Um...well I thought so was I? Hangook saram literally means Korean person. But I am a jae mi gyopo, which means a person of Korean descent living in the US, so if she is a person of Korean descent living in Japan, isn't she a jae il gyopo? And she explained that the term refers to Koreans who have been living in Japan for several generations - usually descendants of Koreans who were brought over as laborers/slaves by Japan during the Japanese rule. And it has a negative connotation because 1) it refers to descendants of laborers and 2) many of those people sympathize with North Korea.
The Japanese word for people of Korean descent who are long-term, permanent residents of Japan (often second, third or fourth generation) but not Japanese citizens is Zainichi. They are the largest minority group in Japan but often treated as second-class citizens - they were not even allowed to apply for Japanese citizenship until the 1980's and in order to do so had to give up their Korean names and take on a Japanese surname.
Today there are many Zainichi in Japanese sports and entertainment and the richest man in Japan, the CEO of Softbank, is a third generation Korean-Japanese (but no longer Zainichi because he adopted Japanese citizenship). Many Zainichi are allegedly part of the yakuza or have close ties - most of the pachinko parlors (Japanese style casinos) are owned by Zainichi and pachinko parlors but pay dues to the yakuza. After Japan was defeated in WWII, the Korean laborers in Japan were in a no-man's land - they lost rights as official subjects of Japan, which they had during the Japanese occupation. Yet after many years of living in Japan, they had very few ties left to Korea. Many stayed in Japan - yet Japan deprived them of many rights (including the right to citizenship, access to certain schools and jobs, etc.). Most were left with no choice but to earn a living opening small businesses or get involved in the underbelly of Japan - yakuza, pachinko, bars.
But there is also a new generation of Koreans living and working in Japan, those that identify themselves as pure Korean people, not Zainichi. Then there are those Zainichi that adopt Japanese citizenship and are no longer counted in the Korean-Japanese population but as part of the general Japanese population. And then there are Korean-Americans working and living in Japan.
Living in Japan, I am slowly becoming more aware that...Japanese people still look down on Koreans (and the rest of the world, but Koreans in particular). It took me completely aback when the exec from my company asked me why I would come work in Japan when Japan doesn't think highly of Koreans, but now I'm beginning to become more aware of Japan's continuing disdain for my race.
And as with all things Japan right now, the main emotion it invokes in me is fascination.
Perhaps some day it will anger or annoy me, but right now it simply fascinates me. I wish I could look inside their brains. What makes them the way they are - so unlike any other people I have ever encountered, ever.
No other racial/ethnic group has fascinated me as much as the Japanese, perhaps because most other racial/ethnic groups are readable. Their motives, their likes and dislikes, what they think about you...it's usually not that hard to figure out. But with the Japanese, it's nearly impossible to know what they are thinking and why. They are the most dok-han people I have ever encountered (which means something along the lines of...fierce, back-handed, survivalist).
They frighten me. Because what you see is not what you get.
It confounds me how a people who appear so civilized and polite committed some of the most atrocious war acts and disgusting, perverted, socio-pathic "experiments" on Korean and Chinese people during the war. And that they still refuse to own up to much of it. This, I find disgusting and maddening. But again, primarily, fascinating. Because really...it's so diabolic.
When Japan killed the last queen of Korea and subject Korea to its rule, not only did it burn down the palace, it then built a ZOO on top of the palace and exactly where the king's throne had been, they build a monkey cage. But they never said anything to the effect of: we think you people are animals and your king was a monkey. No they would never say something like that because it's too direct. But it seems quite implicit by their actions. It's so subtle. So passive-aggressive. And so sociopathic.
So on the slightest semi-conscious level, the Japanese frighten me. But then, they don't. I have never felt safer in my entire life than I feel here. The Japanese are a highly moral people - random acts of violence, robberies, etc. are almost a non-statistic here. The crimes that do happen are often very personal crimes - committed against family members or people they know. But you don't need to worry about getting pickpocketed or mugged or anything because....well I don't know exactly what the reason is, but on the surface it appears that the Japanese are a highly moral people. But highly moral is the antithesis of sociopathic, isn't it? It's so paradoxical.
Ah. That's the word I was looking for. The Japanese are the most paradoxical people I have ever encountered.
6 comments:
I wonder what keeps Korean people so fascinated in Japanese culture especially when it's known that the Japanese look down on Koreans. At the same time, I wonder what they feel about the hallyu wave.
I still don't get why an ethnic Korean would want to remain in Japan being subjected to such treatment. And why would they be seen as sympathizing with North Korea? Please explain.
South Korea itself does not treat foreign residents so well either (Sri Lankans, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc.) It's extremely difficult or impossible for such people to become citizens unless they marry a native Korean. They have fewer rights too and their children cannot attend Korean schools.
I don't know about other Koreans, but for me, my fascination with the Japanese culture comes from its utter uniqueness from any other culture I have encountered - this is totally separate from my being Korean. My fascination is not of the revering type - I don't find their culture "better", or for that matter, "worse" - just very perplexing. And the things that perplex me fascinate me. I find their passive aggressive racism towards Koreans disturbing but as I have only been here a couple months I can't really say that I've actually experienced it personally very much. The younger generation actually seems to love all things Korean - what you refer to as the "Hallyu wave."
My understanding of the Zainichi's reasons for staying in Japan is along these lines: many of them were forced here in the early 1900's and remained here against their will during the entire Japanese occupation. When Japan was defeated in the 1940's, the Zainichi were in a no-man's land - they were still in Japan but with absolutely no rights, not even as subjects of the Japanese empire since Japan lost the right to treat Koreans as subjects. During the next decade millions of zainichi DID repatriate to Japan but for whatever reason, about 900,000 remained. After all, after 40-50 years of living in Japan, they had more ties to Japan than Korea at this point. The Zainichi that remain in Japan are now 3rd and 4th generation. They are ethnically Korean yet most speak only Japanese and have only known life in Japan. There have been various studies, articles and interviews of Zainichi. One I watched recently featured a third generation Zainichi who went to Korea for the first time - he noted that he had been told all his life by his parents that he was Korean, yet he couldn't even speak Korean, and asked "if I can't even speak Korean, am I really Korean?"
I think this issue touches on many questions/issues that run across race, immigration, language and culture, not ones that I can really answer.
The Zainichi that remained in Japan quickly divided into two factions - those that sympathized with North Korea and those that sympathized with South Korea. The North initially funded various Korean schools in Japan which still stand today and teach both Korean and Japanese. From what I have been told and researched, the North Korean Zainichi (if you can call them that, since the Zainichis' roots pre-date the North-South division) don't want to assimilate into Japanese culture and keep a very distinct Korean identity - those interviewed say they live in Japan but live their lives preparing for the day that they can return to their homeland (of North Korea). The South Korean Zainichi tend to want to assimilate more into Japanese culture and many have adopted Japanese citizenship, taken on Japanese surnames, married Japanese, etc. Thus, the reason that jae il gyopo tends to refer to North Korean sympathizers is that many of the South Korean zainichi have either adopted Japanese citizenship or assimilate more into the culture and may not necessarily identify themselves as Korean-Japanese any longer. The North Korean Zainichi continue to wear Korean clothes, go to North Korean schools and maintain their own community and eschew assimilation - they assert their Koreanness while living in Japan, which is why among the myriad Koreans living in Japan, they are referred to as Jae Il Gyopo (Korean-Japanese).
Anonymous 2:
I don't know very much about foreigners' rights in Korea. I don't condone racism by any country/race, but I think a key difference here is the ORIGIN of the Zainichi population in Japan - that is to say, they were brought here against their will as forced laborers/slaves.
True, origin is definitely important to keep in mind. However, for such a modernized country, South Korea remains a very conservative and very nationalistic (almost to an extreme) country and that can be dangerous.
Interesting post. Since I don't agree with what "Anonymous 1, 2, or 3 said, I'm going to call myself. Homeless.
Being modernize country has nothing to do with conservative, liberal, nationalist, ethnic equality, etc...
I don't care who did what in the past. If you are going to tell me about history of some country, then that is great because at least I learned something for the day. So as long as they cook my Japanese or Korean food and bring them to my table, I'm happy. Also if they are hot and have a great personality, that's even better. Think about eating with good looking people that have good personality will do to this topic.
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