January 25th is the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, recalling Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus in 36AD. It was on this day in 1554, that São Paulo (St. Paul) was founded as a religious mission and a Jesuit Royal College by priests José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega. 

Today São Paulo is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world. With over 12 million inhabitants, the municipality is also the world’s 4th largest city by population.

Every year, the city of São Paulo promotes various commemorative attractions to celebrate the anniversary of the city; such as musical concerts, art exhibitions, and cultural spaces. 

Interestignly Korean immigration to South America began on a small scale in the mid-1950s but was only formalized in 1962, when, to encourage emigration to control population, reduce unemployment, and garner foreign exchange via immigrant remittances, the South Korean government passed its Overseas Emigration Law. In December 1962, the South Korean Ministry of Public Health and Social Affairs, to which the emigration section was attached, sent 92 people (members of seventeen families) to Brazil. Although the South Korean government’s desire to direct emigrants to the Southern Hemisphere was based on the size of the Brazilian economy, many Koreans were hindered by the Brazilian government’s demand that all visas, including those for tourists, be preapproved.