Zainichi Koreans in Japan

During my recent video browsing on YouTube, I came across an interesting video which revolved around a Korean worker in Japan who decided to sue his customer for discrimination. Thinking that this video will contain lots of vulgarity and hate knowing that most Koreans and Japanese hardly get along due to their national dispute which can be traced from the Japan-Korea Annexation in the early 20th century, I thought this video was worth my time. After a few seconds of the video, I was truly disappointed as everything were in Japanese which I couldn't understand a word of seeing thatI have no knowledge in Japanese. As I was about to view other unrelated videos, the "related videos" column of the YouTube window I was browsing then presented a list of other videos that shared the similar topic. Consequently, as I was curious and interested about the issues that triggers more conflict and dispute between the Japanese and the Koreans, I decided to check some of them out. Like the earlier video, most of them were either in Japanese or Korean which I knew it wasn't worth the watch as I have no knowledge in both the respective languages. As I was about to give up browsing for videos regarding the dispute between the Japanese and the Koreans, I came across an Al Jazeera video which featured a report regarding Koreans living in Japan. Realizing that Al Jazeera reports in English, my interest regarding the relationship between the Japanese and Koreans reignited. After more than 10 minutes of the video, I realized how ignorant I was not to know about the Zainichi Koreans in Japan.

The roots of the discrimination that the Koreans have been facing in Japan can be traced back to the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910 where all Koreans became the subject of Imperial Japanese rule. During the 2nd World War, the majority of Koreans were forced to migrate to Japan to be laborers in order to resolve Japan's labor shortage that was required to mobilize the manufacturing industry of the country. The Korean workers that were brought to Japan during the 2nd World War were forced to work in mines and factories under harsh and inhumane working conditions which usually resulted in deaths. Besides harsh treatment from the Japanese, the Koreans in Japan were forbidden to speak their native language and they were also obligated to adopt Japanese names and culture. Despite such atrocities conducted on them, some of the Koreans decided to construct their new homes in Japan after the 2nd World War where the children of these survivors amount to a million today. The reason behind their decision to remain in Japan after the Japanese defeat in the war was because of the political instability in their homeland as it was exemplified by the Korean War that followed shortly after the 2nd World War. Although the Koreans in Japan have spend most of their lives in their so called "enemy nation", they are forced to hide their Korean heritage in order to avoid discrimination from the Japanese.

The Japanese has considered themselves a homogeneous race and they have pride themselves repeatedly through the constant reminder that if an individual is not Japanese, he or she is similar to a handicap. This wouldn't be any of a surprise given the fact that Japanese culture and customs which strongly prioritize integrity, dedication, honor and loyalty have been seen as admirable traits by the global audience even from the ancient times. Furthermore, with the unexpected rise of Japan as a major economic power in the far east after their defeat in the 2nd World War, the Japanese view themselves as an elite race. On the other hand, there are many minority groups in Japan which faces harsh treatment and discrimination in a land dedicated to ethnic purity. According to Shin Ya Kim, a member of the Korean Community Center in Kawasaki, an example of the discrimination that the Koreans would face in Japan can be demonstrated by the housing rentals. If a Japanese Korean were to use his or her real name, the possibility of being able to rent the house would be very slim. The mistreatment does not end there as Bae Cheol-Eun, a member of the Korean Resident Union in Japan claims that Japanese Koreans are likely to get their job applications declined in a job interview. Such act of discrimination is impossible to be justified at the stage of law given the lack of evidence, nevertheless there are always stories regarding discrimination to be told by a Japanese Korean.

According to the United Nations, one of the possible causes for such racism to occur in Japan is due to Japan's lack of basic protective legislation. Japan was urged by the United Nations to pass on laws that would declare any form of discrimination to be an offense in 2005. On the other hand, Satoshi Kameda, the Japanese Ministry of Justice refutes that it is a misstatement to claim that Japan lacks discrimination law as most cases regarding racism ends up under the jurisdiction of criminal law. Dr. Yasunori Fukuoka, a leading sociologist from the Saitama University mentions that the lack of appreciation for people's differences is another possible cause to racism.

With no legal protection against discrimination, many Japanese Koreans have no choice but to masquerade themselves as a Japanese as this can be illustrated by 90% of Japanese Koreans whom adopt a Japanese name in their daily life. With two names, one Korean and the other Japanese, most Koreans living in Japan could not help but to experience such abnormality. Conversely, a handful of Koreans in Japan prefer to be public and proud about their Korean heritage rather than lie about it.

More than 200 Korean students at the Chosen school in Yokohama are educated in their native language instead of Japanese with the objective or preserving their ethnic heritage and the believe of returning to their homeland in North Korea. The Chosen school were among the first few Korean schools founded in Japan after the 2nd World War. The school was originally funded by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) to ensure that the Korean heritage survives among the Korean students in Japan and to discourage any form of cultural assimilation. Despite being educated in Japanese, Korean and English today, the students of Chosen are also taught about their great leader Kim Il Sung and their dear leader Kim Jong Il. Dr, Guy Sun Oh who is a historical researcher on Koreans in Japan says that many will assume that the Korean students are brainwashed with D.P.R.K. education at first impression, which is completely inaccurate. He added that it is nothing wrong at all for the students to learn about Kim Il Sung seeing that he is the founding father of North Korea after all. Furthermore, he mentioned that General Kim Il Sung said that the North Koreans in Japan are obligated to learn how to read and write in Korean as well as learn skills that will be beneficial to the D.P.R.K's future. Students of Chosen would go by their Korean names, dress in the North Korean attire in public and annually visit Pyongyang on a school trip. Of course such ethnic pride and patriotism comes with a costly price as it was demonstrated by the case of a North Korean girl being stabbed for dressing in her uniform in public. Joo Hyu Kim, a female student at the Chosen High School claims that she has encountered hostility countless times for putting on her North Korean school uniform in the public.

Both Japanese and minority activist has successfully forced the Japanese government to implement policies that will address the needs of the minorities over the years. The permission to allow Japanese Koreans to be citizens of Japan is an example of the concession between the Japanese government and the activist. On the other hand, such concession is not that effective as most Koreans realized that the choice for a Korean to become Japanese will be the greatest treachery to the Korean nationality. This is because the historical relationship between Japan and Korea as well as the suffering bore by the Koreans will be forgotten and lost.

After more than 10 minutes of the video, I realized how ignorant I was not to know about the Zainichi Koreans in Japan. I truly agree with Dr. Yasunori Fukuoka's opinion regarding racism which stems from the people's inability to appreciate differences. Due to strong values of ethnocentrism, people's differences are measured according to the measurer's values and beliefs which then leads to racism, prejudice and discrimination in the likely event that both values contradict with one another.