Our city-state is a patchwork of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Eurasians and that mysterious demographic known as ‘Other’. But who makes up this category? In the first of a regular series, Kimberley Dadds and Michael Franco unveil Singapore’s small-but-significant migrant communities

KOREANS
Singapore’s Korean community numbers 8,000 and counting – many South Koreans have migrated here in recent years to capitalise on the opportunity Singapore presents for learning both Chinese and English.

Eat at: Togi, a TOS favourite with great kimchi and hearty ginseng chicken soup, or Chang in Tanglin Village with its low tables, Korean charcoal barbecue and bottles of soju (Korean liquor). Hankook Rice Cake House (9 Thomson Ridge; 6456 3456) offers a true cultural experience, specialising in authentic rice cakes called ‘duk’. They can be eaten as a dessert or snack – we recommend the ba ran duk, filled with bean paste. Get your fill for $10-$18/kilo.
Listen to: Cool K Time 96.3FM, the only Korean-language radio programme in Singapore (9-11am, Monday-Friday). We’d tell you what it’s all about but, sadly, we don’t speak Korean.
Get their kicks at: The Celine Jessandra School of Performing Arts (Goldhill Centre, 177B Thomson Rd; 6254 0702) specialises in Korean hip-hop dance lessons, Korean vocal lessons and language classes. If your high kicks are a little more aggressive, learn the Korean martial art of taekwondo through the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (176 Tyrwhitt Rd; 6299 8205). Classes: Tue 7-8.30pm, Wed & Fri 8.30-10pm, Sun 9-10.30am, 10.30am-noon, 1-2.30pm, 2.30- 4pm. No sign-up fees but monthly training fees apply.
Shop at: The unofficial ‘Korean district’ is Tanjong Pagar, with its range of kimchi-friendly restaurants and supermarkets, while the entire third floor of Novena’s Square 2 Shopping Mall (10 Sinaran Rd; 6397 2288) – dedicated to all things Korean – gets the moniker ‘Little Seoul’. Even the mall building feels like a slice of Korean life; it was modelled on the Doosan Tower shopping mall in the South Korean capital’s Dongdaemun Market.
What they say: Meet SoHyun Kang, a community executive with MCI Singapore. Born and raised in Seoul, the 27-year-old moved here only 18 months ago, and is already calling the city ‘my other hometown’. Kang cites the city’s cultural diversity as a big plus. ‘Korea is more monotone in terms of race and language. Here, I can experience Malay, Indian, Chinese, Indonesian [cultures] and so on,’ she says. The easy access to other South- East Asian countries is another ‘so cool’ factor. While she can get most common Korean foods in Singapore, it is the seasonal produce and cuisine she misses most, especially a ‘special dish made of dried Alaska pollack called hwang tae that has been frozen and thawed in snow more than 20 times. The process makes the fish meat very chewy but tender and mild.’ What’s her biggest pet peeve about the Lion City? ‘The super-aggressive usage of air-conditioning. I hate it.’

PERUVIANS
At the end of May, Singapore and Peru signed a free-trade agreement, so expect to see this community grow in the near future.

Eat at: The Chicken Goal – a Peruvian restaurant set to open in October. According to owner Enrique ‘Kiko’ Barcelli, the restaurant takes its unusual name from the Latin American passion for football along with the star of the menu – spiced rotisserie chicken. ‘Singapore provided the perfect environment for the “Latino lifestyle” to develop…and that’s how I met my partners in this venture,’ says Barcelli. ‘We started chewing on the idea of bringing a piece of our world and culture to the country that we now love and is our home.’
Get their kicks at: On Sunday mornings at 10.30 in Bishan Park, members of the Latino community get together to deliver a ‘beatdown’ to each other – on the football field. The Peruvians, like other ethnic groups on the field, wear the colours of their home-country team – in their case, white with a red diagonal stripe.
Meet at: The Latin Circle (groups.yahoo.com/group/latincircle), an association featuring plenty of Peruvians that has periodic get-togethers, like its recent fiesta at Clarke Quay’s Baize, a plush nightspot reminiscent of old Shanghai that features full-scale pool tables. Sign up and brush up your Spanish. (Tip: don’t say ‘Quieres ir a mi casa?’ unless you really like the person you’re talking to.)
What they say: Meet Alejandro Rodriguez, the deputy head of mission for the Peruvian Embassy. Born and raised in Lima, the 34-year-old says the thing he misses most about home is the food (sounds like he’s a Singaporean already). ‘[I miss] ceviche in particular, which is served with sweet potato.’ As for the differences between his two homes? ‘In Peru you’ve got latitude and altitude, so there are a lot of microclimates. Here in Singapore there are just two types of weather: hot and hotter.’ After living in Singapore for two years, he is clearly pleased with how neat and orderly things are, especially compared to the ‘controlled chaos’ of his homeland.