Namhae German Village
Namhae German Village is an ethnic enclave located in, Namhae County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is populated by both Germans in South Korea and South Koreans who worked in Germany as migrant workers during the 1960s and 1970s.
The village has become a tourist destination, and hosts an Oktoberfest event that draws tens of thousands of people every year.
Background
In the 1960s and 1970s, South Korea sent thousands of its citizens to work as nurses and miners in West Germany. A number of the workers stayed there upon the conclusion of their contract. South Korea's population is now aging, which has also notably affected Namhae County. In 2001, the county constructed this village and offered significant subsidies to any South Korean who lived in Germany for at least 20 years. In total, the project costed around US$7.5 million.Suk Sook-ja, who went to Leichlingen in 1973 and lived in Germany for 30 years, had planned to return to South Korea when her German husband reached retirement age. In 1999, after attending a presentation of Namhae government in Germany, she decided to move there. She became the first returnee to the village. The village began with five houses.
Suk ran German language classes from 2006 to 2009, and created the first village Oktoberfest in 2010. The event drew 10,000 visitors. By 2020, the numbers were up to 100,000 visitors a year.
The village had 43 houses with 60 residents in 2020. A number of residents do not live in the homes here year round, and use them as vacation homes for when they visit South Korea, while renting out the home for the rest of the year. Also, many of the residents are themselves elderly. This has drawn skepticism that the community will survive in the long term.
In 2014, the village built a Namhae Germany Exhibition Hall for community activities. The village also has a agricultural cooperative and sells German snacks to visitors.
The village offers tours for tourists. There are a number of other tourist attractions nearby, including the Buddhist temple Boriamsa and the scenic terraced farming town Daraengi Village.
One resident reported in 2021 that the South Korean government did not deliver on several promises related to the village. A hospital was promised for the area but never constructed. Water pipes were constructed around below the ground, meaning that when the weather was warm only hot water would come out of the pipes.