ADAPTATION AND AGRICULTURAL STRATEGIES OF SOVIET KOREANS AFTER THE 1937 DEPORTATION

Abstract

The 1937 deportation of Koreans from the Soviet Far East to Central Asia marked a turning point in the ethnic and economic history of the USSR. Despite being uprooted from their homeland, the deported Koreans managed to reconstruct a productive agricultural system, transforming the harsh steppes of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan into fertile lands. This paper analyzes the mechanisms of adaptation, collective work ethics, and the socio-economic role of Koreans in Soviet agricultural modernization, drawing on archival sources and recent historiography.