4/27/2010

Free Choice: Zainichi Koreans in Osaka

Japan has been sometimes called homogeneous state ignoring the existence of minorities such as Ainu originated in Hokkaido region, and "zainichi" Koreans, who have the roots in South Korea, or North Korea. Recently, I have learned about the issue in some classes. "Culture and Everyday Life in Japan" class given by Professor. Hester exemplifies the one of them. I had never considered the problem well until now, but I realized that I has been in so familiar position to it. It means that I have lived in the area in which more than 20 percent of zainichi Koreans in Japan make their life. Actually, I have some friends who have Korean nationality. In this post, first I would like to look back my early school days to think how I was close to this issue.Then I will introduce "Korea Town" in Turuhashi, Ikuno ward(ku).


Generally, we can define the people who have settled in Japan over the colonial period as zainichi Koreans. Japan ruled over Korea from 1910 to 1945, so the great number of Koreans were forced to work in the tough condition. Therefore, even after the war, the majority of Koreans stayed in Japan. Most of Koreans living in Japan at the present day are Japan-born, second-, third-, and fourth generation Koreans raised up there, having Korean nationalities. I learned that the term "zainichi" is used in order to distinguish such Koreans from those who immigrated from Korea to Japan after the end of war.


I live in Ikuno ward(ku), Osaka-city, the area many zainichi Koreans live. In fact, one-fourth of students who were in the same grade as me was "zainichi Koreans" in my junior high school. We could find who was zainichi Koreans by looking at the attendance roll. If a student was zainichi Korean, the real Korean name was written next to his/her Japanese name in parentheses. At the time, I never felt it strange because I had assumed that it was very common everywhere. Yet, I knew I was wrong when I showed the graduation album to my classmates of the high school. Most of them really wondered why the two different names were written below the photographs of some students' faces. I was shocked... I did not know that a lot of students who lived in other areas of Osaka-city were completely unfamiliar to zainichi Koreans. Through the elementary school to the junior high school, although I had the bellyful of the moral education about zainichi Koreans, and the chance to play Korean game and instrument, my classmates had never taken such experience. In some ways, I had exposure to Korean culture. For example, in the moral class, I remember I learned the fully simplified history which showed the relationship between Japan and Korea in the colonial period as children could understand. Besides, I was taught we should not exclude zainichi Koreans again and again, though nobody cared the difference of ethnic background in my junior high school.


Thus, now I feel the moral education was meaningful to become aware of the exsistence of such people, and understand Japanese ethnological complexity, while it had the risk to mislead us to discriminate them. That is, I had never cared the differences between Japanese and zainichi Korean students at all until I took the moral education, but after that, I became a little conscious about the differences unnecessary. In my junior high school, zainichi Korean students were never bullied, or excluded from the circle of friendship. However, among Japanese people, the issue of zainichi Koreans is rarely discussed as if talking about it is taboo, so I cannot know how Japanese really think about it. I feel that Japanese people dare to avoid considering such a crucial problem, though some people like my high school classmates have no idea in the first place. As the person who are going to study overseas, I must have more interest to our own country...


These are the pictures of "Korean Town" located near the Turuhashi station. (map)

"Kimchi"

Folks costume "Chima jeogori"

In Japan, the Korean towns like this are seen in some regions. "Korean Town" in Turuhashi is a good example. We can access to "Korean Town" by taking Osaka loop line. It does not take much time to arrive there from Turuhashi station; Just one minutes walk after we get off the train. Except for "Korean Town,"Turuhashi is really famous for yakiniku焼肉 restaurants, so Turuhashi station always smells good, yakiniku sauce flavor. Also, I heard Korean Town is not only popular among local people but also for sightseeing.

Many shops here are run by zainichi Koreans. The shopping arcade is always crowded, and very energetic place which is similar to the markets. We can buy varieties of traditional Korean products such as kimchi, namul, chijimi, Korean norimaki(kimbap), Korean seaweed, and even chima jeogori. It is totally good for us to enjoy Korean atmosphere without visiting Korea. Hence I recommend that people who have never been there go once on their lifetime.

This time, influenced by the classes, I realized the importance of thinking about the issue familiar to me. Before I intend to consider the global issues, I may need to be the expert of our own country.