Selecting Between Chosenjin and Zainichi: Analysis on the Zainichization Processes of Koreans in Japan

The Zainichi Koreans were brought to Japan during the colonial period and so this foreign group has the longest history of foreign residence in Japan. But succession of ethnic identity formation is not easy in a country that determines nationality by jus sanguinuis and so many third- or fourth-generation of ZainichiKoreans have some trouble living as a ‘Korean.’ Even though there are lots of studies that address their ethnic identity troubles, many of these focus on the discourse of intergenerational diversification.

Based on Constructivism of Cornell & Hartmann(2007), this paper focuses on the media environment as a field of constructing ethnic identity. Analyzing the influences of exposure to the ‘Korean Wave’ and ‘abductions by North Korea’, which have been spread contradicting images of ‘mother country’, in the Japanese media, this paper  look into the interpretations and responses of Zainichi Koreans through their selection processes of group appellation in everyday life.

In this paper, looking into the survey and in-depth interview data, which I have conducted after 2008, I will also attempt to analyze the relation between the using and selecting group appellation of Zainichi  Koreans and the changing of ethnic identity of them.

These approaches would bring light to new aspects not only on the current Zainichi Koreans’ identity but also on how factors, like as Zainichization, affect changing ethnic identity in host society.