In this day and age of multiculturalism, little is still known about the history of Koreans living in Taiwan. By the end of World War II in 1945, there were nearly 2,800 Koreans living in Taiwan. While the majority returned to newly liberated Korea after the war, close to four hundred ethnic Koreans remained in Taiwan and came to be known as hanqiao, or overseas Koreans. Most men from this group found employment with the Taiwanese Fishery Company, which was forced to fill the vacuum left by

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... nese employees who were repatriated after the war. Seasoned Korean fishermen assumed high positions as captains and chief engineers with the company, but soon faced economic hardship after gradually being replaced by local Taiwanese. This article looks at their plight as well as others in detailing a social history of ethnic Koreans in postwar Taiwan. It attempts to construct a narrative through the careful reading of archives as well as an oral history collected through personal interviews. One of the highlights of this article depicts a power struggle between Yim Duuk and Lee Sangman over the leadership of a local Korean association. Yim, who had a record of collaborating with Japanese authorities, defeated Lee who was a long-time Korean independence activist sent by the Korean provisional government in China. This article also looks at the struggles local Korean residents went through as well as how they built institutions such as schools and churches to help maintain their Korean identity.