Koreans in Japan

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Koreans in Japan

Lee, Sook-Kyoung

I have a friend named Asami. She studied at my home university as an exchange student. Last winter, we went to Thailand together for sightseeing. At that time, I found she got a Korean passport. Her real name is Choi, Mami, and shefs Korean national. I could not believe that because she looked like a perfect Japanese. She told me she did not know she was Korean until she became a junior high school student. Her parents hid the fact protecting her from ethnic discrimination. I think that is also why she is using her Japanese name.

Today, approximately 700,000 North and South Korean nationals are dwelling in Japan. Although the vast majority of them were born in Japan and use Japanese as their first language, relatively few possess Japanese citizenship. It is because Japanese nationality is based on lineage, meaning that Korean descendants are not automatically awarded Japanese citizenship. Including Koreans who are naturalized and some children of Korean-Japanese intermarriages, on estimated 1% of the 10 million people in Japan are either North or South Korean nationals or Japanese nationals of Korean descent. Order custom research paper on Koreans in Japan

In Japan, there have been many problems related to Korean residents in Japan, and these problems continue in the present. They cannot be solved without understanding Koreans living in Japan. To understand Koreans living in Japan, the following should be discussed what brought them to Japan, what their legal status is in Japan, and how they have been treated. Also, identity crises of Koreans who belong to the new generation in Japan cannot be excluded because that is one of the big problems that the Korean community in Japan is faced.

Historical Background

After the annexation of Korea in 110, Koreans were forced to become the subjects of Imperial Japan. The occupying colonial policy imposed severe control on Korea. The Japanese government confiscated a significant amount of land from Korean landowners from 110 to 118. From 10 to 14, Japanese authorities initiated a project to increase rice production in Korea and exported the major part of the rice to Japan causing serious famine among Koreans. As a result, the life bases of many Koreans were devastated. Many Koreans left their country for Japan in search of jobs in order to escape the poverty at home.

Movement of Koreans between Japan and Korea (117-1)

Year Number crossing to Japan Number returning to Korea Number Residing in Japan Annual Increase

117 14,01 ,7 10,085 10,085

118 17,10 ,05 18,60 8,605

11 0,68 1,7 6,1 8,

10 7,47 0,47 ,46 6,550

11 8,118 5,56 46,051 1,58

1 70,46 46,6 70,187 4,16

1 7,5 8,745 77,87 7,650

Between 1 and 145, many Koreans were forcibly brought to Japan to work under even more severe conditions. During this same period, the Japanese military forcibly brought many young Korean women to serve them as gcomfort womenh. When Japan was defeated by the Allied Forces in 145, it is estimated that there were approximately ,00,000 Koreans in Japan.

On August 15, 145, Japan was defeated in the World War II. This meant that Koreans were liberated from Japanese colonial ruling. Many Koreans who resided in Japan at that time returned to Korea. However, between 500,000 and 600,000 Koreans remained in Japan because they had no other choice.

For the Koreans who were forcibly brought over, Japan must have been nothing more than a country against which to bear a grudge. In Japan, they had no freedom and were forced to work under severe conditions in coalmines, military plants, and construction sites for airports and huge tunnels for military use. Furthermore, they believed that their families were eagerly awaiting their safe return. There must have been no reason for them to remain in Japan.

On the other hand, those Koreans who had come to Japan earlier were different. As a result of their life bases in Korea having been demolished by Japanese colonial policy, they made the choice to come to Japan and start over again. At first, they were single migrant laborers. Gradually, this pattern transformed as they brought their families from Korea to settle in Japan. Although the Japanese discriminated against them by giving them low wages and by making them work under bad working conditions, they somehow managed to make a living. When Korea was emancipated by Japanfs defeat in World War II, these Koreans also would have liked to return to Korea. However, their families were in Japan, and they had lost their economic bases in Korea. It must have been very unlikely that they could return and start over again in Korea. Between 500,000 and 600,000 Koreans decided to remain in Japan. Other factors such as social and economic disorder in Korea and the division of Korea into two countries fortified this decision.

Legal Status of Koreans in Japan

The ROK (Republic of Korea)-Japan Normalization Treaty was signed on nd of June 165 and went into effect on 18th of December 165. The agreement on the legal status of Koreans in Japan consisted of three major parts scope and eligibility to apply for permanent residence, grounds for deportation, and subsequent legal treatment.

By this agreement, about 51,6 Koreans applied for permanent residence. To be able to obtain the certificate of eligibility, which needed for the permanent residence, one had to prove that he or she had lived in Japan for a long period of time and that he or she was South Korean national. By 174, 4,66 Koreans were granted permanent residence. The Koreans who obtained legal status by this means were called gpermanent resident aliens by treatyh. However, some 50,000 Koreans did not attempt to apply for permanent residence because of ineligibility, allegiance to North Korea, and other reasons. Japanese government did not officially recognize the government of the Democratic Peoplefs Republic of Korea in the north, and it was only after 18 that Japan granted permanent residence to individuals supporting North Korea.

Even though many Koreans achieved permanent resident alien status, there are still grounds for deportation. They will be deported if they fall into one of the following categories persons who are sentenced to imprisonment for a crime against the head of a foreign state, or a diplomatic envoy, which may be prejudicial to the interest of Japan; and persons who are sentenced to imprisonment for more than three years for violation of narcotics control laws or are charged with crimes more than three times or are sentenced to more than seven years imprisonment for the violation of any Japanese law.

The treatment of Koreans in Japan subsequent to the determination of their legal status is spelled out in Article 4 of the agreement, which states@gThe Government of Japan shall pay due consideration to the matters concerning education, livelihood protection, and national health insurance in Japanh for those granted permanent residence. In spite of this agreement, Koreans were excluded from many social welfare benefits even though they are subject to equal taxation.

If the Koreans want to acquire Japanese nationality, they should meet the standards of the Nationality Law of Japan. As a matter of fact, almost all Korean resident in Japan are technically eligible for naturalization. One of the major obstacles, however, that prevents Korean residents from being naturalized is gA person of good behaviorh clause in the provisions. In the absence of a clear definition of what constitutes ggood behaviorh, anyone with a simple police record is unlikely to pass the rigorous scrutiny by the Ministry of Justice.

Discrimination against Koreans in Japan

Educational Discrimination

gThose who attend Japanese schools should be treated equally and others differentlyh

In the area of education, most school age Koreans in Japan attend public or private Japanese schools, the majority using Japanese names. That is, they receive their education not as Koreans but as gJapaneseh, are raised without the least knowledge of the Korean language, and are exposed to Japanese prejudices and discrimination in school and society.

Some Korean students attend ethnic schools. Most of these schools are sponsored by Chongryun, which supports the Democratic Peoplefs Republic of Korea. The Education Ministry, however, refuse to recognize these schools as authorized educational institutions on the grounds that these ethnic schools do not comply with the Japanese governmentfs guidelines. The guidelines require that Korean children be educated only in Japanese language and learn Japanese history with Japanese-language textbooks. Consequently, graduates of ethnic high schools cannot take national university entrance examinations.

Employment Discrimination

Private firms often refuse to employ Koreans because of ethnic discrimination. Koreans are also excluded from holding civil service positions because such positions require Japanese nationality. Although in recent years employment discrimination has lessened somewhat in the wake of movements against discrimination, historically, most Koreans have been limited to low-level occupations like day laborers or self-service jobs.

Here is an example related to the employment discrimination. In 170, Pak, Chong-sok, using his Japanese name, successfully passed a company test for Hitachi and received an official note of hiring. As is customary in Japan, to complete his personnel file, the Hitachi Company asked him to submit a certificate showing his family register. It was then that the company learned of his Korean nationality. A few days later, Pak received a letter of rejection from the Hitachi Company on the ground that he had committed perjury by providing false information. He decided to file a suit against the Hitachi Company and won the case in 174.

In addition to the educational and employment discrimination, Koreans in Japan continue to encounter housing discrimination and are turned down for apartments by real estate agents. When they announce intention to wed a Japanese, they meet with opposition by Japanese parents. Actually, the Korean population in Japan continues to encounter discrimination in virtually all areas of life in Japan.

To oppose ethnic discrimination, Mindan (148), which supports South Korea, and Chongryun (155), which supports North Korea, were established. However, the leaders, who were first generation ethnic Koreans, considered Japan merely a temporary home, giving priority to Korean unification rather than the problems of discrimination in Japan. Consequently, these movements never developed into full-fledged, radical movements to fight discrimination in Japan and to demand full civil rights. Today, movements for the human rights of Koreans in Japan are primarily led by Mintohren (National Council For Combating Discrimination against Ethnic Peoples in Japan), which consists of the third and fourth generation ethnic Koreans and some Japanese. It was established as a result of the Hitachi employment discrimination case, but it created small groups to battle ethnic discrimination on a regional level throughout the country. Since the 170s Mintohren has contributed greatly to eliminating ethnic discrimination against Koreans in Japan and is still struggling against discrimination to achieve its ideal of living together.

Identity Crises among Korean Youth in Japan

The ascribed gself hof Korean youth in Japan has dual components the gassimilatedh self and the gdissimilatedh self. The assimilated self, on the one hand, emerge in the natural process of growing up. Without questioning, he or she internalizes Japanese culture, acquiring and using Japanese as their mother tongue. He or she has many aspects of culture in common with the surrounding Japanese majority in terms of ways of thinking, ways of feeling, values, lifestyles and so on. He or she cannot stop being aware of what a gJapanizedh identity he or she has.

On the other hand, the gdissimilatedh self distinguishes him or her from the Japanese majority in the sense that he or she maintains some elements of ethnic heritage. The degree of conformity to Korean ethnicity varies depending on individual circumstances such as the degree to which ethnic customs are practiced at home, attendance at ethnic schools, and residence in a Korean enclave. Nevertheless, whatever extent to which he or she holds Korean ethnicity, his or her ways of thinking, ways of feeling, values and lifestyles cannot be exactly same as the dominant Japanese ones.

In this situation, the vast majority of Korean youths in Japan are facing identity crises. They adopt Japanese pass names instead of Korean ethnic names. They conceal their ethnic origins in front of their Japanese peers and neighbors. Many of them have negative self-esteem or self-dislike, and some of them wish from the bottom of their hearts that they were Japanese. However, the problem is that no matter how truly they wish they were Japanese and no matter how well they act Japanese, their existence as being something different is often exposed by the Japanese people around them on diverse occasions.

There are four ways in which younger generation Koreans in Japan resolve their identity crises. First is gmutual cooperationh. Mutual cooperation symbolizes the mentality of people, whose core agenda is the realization of a society based on the recognition of ethnic differences but free of ethnic discrimination. That is, their aim is to solve the problem of social discrimination through gsocial changeh accomplished at the local level, starting with their own communities and neighbors.

Second is gresident foreign nationalh. It is the expression that represents the mentality of people, whose core agenda is to contribute to the gdevelopmenth and gunificationh of Korea. Consequently, they do not seek to assimilate into Japanese society but hold awareness as resident foreign nationals. However, having taken this position, it is difficult for them to transcend their position as foreign nationals and demand various rights. Thus, they generally manifest a strong element of gself-isolationh in their battle against ethnic discrimination.

Third is gsuccess in society using onefs abilityh. It represents the mentality of people, whose core agenda is the realization of self through assertion of individualism. They are not particularly concerned with ethnic Korean history, and nor do they feel an attachment to either Japan or Korea. Their chosen response to social discrimination is to liberate themselves through social mobility.

The last is gnaturalizationh. The core agenda of the naturalization-oriented people is to become Japanese. Typically, these people are raised in an environment surrounded only by Japanese, the entire family adopting a Japanese name and concealing their Korean ethnicity. They believe that by assimilating they can exist without experiencing ethnic discrimination.

So far, I have outlined history background of Koreans in Japan, their legal status in Japan, discrimination against them, and identity crises among younger generations. Korean residents in Japan are the victims of the Japanese colonial rule over Korea. The vast majority of them are the third or fourth generation, and they were born in Japan and speak Japanese as their first language. There is no reason for them to be discriminated in Japan, but they have been suffering from the discrimination. In recent years, discrimination against Korean residents has lessened thanks to movements against it. However, it is still prevalent and hurting Korean people.

Since North Korea admitted that secret agents of the country kidnapped 1 Japanese citizens in the 170s and 80s in the summit talks between Kim Jong Il and Koizumi Junichiro on 17 September 00 in Pyoungyang, Korean schoolboys and schoolgirls in Japan have been subjected to unwarranted attacks, unfair treatment, abuse, and blackmail. These incidents show that Japanese people neither accept Korean residents as their neighbors nor recognize the human rights of Korean residents in Japan.

To solve these problems, the Japanese government should try to guarantee the human rights of Koreans lawfully and give correct history education in Japan. Also, it would be appropriate to promote majority-minority interactions, reduce the imbalance of power, and help to dismantle the persisting discrimination. In other words, mutual understanding and cooperation between Koreans and Japanese are desperately needed for resolving the Korean residentsf problems and establishing a society where structural assimilation has been achieved while cultural diversity is openly acknowledged. Without those efforts, problems related to Korean residents in Japan would be repeated over and over again.

1. Weiner, Michael. The Origins of the Korean Community in Japan, 110-1. London Manchester University Press, 18

. Lee, Changsoo and De Vos, George. Koreans in Japan Ethnic Conflict and Accommodation. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA University of California Press, 181

. Fukuoka, Yasunori and Tsujiyama, Yukiko. gMINTOHREN Young Koreans against Ethnic Discrimination in Japanh. HAN. 1. http//www.han.org/a/fukuoka.html/ (5 December 00)

4. Fukuoka, Yasunori. gKoreans in Japan Past and Presenth. HAN. 16. http//www.han.org/a/fukuoka6a.html/ (8 November 00)

5. Fukuoka, Yasunori. gBeyond Assimilation and Dissimilation Diverse Resolutions to Identity Crises among Younger Generation Koreans in Japanh. HAN. 16. http//www.han.org/a/fukuoka6b.html/ (1 November 00)

6. S.H.Cho. gU.N. Urges Japan to Stop Discrimination against Korean School Children and Educationh. Choson Sinbo. 18.

http//www.korea-np.co.jp/pk/046th_issue/8061001.htm/ (1 January 00)

7. Choe, Hong Ryul. gReport to UNESCO on Human Rights Violationh. Choson Sinbo. 18. http//www.korea-np.co.jp/pk/046th_issue/8061007.htm/ (1 January 00)

8. gKoreans Suffer Attacks, Blackmail Due to Abductions Issueh. Choson Sinbo. 00. http//www.korea-np.co.jp/pk/185th_issue/0010107.htm/ (0 December 00)

. gLegal Line for International Residents in Japanh. The UMJ. 16-001.

http//www.tabunka.org/newsletter/legal.html#anchor117555 (1 January 00)

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