• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.668-682
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• 2013

This study illustrates the mechanism of The Decrease of Korean population in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture (YBKAP) and some changes of regional characteristics since China's economic reforming. Due to China's Implementing market economic system, deregulating in family register system, higher mobility since establishing Sino-Korean diplomatic relations, the expansion of intermarriages and residential areas, Korean community is confronted with lower birthrate and continuous mobility of the young and women. It directly connects to a decrease in urban population and aging, causing a decline in farming production, disintegrating of Korean community, weakening the function of villagers' organization, shrinking in Korean education and leaderships. For supplementing the shorted labor, Chinese farmers from other areas flow into the YBKAP, showing some different trends, such as farming Chinesization, Chinese farmers' higher economic level than Korean, the Korean traditional paddy field transforming into dry farmland with single-crop farming and pursuing commercial production in labor management. At the moment, declining population in Korean community in rural areas means that the community could not respond the changes of farming environments appropriately and in some way it is facing with the crisis of die away from the Chinese society. It needs an unconventional support and development policies in YBKAP rural areas.