration took place in the early years of this century when Japan annexed Korea and drove many peasants off the land. The Japanese seizure of the Manchurian provinces further served to drive landless Koreans to settle in Northeast China. And now the largest concentration of Koreans is in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Jilin Province. Under its jurisdiction are the cities of Yanji and Tumen, and the counties of Yanji, Helong, Antu, Hunchun, Wangqing and Dunhua, covering a total area of 41,500 sq. km. The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is a beautiful, majestic land of high mountains and deep valleys. The land rises to 2,744 meters above sea level to the highest peak of the Changbai Mountains ?White Head Summit. This is an extinct volcano, from the crater lake of which spring the Yalu and Tumen rivers, flowing south and north respectively, and forming the boundary with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the east.

　　Koreans are known for their customs of respecting the old and cherishing the young. A man of a younger generation must show proper respect and modesty when he speaks to a man of the older generation. Often the older members of the family sit at a special table reserved for honorable guests. Children always wait to eat until after their parents have eaten. When an elder dies, those of the younger generation do not wash their faces or cut their hair; they must eat dry food for three days to demonstrate filial piety.

　　The Koreans live in Yanbian Korean Autonomous have their own language and writing. They have 40 alphabets and when they spell the words, they put the phoneme of the same syllables together to form letter blocks so that they can create square-shaped writing. But the ones live and study with Han (usually out of the Autonomous) use Chinese and some of them even can't speak Korean.

　　Koreans celebrate many festivals common to the Chinese such as New Year's, Spring Festival, and National Day. Much is also made of Prefecture Day (September 3), International Children's Day, and Senior Citizens Day. The festivals are often filled with traditional Korean songs and dances as well as official ceremonies commemorating the day. Meanwhile, There is a traditional celebration for the birthday of elderly people who are entertained by their family members and relatives. The old couple in their new clothes sits in the middle while the children, grandchildren and relatives kneel down in front offering them wine one after another. It is a happy occasion, full of singing and dancing.

　　The 60th wedding anniversary of elderly couples is celebrated in a festive atmosphere by the whole village. On this special occasion, the couple dresses up and their children and grandchildren give a banquet to entertain the villagers. Everyone in the village greets them heartily and wishes thema long life.

　　The traditional Korean dress is white, a symbol of simplicity and serenity. Men wear baggy trousers fastened at the ankles and a jacket that fastens on the right; sometimes they wear a high-crowned black horsehair hat. Women wear voluminous skirts and a tight jacket that reaches just below the armpits.

　　The Koreans are good at growing paddy rice in the frigid region. The rice they grow is as white as snow and famous for its greasiness. Different from Han, they usually eat rice at breakfast. Their cuisine is very spicy and includes kimchi (pickled vegetables), cold noodles, sticky rice cakes and dog meat. Actually, dietetic habitude is a key component of Korean ethnic culture. Pickled food is an indispensable item on any Korean menu. These are of a wide variety, from vegetables to seafood. According to Korean custom, the local people make songpyeon (glutinous rice dumplings steamed on a layer of pine needles) at the Mid-Autumn Festival, prepare a five-cereal meal at the Lantern Festival, and enjoy beef broth dumplings and tusu wine at Spring Festival. Korean people are noted for their enthusiasm for sports, singing and dancing, all of which are a part of their daily life. The most popular sports are football, wrestling, seesawing and swinging. Swinging is a particular favorite with Korean women. The swing is generally secured to a stout branch, with bells or colorful streamers hanging at the front. When a skilled swinger hikes up high enough to touch the bells or streamers, its exponent wins thunderous applause and cheers. Traditional Korean dances include the long-drum dance, the farmer's joy dance, the fan dance, the sword dance and the jar-topping dance. No matter their age, whether women or men, they would dance and sing in-groups spontaneously in their spare time or even during the work break. The Koreans sing to the accompaniment of a folk instrument called Garaga. This is a tuneful instrument, 165 centimeters long with 12 strings, which is performed by the player sitting on the ground with the instrument lying on his legs.

　　The Korean people love their hometown. For a long time, their main priority has been education. People say that訩orean parents will make sacrifices to send their children to school even if they have nothing to eat. In this autonomous prefecture with 1.8 million people, there are 5 colleges and universities, including a university for farmers, 7 polytechnic schools, 240 middle schools, 1300 primary schools and more than 1000 kindergartens. The figures for Korean children in education are far above the average in China, which is illustrated in the following chart from a survey undertaken in 1982.

　　The Korean ethnicsgroupshas set up an efficient network of health care centers and hospitals, including the Yanbian Hospital, a tuberculosis treatment center, an anti-epidemic hospital and a psychiatric sanatorium. The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture boasts high standards of maternity, childcare and family planning, as well as an enviable record in the fight against endemic diseases.