while Japanese records show just 7,727. Recent years (1945–present) U.S. territories According to the statistics of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are 5,016 Koreans residing in Guam (1,933 Korean Americans, 1,426 with immigrant status, 133 international students, and 1,524 South Korean expatriates with other types of visas) and 2,281 in the Northern Mariana Islands (159 Korean Americans, 102 with immigrant status, 214 international students, and 1,806 with other types of visas). Modern South Korean immigration to Guam began in 1971. In Marpi, Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a memorial to Korean soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army who died during the Battle of Saipan was constructed in 1978. The local Korean community have held memorial services there annually since then. Akihito, Emperor of Japan visited the monument to pay his respects in June 2005 Elsewhere Only about 120–130 South Korean expatriates live in Palau, including roughly 80 working on a construction project at Babeldaob. South Korea also ranked as the second-largest source country for tourists to Palau, behind the Republic of China on Taiwan; 5,507 South Korean tourists arrived in Palau in June 2006, an increase of 2% compared to June 2005. See also Japanese settlement in Micronesia References Notes Sources Further reading Korean diaspora in Oceania Society of Palau Overseas Korean groups