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 Though individual Chinese are recorded on the Korean peninsula as early as the 13th century, with some going on to found Korean clans,[3] mass immigration of Chinese did not begin until the 1880s, when the Qing Dynasty sent 3,000 soldiers, who were followed by around 40 merchants.[1] By 1910, that number had risen to 12,000,[4] and would more than quintuple to 65,000 during the Japanese colonial era.[1] The population would remain stable for the next two and a half decades; however, when Park Chung Hee took power in a coup on May 16th, 1961, he began to implement currency reforms and laws which severely harmed the interests of the Chinese community, which spurred an exodus.[4] Incheon once had the largest Chinese population in Korea, but as the pace of emigration increased, the number diminished. It is estimated that only 26,700 of the old Chinese community now remain live in South Korea; they largely hold Republic of China nationality.[1] However, in recent years, immigration from mainland China has increased; 356,790 persons of Chinese nationality have immigrated to South Korea, including 219,000 of ethnic Korean descent.[1] Most of these new residents live in Seoul, where there is a Chinese-language primary school in Myeongdong, as well as a high school in Seodaemun