# Divided by Fate:the Integration of Overseas Koreans in Japan

Hee-gwan Chin

EAST ASIAN REVIEW . Vol.13, No 2, Summer 2001, pp. 57-74


Divided by Fate:


The Integration of Overseas Koreans in Japan


Chin Hee-gwan


INTRODUCTION


No one would deny that reunification is the long-cherished hope of Koreans. For more than half a century, there have consistent efforts toward reunification. For five decades, policy development and implementation, studies and debates, and active movements associated with this long-sought-after dream have been a part of


daily life in Korea.


Nonetheless, until the inter-Korean summit last June 15, relations between South and North Korea had been in a stalemate. Since the Summit, however, relations between the two Koreas have become more positive, but doubts remain as to the Korea viewpoint and response to these changes. Such conflicts can be traced back to distorted perceptions and inaccurate information about inter-Korean relations. Moreover, the numerous studies, often duplicating previous ones and based on such limited information, have restricted, rather than helped us to understand inter-Korean issues.


In particular, one area that has been either overlooked or excluded is that of overseas Koreans. Furthermore, studies that


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involve overseas Koreans have been conducted by only a small number of pioneering researchers, and even those studies, rarely deal with reunification.


In the process of reunification on the Korean peninsula, however, overseas Koreans are expected to play a significant role. This is even more plausible given that among the total 5.6 million overseas Koreans, 93 percent or 5.2 million, live in one of the four neighboring countries of Korea.1) They are especially well positioned to act as a link between the two Koreas during the reunification process. Therefore, reviewing their potential role and effectively utilizing it could be a natural, and perhaps, very necessary step in the journey toward reunification.


Since the June 15th Joint Declaration, overseas Koreans have shown a growing interest in their homeland, especially those living in Japan. Who have long been divided into two ideological groups: Mindan (the Federation of Korean Residents in Japan), a pro-Seoul Korean residents group in Japan, and Chongryun (pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan).2) No doubt, the landmark inter-Korean summit brought about these changes, but at the same time it must be understood that the change was a result of a long, and deeply-felt desire for reconciliation.


Based on this observation, the article reviews the formation of the Korean community in Japan, focusing on the relationship between North Korea and the Chongryun, in order to understand the


1) Ministry Foreign Affairs and Trade, Status of Overseas Koreans (Seoul, 1999), p.15.


2) The June 15th inter-Korean summit last year served as critical momentum for the pro-Seoul and pro-Pyongyang organizations to lead the efforts for greater reconciliation. The focus of their efforts was Hana Matori, a joint festival for Mindan and Chongryun as well as Japanese citizens, held at the Osaka Dome on March 25, 2001. The festival was followed by Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) co-hosted by Mindan and Chongryun on April 1 on Korea Road in Ikunoku, Osaka. In particular, the Osaka branches of Mindan and Chongryun are leading the movement to reconcile Koreans under the belief that issues should be resolved by all Korean compatriots.


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significance of the course of events that led to the change. It further seeks identify means of future reconciliation of overseas Koreans by reviewing the recent reconciliation efforts by the two Korean residents group in Japan.


FORMATION AND DIVISION OF


THE KOREAN COMMUNITY IN JAPAN


Koreans in Japan number approximately 660,000, or 12 percent of all overseas Koreans, yet they are divided along ideological lines Mindan and Chongryun. Of course, a significant portion of Koreans in Japan maintain a neutral attitude toward reunification, but this neutralism also stems from the split in the Korean community. Therefore, concern and interest in Koreans in Japan will provide a important model in resolving confrontation on the Korean peninsula and uniting all Koreans.


Formation of the Korean Community in Japan after Koreas Liberation


In 1909, shortly before the Japanese annexation of Korea, only 790 Koreans were living in Japan. But by the time Korea was liberated in 1945, this number is estimated to have ballooned to 2.4 million. And between liberation and the Korea War in 1950, a total of 1.8 million returned to Korea, while some 600,000 remained.


A search into why these 600,000 remained in Japan raises many issues. The people who remained can be divided into two distinct groups--those who had already built a life in Japan with families and did not wish to leave, and those who could not return even if they wished. More specifically, a critical reason behind their decision to stay could be the fact that the U.S. Forces Headquarters only allowed Koreans to bring into Korea a maximum 1,000 yen and goods weighing 250 pounds (113.4 kilograms).3) Since they could not to begin to make a decent living in Korean with only 1,000 yen,


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Koreans who had lived in Japan for a significant period of time and who had no means of survival back in Korea, chose to stay. Moreover, inflation shrank that paltry amount ever further.4) Later restrictions on currency and goods were eased, but not until after those wishing to return had done so.


Second, Koreans who were involved in the independence movement in Japan could not return home because of their connections to the Japanese Communist Party. Ironically, many had joined simply to participate in the anti-Japanese movement through the Japanese Communist Party.


Third, because of Koreas dire economic situation at the time and the scarcity of jobs, some Koreans who had returned to their homeland again wentback to Japan.


The most fundamental cause was Japanese colonialization until the end of second World War. All economic and war mobilization policies were directed toward benefiting the war efforts of the Japanese Empire during the period. Consequently, those mobilization and assimilation policies led to the dispersal of countless Korean workers all over East Asia, including the Japanese mainland.


A closer view of these Koreans reveals some very interesting facts. According to March 1953 statistics, among the 600,000 Koreans in Japan, about 95 percent were from South Korea; 61 percent from Kyungsang Province, 12 percent Cheju Island, 11 percent Cholla Province, with less than 1.5 percent from North Korea.5) These


3) An October 15, 1945 SCAP (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) memorandum on repatriation camps stipulated that non-Japanese repatriates were only allowed to possess currency up to 1000 yen. Kim Tae-ki, Origin of Issues Facing Koreans Residing in Japan After the War: SCAPs Policy on Koreans in Japan through 1945-1952, Ph.D. Dissertation, Hitotsubashi University, 1996, p.117.


4) Examples of market prices in Japan at the time: nonglutinous rice-5 yen for 10kg and beef-30 yen per 1 kg.

5) Chun Jun, A Study on Chongryun (Seoul: Asia Center, Korea University, 1972), pp.388-389.


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statistics are crucial in identifying not only the hometowns of the first generation, but also the links to the second, third and fourth generations.


However, statistics on their nationalities are totally different from what they claim are their hometowns. March 1950 statistics by Japans Ministry of Justice, show that while only 40,000 (7.4 percent) Koreans in Japan held Republic of Korea citizenship, a whopping 92.6 percent identified themselves as Chosun-in, North Korea citizen.6)


The reason was that North Korea has used the term Chosun in its name since it was established. Because of their long-held perceptions, residents in Japan strongly preferred the name of their old homeland, and the Japanese justice ministry has unofficially classified Chosun as North Korea.


One other very likely reason could be the South Korean governments indifference and prejudice. Immediately after it was established, the Lee Seung-man government recognized Mindan at the time a very small organization of Koreans in Japan as the only democratic organization.7) This drastic decision totally closed the door to those who were still debating about which nationality to choose. As the first generation of Koreans in Japan still very much thought of themselves simply as the people of Chosun, it was extremely difficult for them to choose between two divided nations. So, presumably most of them simply chose Chosun thinking that it wouldnt be too late to choose after a unified government was established.


As a result of these combined causes, Koreans in Japan were left on the sidelines, ignored by both South and North Korea. To make matters worse, the Japanese ministry classified them arbitrarily,


6) Min Kwan-sik, Koreans Residing in Japan (Seoul: The Asian Policy Research Institute, 1990), p.315.

7) Kim Sang-hyun, Koreans Residing in Japan: Korean Compatriots in Japan (Seoul: Hanminjok, 1988), pp.92-93.


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based on convenience. Thus, Koreans living in Japan unknowingly positioned themselves to be labeled pro-North Korea simply because they wanted to remain people of Chosun.


Division of the Korean Community in Japan


The dissolution of the Korean community in Japan was a combined result of both internal and external factors. One internal cause originates from the establishment of Choryun (Federation of Korean Residents in Japan) on October 15, 1945. Due to the support from the Japanese Communist Party, Choryun inclined to communism and soon became a far-reaching organization. Their development inevitably brought about the ideological division of the Korean community in Japan after separate governments were established in South and North Korea in 1948. Initially, Choryun was involved in helping Koreans in Japan to return to Korea, manage their assets, make a living and study Korean, among others, but with the influence of Kim Chun-hae, head of the Chosun division in the Japanese Communist Party, Choryun gradually developed into a political faction.


In an extreme measure, after separate governments were set up in the two Koreas in 1948, the Lee Seung-man government tried to differentiate itself from Choryun by recognizing Mindan as the only democratic organization.8) Judging from 1950s statistics showing that only 7.4 percent of the Koreans in Japan were classified as citizens of the Republic of Korea, one can easily guess the size of Mindan between 1948 and 1949.


Third, to erase all past association with the earlier league of Koreans (Choryun) and its successor Minjeon (the Democratic Front of Koreans) led by the Japanese Communist Party, Chongryun (the


8) ibid., pp.92-93; Kazimura Hidiki, Movement of Koreans Residing in Japan: 1945-1965,


(Korean version) (Seoul: Hyuneunsa, 1994), pp.30-31.


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