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Korean Communities in Merton Merton Voluntary Service Council March 2014
Korean Communities in Merton
Merton Voluntary Service Council
March 2014
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Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2
Background ........................................................................................................................... 2
Research Methodology ......................................................................................................... 5
Mapping Korean Community Activities in Merton .................................................................. 6
Korean Faith Based Organisations .................................................................................... 6
Korean Businesses............................................................................................................ 7
Support Organisations and Services ................................................................................. 7
Points for Consideration for Future Engagement ................................................................. 10
Engagement .................................................................................................................... 10
Health and Wellbeing ...................................................................................................... 10
Community Support Organisations .................................................................................. 11
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Introduction This research has been commissioned by Merton Voluntary Service Council (MVSC) with the aim of mapping and increasing engagement with Korean voluntary, community and faith organisations working in the London Borough of Merton and to understand how MVSC can best support and engage with these groups in the future.
Background There is a significant population of Koreans living in the Merton area, especially in the West of the borough. The Korean population is made up of people from The Republic of Korea (South Korea), with others from North Korea and some who are Chinese Koreans, The Korean population is therefore best not described as a single community, as cultural, political and economic backgrounds vary. Although census data does not break down these groups, local anecdotal information from within the Korean population suggests that at least two thirds of the population are from South Korea who are often working or studying in the UK as Korean nationals, typically on three year company work placements. There is also a growing number of North Koreans, often seeking permanent leave to remain in the UK and a smaller number of Chinese Koreans who are often working temporarily in the UK before returning to China. The concentration of Korean residents in the west of Merton corresponds with a concentration in the east of Kingston, with a particular focus on the New Malden area. The highest concentration of the population in Merton is in the Raynes Park and West Barnes wards, with around 38% of residents whose main language is Korean living in these two wards. The table below details the Korean population residing in nearby local authority areas according to the 2011 Census, and shows this as a proportion of the total population. Local anecdotal information suggests that the number of Koreans in the area and in the UK could be three times the number identified by the census, perhaps in part because ‘Korean’ was not a tick box option on the Census form, so these figures only include those residents who explicitly wrote their ethnicity in as Korean on the Census form. It should be noted that whilst the majority of respondents stated Korean under ‘Asian/Asian British’, a few noted this under ‘Other ethnic group’. There is also anecdotal evidence that some Korean residents ticked ‘Chinese Other’ or that limited English presented a practical barrier to filling in and returning the census form for some– if so this data is not recorded here.
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Borough/District Census 2011 data
Total population
Asian/Asian British: Korean
Other ethnic group: Korean
Total Korean
Kingston upon Thames 160,060 3,408 68 3,476 2.2%
Merton 199,693 1,247 23 1,270 0.6%
Richmond upon Thames 186,990 148 6 154 0.1%
Sutton 190,146 702 9 711 0.4%
Wandsworth 306,995 330 8 338 0.1%
Elmbridge 130,875 736 0 736 0.6%
Epsom and Ewell 75,102 374 3 377 0.5%
Figure 1
The 2011 census data shows that 918 people living in Merton indicated that their main language is Korean. Merton is ranked as the UK local authority with the second highest numbers of residents whose first language is Korean in England. The highest ranked local authority is neighbouring Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, with 2,613 residents whose first language is Korean. This means that almost 24% of the population of people with Korean as a first language in England and almost 43% of the population of people with Korean as a first language in London live in these 2 boroughs.
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The distribution of Korean people in Merton is heavily concentrated in the West of the borough as the following map of Merton wards shows –
Figure 2 - Merton by Ward- Percentage of the population listing Korean as their first language in 2011 census
Highest 4 wards – West Barnes – 2.4%, Raynes Park, 2%, Hillside – 1.2%, Dundonald – 0.7% 2001 census data 1about people reporting themselves as in “not good health” shows
those in London whose country of birth is South Korea to be generally healthier than
most of the population. From 147 counties of birth, South Korea is rated as 112, with
1 being the least healthy, and 147 being the best health.
1 Data from - DMAG Briefing 2006/3, January 2006 “2001 Census: Health by ethnic group,
religion and country of birth, Gareth Piggott ISSN 1479-7879
<0.6%
0.6-1.19%
1.2-1.79%
1.8-2.4%
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Research Methodology
The researcher located organisations through desk based research on the internet
and in Korean newspapers. Contact was initially made, where possible, by internet
or telephone. However the response rate to this initial contact was very low and so a
considerable amount of time was spent in the local area visiting venues, some of
which appeared to be no longer housing the organisation concerned and some of
which also led to further links. Several leads found through historical web references
appeared to be for organisations that were no longer in operation.
The researcher offered the opportunity for organisations to link up with Merton
Connected, which some chose to take up. People representing churches and
community services and organisations as well as in local businesses were asked
about the services they offered and the needs of the Korean population.
In total the researcher spoke with 15 people from the local Korean communities and
we are grateful for their time and cooperation with the project. Those interviewed
included 5 representatives from local churches, 6 representatives from local
community organisations, the Korean Link Worker at Royal Borough of Kingston and
3 people from local Korean businesses.
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Mapping Korean Community Activities in Merton
Korean Faith Based Organisations
A key feature of Korean community activity is that it centres around churches. The largest church in the world is based in South Korea. Those churches advertising in current newspapers and others identified in Merton are shown below – WARD CHURCH DETAILS
Cannon Hill
Wimbledon and District Korean Baptist Church, Merton Park Baptist
Church, Bushey Road, Merton Park, SW20 8TE.
The Salvation Army New Malden Church – 109 Kingston Road, Merton
Park, 020 8949 6407, [email protected]
Dundonald Dundonald Church, 577 Kingston Road, Raynes Park, SW20 8SA. Korean
congregation meet on Sunday afternoons and offer Saturday morning
Korean classes for children.
Hillside
Cornerstone Korean Church, c/o St Mark’s Church, St Mark's Place,
Wimbledon, SW19 7ND.
Beautiful Korean Church, London, c/o St John’s Church, Spencer Hill,
Wimbledon, SW19 4NZ. www.bkclondon.com 0208 288 0565
[email protected] Rev Eun Hyuk Kim
Merton Park Wimbledon and District Korean Baptist Church, Merton Park Baptist
Church, Bushey Road, Merton Park, SW20 8TE [email protected],
020 8643 0856
Raynes Park
Jesus’ Disciples Community Church, c/o St Matthews Church, Durham
Road, West Wimbledon –Rev Tae Yoon Ahn – [email protected]
London Full Gospel Church, 37 West Barnes Lane, Raynes Park, SW20
0BL. Mr Abraham Jung
St Helier
London Juchanyang Church, c/o St Helier Congregational Church, 160
Green Lane, Morden, SM4 6SR. http://cafe.daum.net/londonchristian 0208
286 6489. Rev Manho Lee
Korean Church, 4 Elsrick Avenue, Morden, SM4 5RF
[email protected] 0208 286 4515
Village Wimbledon Korean Baptist Church, Christ Church, West Wimbledon, 16
Copse Hill, Wimbledon, SW20 0HG. 020 8643 0856.
[email protected] http://wimbledonkoreanbaptist.org.uk
West Barnes London Pansuk Korean Church, 7 Consfield Avenue, New Malden, KT3
6HB. [email protected]. Mr James Ro.
According to local Korean residents there are approximately 100 Korean churches in the South West London area and these are concentrated mainly within a 5 mile radius of the New Malden area.
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Typically these churches run services within existing church buildings, used by English congregations on Sunday mornings and Korean congregations on Sunday afternoon. It appears that many of these churches do not have a website presence but some advertise in local Korean newspapers. Korean residents who spoke with the researcher indicated that most people within the Korean communities attend a local Korean church and that membership provides an important social as well as religious role in people’s lives. There is also a smaller population of Korean Buddhists who would be most likely to attend the Youn Hwa Sa Korean Buddhist Centre in Waters Road in Kingston Upon Thames.
Korean Businesses2
London’s business community includes over 120 Korean companies, the majority of which are located in South West London as well as the City financial districts. These include Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Many have European headquarter offices in London. New Malden and the surrounding areas have been significantly influenced in character by the Korean population and there are many locally-owned Korean restarurants, businesses and food stores, with signage often both in Hangul (the Korean alphabet) and English. Service-based businesses catering for the needs of the Korean population also form an important part of the community infrastructure and these include Korean translation services, estate agents and immigration consultants. There are also dedicated Korean business services supporting Korean business, including import-export agents, bankers, lawyers and insurance brokers. There is a Korean Chamber of Commerce based in New Malden which offers support to Korean businesses.
Support Organisations and Services
There are a numer of organisations and services set up locally to provide services to Koreans in the area or across the UK. Most of these have been initiated and are run by Korean residents to support other Korean residents. These groups include those set up that aim to serve the needs of residents who are more vulnerable or isolated. Examples would be –
“Nanoom”, which has been set up by local residents and has offered activities such as ICT for older people, English language for health courses and quilting
2 “Korean Communities in London – Think London, Connecting Business to London” – London First, supported
by London Development Agency – December 2005.
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courses. They are currently preparing to deliver the Expert Patients Programme courses.
The Federation of Korean Community in the UK offer help with issues such as welfare benefits and council tax. They also help people to access healthcare and have seen increasing numbers of North Koreans coming into the UK who are in need of hospital care. They are also concerned with seeing greater political representation for the Korean population and have supported the nomination of local Korean people as councillors in forthcoming elections.
The Korean Community Centre based in Raynes Park where activities such as Korean language, Korean calligraphy and music courses are offered. The Korean residents Society is also based here, which offers a range of support for Korean residents.
A number of other organisations appear to offer cultural activities or general support for Koreans, although numerous attempts to contact them electronically, by phone or by personal visits were unsuccessful and so it cannot be confirmed whether all are still in existence.
Most of the organisations above do not have a website. Most people who find out about them will do so by word of mouth or by seeing information in the Korean newspapers.
A Korean Link Worker has recently come into post funded by the EU European Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals. They are hosted at the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames but the work encompasses Koreans living across the area, including Merton. The aim of this project is to reduce health inequalities amongst the most deprived sections of the community by giving them the language skills they need to properly access essential services and integrate better into local life. It is designed to bridge the gap between the Korean population and service providers so that people are aware of the help available to them. The project focusses on women and young people, especially those who have recently arrived in the UK. Recent workshops have included “Mental Health and Wellbeing” and “Positive Parenting in the UK.”
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The table below summarises the details of the organisations identified -
Organisation Contact details Service
Royal Borough of
Kingston - Korean
Link Worker
Winny Yoon
020 8547 4667, Guildhall, Kingston
Upon Thames, KT1 1EU
Korean Chamber of
Commerce *
Wyvern Industrial Estate, 0208 150
6562, [email protected] or
Supporting Korean
businesses
Korean Community
Centre
108-110 Coombe Lane, Raynes
Park, SW20 0AY
020 8942 9222
Community Centre offering
mainly classes in Korean,
calligraphy and music
Korean Residents
Society *
108-110 Coombe Lane, Raynes
Park, SW20 0AY www.krsuk.com
Supporting Korean
residents - details uncertain
The Federation of
Korean Community in
the UK
Andrew King -
[email protected] 07915
863730
Support for Koreans in
need, backing of Korean
political representatives
patronage of the arts
Nanoom Volunteer led. 07583 088173
Services for isolated and
vulnerable people. Classes
and soon to link in with
Expert Patients
Programme. London Korean Links http://londonkoreanlinks.net
Web resource about
Korean cultural events
Anglo-Korean Cultural
Institute *
240 Burlington Road, New Malden,
KT3 4NN - 0208 241 0990 Services unknown
London Korean
School
Mrs Lee, '07855 065338,
Offer Korean language
classes in various venues
for adults and after school
clubs for both primary and
secondary.
Organisations marked with an asterisk are those for whom reasonable evidence and word of mouth would suggest they are in existence but no contact was able to be made by e-mail, phone or in person despite several attempts. Therefore there is no certainty about their continued operations or services. As would be true across the population in the UK, according to contacts made there are also many informal groups set up between Korean residents, such as book groups or groups centred around musical interests. These are unconstituted, informal or open groups and tend to be friendship based.
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Points for Consideration for Future Engagement
The researcher wishes to thank people from the local Korean population who have
given their considered opinions about the needs of the local Korean communities.
Each of the following issues was raised by more than one person as areas about
which they have concern. Obviously these issues can only reflect the views of the
small number of people involved in speaking to the researcher but it is hoped that
these will give helpful indicators of areas for consideration for the future.
Engagement
Several people specifically said that they felt that the majority of their fellow Korean
residents were not very integrated with the rest of the local population. Most felt that
this was not something that was a concern to them and some cited lack of English
among some of the Korean population as a contributory factor as well as a lack of
reason or opportunity to integrate. Some contributors also expressed that there can
be a lack of trust among the Korean population of statutory services such as the
police and local authorities.
Health and Wellbeing
Concern was expressed by a number of contributors that a significant number of
Korean residents were not registered with a local GP and did not understand how
the local healthcare system works or can be accessed. The same lack of trust as
was expressed with police and local authorities would also be true of hospitals and
healthcare services.
In particular there was some concern for the growing number of North Korean
asylum seekers. Organisations had specific experience of trying to support them to
access healthcare and said that many had significant health problems.
According to those speaking to the researcher a large number of younger Koreans
are moving away from the South West London area and into the City, and this
means that the Korean population is becoming older and individuals are becoming
more isolated. Community-led organisations are setting out to try and combat this
through targeted activities aimed at older and more isolated residents.
The Korean Link Worker funded by the EU is a key contact for engaging with the
Korean communities locally to help support people to access health and wellbeing
services.
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Community Support Organisations
Organisations that are supporting the Korean communities are generally run by and
financially supported by individuals in the community, and some said that they get
funding from the Korean government.
In general organisations were extremely difficult to contact and many did not have up
to date web presence or respond to numerous e-mail or telephone messages. There
may have been a barrier caused by the fact that the researcher did not speak
Korean and in some cases at least initially there was confusion about why the
organisation had been contacted. Several addresses that were linked to
organisations according to information gleaned from the internet did not seem any
longer to house that organisation.
There may be scope for helping these organisations to formalise their structure and
practice and to increase their visibility, especially if this support can be offered by a
Korean-speaking worker.
Various Korean newspapers that are available locally (including free at the door of
local Korean supermarkets) carry community information and advertising. These
papers include the Korea Post, The UK Life and The Euro Journal.
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With thanks to
Contributors from the Korean Communities in Merton
The Korean Link Worker in Kingston
Kingston Voluntary Action
Research undertaken by Jennie Chapman, Consultancy and Training Ltd
([email protected]), on behalf of Merton Vountary Service Council,
March 2014
The Vestry Hall
London Road
Mitcham, CR4 3UD
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 8685 1771 Fax: 020 8685 0249 Email: [email protected]
MVSC is a Company Limited by Guarantee No. 4164949, registered in England and Wales
and a Registered Charity number 1085867.
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