People emigrated in large numbers from Kinmen to Southeast Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries, and right up until the Battle of the Taiwan Straits, they used to travel regularly between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Almost every family had relatives living somewhere in what they called "the South Seas."
明末清初，金門人也曾大量到東南亞謀生，直到八二三戰役之前，人們仍不斷往返新加坡、印尼、馬來西亞、菲律賓，幾乎家家戶戶都有親人在「南洋」立業。