jeong jaehyuns boyfriend 10,627 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 So I've seen a lot of confusion here about the family background of Renjun, a newly revealed member of NCT Dream. Assuming the sources I read are credible, I'll try to shed some light on the issue the best I can with my understanding. Renjun was born and raised in China, and apparently, so were his parents. This makes him Chinese by nationality. Which means his home country is China, and he has a Chinese citizenship, passport, and name (his surname, Huang/黃 is a common Chinese surname... it's my surname as well lol). However, he and his family are of Korean ethnicity, which actually isn't too surprising. In China (and Taiwan and Hong Kong), the vast majority of people - I'd say more than 90% - are of Han Chinese ethnicity. Han Chinese people are the people most people (Chinese or otherwise) think of when they hear the word "Chinese". But in addition to the Han Chinese ethnic group, there are 55 other ethnic groups that are officially recognized in China and make up the other 10% or so of the overall population. Koreans are 1 of the 55 minor ethnic groups that live normally in China. As another example, Zhang Li Yin, a soloist also under SM Entertainment and one of my favourite singers, was born in Sichuan, China, but is part of the ethnic Yi minority. She is still Chinese, but her family hails from a distinct ethnic group. A quick search of the exact demographics of China's ethnic groups can tell you that there are just under 2 million Koreans living in China. This would include both North and South Koreans - no distinction is made between them. This is normal. And these people typically live in the northeastern provinces of China. People living in both North and South Korea are aware of this ethnic group as well. In fact, the opposite also exists - there are also ethnic Chinese people that live in North or South Korea, and this minority is also recognized by the Korean governments as an official ethnic group. They're often called hwagyo by Koreans. A prime example is the famous trot singer Joo Hyun Mi, who was born to hwagyo parents. Her ancestors' ethnicity is Chinese, but she is Korean by nationality (*her most famous trot song is probably "Crush", which many kpop artists have covered, such as SNSD). Accordingly, she can sing in Korean and Chinese. Renjun would be the reverse scenario - he is ethnically Korean, but Chinese by nationality. He definitely speaks Chinese, but he may also know Korean (although it would be accented). The only question is whether Renjun's parents are North or South Korean, but sources seem to point to the fact he is North Korean. In the grand scheme of things, this doesn't really matter too much since Korea was separated into North and South only during this past century. Chances are, Renjun's grandparents lived in Korea or China in a time where the North/South border was relatively ambiguous. Still, today, it's not unusual for North Koreans to travel to China for whatever reason, especially since both are communist countries. Students from major North Korean universities may even travel to Chinese universities on exchange. And that's it :D I'm not exactly sure if what I read about Renjun's family history is correct (from Chinese sources), but everything else is true and will apply to Renjun accordingly if he is indeed ethnically North Korean and born in China. I hope that this can help people understand people in East Asia a bit better. It's definitely not all black-and-white. If I made any mistakes or said something wrong then please let me know! This is all mostly off the top of my head (cr. I'm Chinese if you haven't already figured it out from this post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixSevenHate 527 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I'll never read all of this Just post a picture of him at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
You're My Destiny 906 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Girl was this essay necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#DIAMOND 735 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Ok but I feel like most people don't care and will hate on him anyway. I just hope he doesn't get too much hate to the point where he gets really stressed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyum 2,459 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 ...tldr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ì–‘ ì§€ 10,015 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Thank you for posting about this cause there seems to be a lot of misinformation spreading. In the end, even this is speculation but this is probably the most likely truth. Also can I add to this by saying even if his parents were actually defectors, he would not be bullied by knetzs! South Koreans have a lot of sympathy for their neighbors they see as being held captive and many of them want to reunite with them. They understand that they are under a very tight dictatorship! Just like in the Olympics, when they were coo-ing over how cute it was that the North and South Koreans were getting along and most were even worried about their safety when they returned home. If Ren Jun was truly the son of defectors, he would be treated with more sympathy than dislike. Him being Chinese is able to get him more hate than him being born of North Korean defectors. To all the people who have been continuously leaving comments hoping that he doesn't get hated on by knetzs (which is nice, but he doesn't need the well wishings lol). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#DIAMOND 735 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 TLDR: His nationality is Chinese but his ethnicity is (as sources point to) North Korean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethereal 20,923 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 is this really true? do you have legit sources? i mean a lot of people have been spreading that he himself was born in raised in china but that his parents were north korean, like, they left north korea at some point and came to china during their lives. what's really the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geodeheart 1,269 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 wow that's pretty interesting, i guess he has a chance of being the first North Korean idol (?) to debut.....but ethnically, he's obviously just Korean (btw OP, i paid attention & read everything you wrote. i appreciate your hard work ^^ i always found this stuff interesting....china/korea have interesting relations historically) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Joy 19,902 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I don't understand why people who don't want to read long essays always comment something rude instead of ignoring the thread and moving on with their lives. Anyway, thank you for sorting things out I was confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaneDo 50 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I don't understand why people who don't want to read long essays always comment something rude instead of ignoring the thread and moving on with their lives. Anyway, thank you for sorting things out I was confused. Same, now all I need is his birthday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shield 3,824 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 you should at least post his pic so we can have an idea of whom you are talking about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superbroccolicookie 380 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 (btw OP, i paid attention & read everything you wrote. i appreciate your hard work ^^) I don't understand why people who don't want to read long essays always comment something rude instead of ignoring the thread and moving on with their lives. Anyway, thank you for sorting things out I was confused. same ^ (and again thank you for posting this!!) Same, now all I need is his birthday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oppaarrr 4,601 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Tbh I was surprised that ifans afraid he'll get backlash if he's indeed NK ethnicity. Like users said above, if any, he could get more backlash for his nationality than ethnicity.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESSON 11,205 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 you should at least post his pic so we can have an idea of whom you are talking about... He's new so we don't have many pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~ PD Hercule Poirot ~ 1,868 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Yeah I was a bit puzzled when people said that he's N Korean when he's born in China It doesn't make sense It's like saying I'm Indonesian coz of my grandparents when I'm born somewhere else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ì–‘ ì§€ 10,015 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I'll never read all of this Just post a picture of him at least you should at least post his pic so we can have an idea of whom you are talking about... guy in mask with kun. this is literally all we have recently on him. we don't even know his correct bday date lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riribl 6,456 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Thanks for explaining, I appreciate your hard work The part of North Koreans going to Chinese universities is true. When I was at China, there were some North Koreans who went to the same school as I did. Not in the same class though, so I didn't get to know them much. The South Koreans can recognize them North Koreans right away judging from the accent they spoke. My teachers (at China) also said they have several experiences of teaching both South Koreans and North Koreans in one class lol It was a bit funny sometimes. I think it's normal for North Korea-China to do something like that as they're an alliance in world political. I don't understand why people who don't want to read long essays always comment something rude instead of ignoring the thread and moving on with their lives. Anyway, thank you for sorting things out I was confused. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LotJunkie 887 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 SMH at people that can't even bear to fucking read. I think Renjun's origin is kind of fascinating. His name isn't typically one I've come across in S. Korea. More like someone from N. Korea. I'm not an expert at all but I just get that feeling judging by just the names. And from what I've heard so far, his family might have originated from NK. I think it would be interesting to hear his story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesthete 1,282 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivyun 1,458 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Huang is the Chinese equivalent to Korean surname Hwang and Vietnamese surname Hoang. Which might be why he has a Chinese surname, considering he is allegedly a Korean born in China. Some people are saying that the NK rumor might not be true, and that he's just Chinese. We'll see when the time comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green green 442 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestea Iced Tea 2,313 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Well, we'll know more about his background once he debuts. I, like many people, are just fascinated that he might have North Korean origins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
白�� 51 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 thank you for your thorough explanation! ^^ he's definitely an interesting guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Dead Bachelor 301 Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Thank you so much for explaining. Now that you've explained it clearly and you being a Chinese is somewhat credible already. All we just need are more legit sources to make everything clearer. Overall this is super interesting. I don't understand why people who don't want to read long essays always comment something rude instead of ignoring the thread and moving on with their lives. Anyway, thank you for sorting things out I was confused.^^^^^^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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