Japanese and Korean ethnicity indicates genetic origins in the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. Located on the eastern edge of Asia, by the shores of the North Pacific Ocean, these are two of the most ethnically homogenous regions in the world. The Yamato people constitute the overwhelming majority in Japan, making up approximately 98% of its population. The Hanguk-in people account for the bulk of South Korea’s and North Korea’s populations, with significant communities residing in East-, Southeast-, and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, North America, and Oceania. The number of Japanese natives living abroad (known as nikkeijin) is estimated at approximately 2.5 million, with large settlements in Southeast Asia and North and South America.
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Japanese and Korean history
The Korean Peninsula has been populated for over 10,000 years, with advanced societies believed to have existed as early as 2,300 B.C.E. At the turn of the Common Era, after centuries of rule by the Chinese Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla) reclaimed the peninsula. They ruled until the 7th century C.E., when the peninsula was unified under the kingdom of Silla. In the Book of Han, a 1st century C.E. treatise relaying the history of the aforementioned Chinese dynasty, we find the first written reference to Japan. Housing a plethora of small kingdoms and tribes, by the 8th century C.E., Japan had been unified under a central, imperial government. The Heian period that followed (8th to 12th centuries), centered in modern-day Kyoto, is considered to be one of the golden ages of Japanese culture.
Following recurring invasions from the north by the Great Liao, the state of Goryeo (from which the modern name Korea is derived) became the major power of the Korean Peninsula, until it came under Mongol rule in the 13th century. Goryeo ultimately succumbed to the Joseon dynasty, which would rule Korea until the early 20th century. The same period saw the decline of imperial rule in Japan and the commencement of nearly 700 years of shogun rule, starting with the Kamakura shogunate (1192–1333). Nominally appointed by the emperor, shoguns were military commanders and de facto rulers of the country. In 1592 and 1597, Japan launched two separate invasions of Korea, but having failed to subdue the Koreans, the Japanese withdrew from the peninsula in 1598. The Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1869) established its seat in Edo: present-day Tokyo, the capital of modern Japan.
The 19th century proved pivotal for both Japan and Korea, as pressures by foreign powers led to radical changes in both states. In the early 17th century, Japan had ejected European traders from the islands and adopted sakoku, a policy of mercantile and diplomatic isolation. A series of commercial and geostrategic considerations led the United States to demand concessions from Japan in 1853. The European empires followed suit, and by the end of the decade, Japan was forced into a series of unequal treaties. Following a brief civil war, in which pro-emperor forces defeated their pro-shogun opposition, Emperor Meiji ascended the Japanese throne, ushering in a period of social reform, industrialization, and economic growth. In the 1880s, Korea was similarly pressured into signing a series of trade treaties with the United States, Britain, Germany, Russia, and France, ending centuries of isolationism.
Japan’s rapid industrialization and militarization led to its emergence as a world power. Japanese designs on Korea precipitated the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894. In 1904, Japan went to war with the Russian Empire over rival imperial ambitions in China and Korea. After a conclusive Japanese victory — the first major military victory in the modern era of an Asian power over a European one — Japan conquered and colonized Korea. In 1914, Japan declared war on Germany, joining the First World War on the side of the Allies.
After the war, Japan’s growing economic and political power brought it into conflict with the United States. Following Japanese invasions of China in 1936–1937 and its occupation of French Indochina in 1940, tensions between the United States and Japan mounted, resulting in the 1941 Japanese attack on the United States Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. After four years of fighting on the Pacific front, on the 6th and 9th of August, American bombers dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The devastating results compelled Japan to surrender.
In the aftermath of the war, Korea was divided into two spheres of influence: Russian in the north and American in the south. The divided peninsula became a proxy for the Soviet Union and the Western bloc during the Cold War. In the 1950s, incursions into South Korea by North Korea, and later China, prompted American and British forces to intervene. The ensuing Korean War ultimately ended in a stalemate. Over the following decades, South Korea witnessed tremendous economic growth; today, it is a developed democratic country with one of the largest economies in Asia. North Korea, by contrast, has been a totalitarian communist state led by a hereditary dictatorship since 1948.
Following its defeat in World War II, Japan abandoned its imperial ambitions and declared itself a pacifist nation. In the decades since, the Japanese economy has boomed: the country has emerged as an international leader in the electronics and automotive industries, a globally renowned exporter of culture, and among the largest economies in the world.
Japanese and Korean culture
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The relative isolation of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago led to the development of highly distinct cultures. Washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine, is recognized by UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Japanese cuisine is regional, seasonal, and traditional: Japanese chefs carefully select ingredients that are in their prime with flavors that represent each specific period, while the preparation and consumption of Japanese food follow strict rules and etiquette. Sushi, originating from the process of preserving fish in fermented rice, is one of the most famous foods to come from Japan. Other popular dishes include yakitori (cuts of chicken grilled on a skewer) and miso soup (fish or kelp stock and miso bean paste). More recently, ramen soup has become a cultural phenomenon, and can be found in every major city around the world. Korean food enjoys global appeal as well, especially Korean barbecue: a popular Korean method of grilling meat, typically beef, pork, or chicken. Popular Korean dishes include bibimbap (a mixed bowl of rice, seasoned and sautéed vegetables, beef, and fried-egg), bulgogi (thinly sliced meat, served broiled, grilled, or stir-fried), mandoo (Korean dumplings made with beef, pork, chicken, or vegetables), and many others.
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Japan and South Korea’s current status as technological powerhouses is no novelty, as the two regions have always fostered cultural innovation: the ancient Silla kingdom of the Korean peninsula was the birthplace of many technological innovations, including intricate underground food refrigeration systems. The warrior traditions of the Japanese samurai paved the way for Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, including karate (meaning “empty hand”), judo (“gentle way”), jujutsu (“soft skills”), and kendo (“way of the sword”). Japanese writer Murasaki Shikibu’s 11th century piece, The Tale of Genji, is regarded as the world’s first novel, while Kabuki theater, developed in the 17th century, was proclaimed by UNESCO in 2005 as an intangible heritage possessing outstanding universal value. Today, Japanese and Korean cultural exports are staples of global entertainment: Anime, a Japanese animation style, entertains children and adults alike, while Korean pop music — or, K-Pop, as it has come to be known — is enjoyed all over the world.
Owing to two of the world’s most advanced healthcare systems, as well as to cultural emphases on moderation, physical fitness, and the cultivation of internal harmony (and likely also thanks in no small part to genetics), Japan and South Korea are perennially ranked at the top of the World Health Organization’s average life expectancy list.
Japanese and Korean languages
The Japanese language belongs to the Japonic language family and is spoken natively by approximately 128 million people. Korean, spoken by over 77 million people, is unique in its isolation: with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with any other major language, the Korean language family consists only of Korean, the language of Jeju Island, and a number of extinct ancient languages.
Explore more about ethnicity estimates
- MyHeritage DNA at MyHeritage
- Ethnicities around the world at MyHeritage
- What Is My Ethnicity? How MyHeritage Estimates Ethnicities at MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Where's My Ethnicity?!: Why An Ethnicity Might Not Show Up In Your DNA (and How To Find Evidence Of It Anyway) at MyHeritage Knowledge Base