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A Nation Within: North Korean Zainichi in Postimperial Japan

A Nation Within: North Korean Zainichi in Postimperial Japan - Paperback

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Availability:In StockContributor:Sayaka ChataniSeries:Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia UnPublish date:3/31/2026Pages:318
Language:EnglishPublisher:Stanford University PressISBN-13:9781503646124ISBN-10:1503646122UPC:9781503646124Book Category:HistoryBook Subcategory:Asia, ModernBook Topic:Japan, Korea, 20th CenturySize:9.00 x 6.00 x 0.72 inchesWeight:0.9502Product ID:SC8F4YMD5D

The presence of hundreds of thousands ethnic Koreans in Japan, or "zainichi Koreans," is one of the visible legacies of Japanese colonialism. A surprising and influential group among zainichi Koreans that persists to this day is Chongryon, the only pro-North Korean diasporic group based in a capitalist society. Chongryon historically represented the central grassroots force seeking to liberate Koreans from Japan's imperial and neo-imperial influences. At the heart of the Chongryon community stands a political organization equipped with a central bureaucracy in Tokyo, with a headquarters in nearly every prefecture. Often called a de facto embassy of North Korea, the Chongryon organization has, in effect, functioned as a state within another state--operating hundreds of schools, banks, hospitals, business associations, publishing houses, and many other institutions across Japan.

Based on extensive archival research and nearly 250 original interviews collected with co-researcher KumHee Cho, who was raised within the Chongryon community, Sayaka Chatani offers a sweeping social history of this secretive, protective community in xenophobic Japanese society. Weaving together personal accounts and situating them in a multi-layered, transnational political context, the book offers a finely textured, intimate narrative of the community's tumultuous history and decolonial praxis. Through the stories of Chongryon, this book provides a bottom-up analysis of power politics among zainichi Koreans and reshapes our understanding of Japanese history, Korean history, and the Cold War in Asia.

Language:EnglishPublisher:Stanford University PressISBN-13:9781503646124ISBN-10:1503646122UPC:9781503646124Book Category:HistoryBook Subcategory:Asia, ModernBook Topic:Japan, Korea, 20th CenturySize:9.00 x 6.00 x 0.72 inchesWeight:0.9502Product ID:SC8F4YMD5D
Sayaka Chatani is Associate Professor of History at the National University of Singapore. She is author of Nation-Empire: Ideology and Rural Youth Mobilization in Japan and Its Colonies (2018).
Publisher: Stanford University Press

Contributor(s)

Sayaka Chatani

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