Stemming from the Japanese word ‘zainichi’ (在日), or “Japan resident”, Zainichi Koreans are ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan. They are the second largest ethnic minority in Japan, (around 450,000). The majority of Zainichi Koreans live in Osaka, Tokyo and the Hyogo prefecture.

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Different from other Korean immigrants, most Zainichi Koreans have ancestors who moved to Japan before 1945- the majority were forcibly relocated to work in the wartime industry as Korea was a colony. By 1947, over 1.5 million Koreans returned home. Due to various reasons, around 500,000 Koreans stayed in Japan, forming the Zainichi Korean population.

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As colonial subjects, Korean people held Japanese citizenship. At the end of the war however, Koreans who remained in Japan had their rights taken away. With their suffrage suspended, by April 1952 Zainichi Koreans were deprived of their Japanese citizenship and treated as ‘aliens’. They essentially went from imperial subjects to ‘stateless people’. 

Following the War and Korean division in 1953, Zainichi Koreans were forced to choose “which Korea” they identified with. Those who supported the South were labelled ‘Mindan’ Zainichi (65%) and those with Northern ties were ‘Chongryon’ Zainichi (35%). Each group had their own schools and neighbourhoods, deepening the divide in the Korean community.

Chong-Sok Pak vs Hitachi Company: in 1974 a Zainichi Korean man won a landmark legal case against the Hitachi company. Despite passing the entrance exam and receiving an official letter of hiring, he was denied employment due to his Korean nationality. Yokohama District Court concluded there was “no reason…other than ethnic discrimination” for this decision. 

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The 1970s New Korean Pride movement encouraged Zainichi Koreans to use non-Japanese names in public life and take pride in their roots through local cultural education programmes. Prominent Zainichi Korean figures in postwar Japanese society were singer Wada Akiko (김복자) and wrestler Rikidozan (김신락), who grew in popularity despite their ethnicity.

For many, the best option was to ‘pass’ as Japanese, using Japanese names and hiding their Korean-ness. Today, most Zainichi Koreans speak better Japanese than Korean, rarely having even visited the peninsula; but are still considered Korean by the Japanese state. But, Koreans widely regard them as more Japanese: they are in a state of ethnic limbo.

Despite having lived there for generations, Zainichi Koreans have lacked social citizenship in Japan. Japanese naturalization was considered an act of “ethnic betrayal”, but now around 10,000 Koreans choose to naturalise every year: proudly embracing their Korean-Japanese identity. Zainichi identities are “diverse, multi-faceted” and ever-changing.

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