Zainichi Koreans: History and Present

Abstract
This talk will give an overview of Zainichi Koreans in Japan, Korean residents often without Japanese citizenship who are a legacy of the Japanese annexation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. Referring to persistent colonialism in Japan even after the emancipation of Korea, this talk demonstrates how the harsh current status of Zainichi Koreans, now into the 3rd and 4th generations, was created. Key words in the talk include minorities in Japan, discrimination, the foreign registration system, “nationality requirement”, hate crimes, Cold War and divided Korea, women and earthquakes.

About the Speaker
Hyewon SONG is a post-doctoral researcher at Waseda University, Japan. Her areas of interest and research include Zainichi Korean literature, diaspora Korean literature(s), gender studies and post-colonial studies. Educated in Japan, Korea and the UK, she has taught Korean language and Korean culture(s) around the world. She has published and edited books, among them are The Literary History of Zainichi Koreans(2014), (ed) Collection of Early Zainichi Korean Literary Magazines (2016), (ed) Anthology of Writings by Early Zainichi Korean Women (2014).