뉴스레터

'Whenever the boy used incorrect expressions in Japanese, his kind home room teacher pointed them out and corrected them for him. As he became aware of the incorrect usage of Japanese, the boy found himself growing sensitive to, and even detesting, the mistakes that his family made when speaking Japanese at home.'
Lee Sung-si (李成市) (born in 1952), a second-generation Korean-Japanese and professor at Waseda University, recalled in an episode of his personal life seldom spoken in public, as part of the story he told about the life and history of the Korean-Japanese and Korea-Japan relations.

Special Exhibition, Movie playing, and Symposium

This is a scene from the History Film Symposium as part of the event titled 'The 100 Years of the Koreans in Japan' co-hosted by the Northeast Asian History Foundation, the Seoul Museum of History, and the Korean Historical Museum in Japan, at the Seoul Museum of History from August 10, 2012.
Even though the Korean-Japanese make an important bridge between Korea and Japan, they have been treated as foreigners by both countries. While three is growing interest in Koreans overseas lately, there is little, if any, effort made to understand the life of the Korean-Japanese. 'The 100 Years of the Koreans in Japan' is the event aimed to take a close look at the life, the joys and sorrows, and the dream of the Korean-Japanese who have been 'the marginal' over the last 100 years in the histories of Korea and Japan. The event consisted of Special Exhibition (Aug.10-Sep.30), Movie playing (Aug.11-17), and History Film Symposium (Aug.10).

[Special Exhibition]

Modern Japanese Prejudice

Walk into the Special Exhibition Hall on the 1st floor of the Seoul Museum of History, and you will first find the nishikie (錦繪, color prints) exhibit themed 'Modern Japanese Prejudice.' This exhibit features a total of 174 pieces of 94 nishikie works, a part of the collection that the Director of the Korean Historical Museum in Japan Kang Deok-sang has built over the last 40 years, including 'Empress Jingu (神功)'s Conquest of Three Hans,' which offers a glance into how the Japanese prejudice against Korea had been created. At the heart of the Japanese colonial rule and discrimination against Korea (Joseon) was the deeply ingrained prejudice that historically Japan had been a superior and Korea an inferior.

The 100 Years of the Korean-Japanese: Their Life and Dream

The exhibit themed 'The 100 Years of the Korean-Japanese: Their Life and Dream' focuses on the history and life of the Koreans who went over to Japan during the colonial rule for the reasons of poverty, forced conscription, or the loss of means of their livelihood. The exhibit consists of 7 sections: Introduction; As Citizens of a Colony; Living Away from Home; For Abolishing Discrimination; Permanent Longing for Home; Overcoming Hardship; and A Portrait of Family. On display are a total of 987 pieces of 449 materials, including 'Certificate of Crossing' and 'Foreigner Registration,' which illustrate the history and life of the Korean-Japanese.
The exhibit also features the compelling stories of some Korean-Japanese; Rev. Choi Chang-hwa (1930-1995), who sued NHK in 1975 for pronouncing his name 'Sai Shoka' claiming that "it is infringement on human rights to pronounce the name of a Korean in Japanese style on air," and Jang Hoon, who made 3,085 hits in his career in the Japanese professional baseball league. Before walking out of the exhibit, the visitor will watch a heartbreaking video on a big screen of the life of Director Kang Deok-sang and the centennial history of the Korean-Japanese.

[Movie playing]

흔히When we Koreans think of the 'Korea-Japanese,' the first terms that come to mind may be forced conscription, discrimination, and identity. In Korea, there have been not many opportunities to be exposed to the detailed aspects of the life of the Korean-Japanese. This Movie playing was designed to offer an opportunity for Koreans to watch films that would allow them to understand and sympathize with the Korean-Japanese for their life, joys and sorrows.
The movies played are: 〈Elder Brother (1959)〉 directed by Shohei Imamura (今村昌平); 〈Muddy River (1981)〉 directed by Kohei Oguri (小栗康平); 〈Through the Night (2003)〉 directed by Kim Su-jin; 〈Love & Peace (2004)〉 directed by Gazuyuki Izutsu (井筒和幸); 〈Kazoku (Family) Cinema (1998)〉 directed by Park Cheol-soo; 〈Our School (2006)〉 directed by Kim Myeong-jun; and 〈Hidden Nail Marks (1983)〉 and 〈Abandoned Koreans (1986)〉 both directed by Oh Chung-gong. In particular, the last two films by Oh, dealing with the massacre of Koreans during the Great Kanto Earthquake, are very meaningful in that it was the first time that they were ever translated into Korean for this playing.

[Historical Film Symposium]

The Northeast Asian History Foundation has held the annual History Film Symposium in Japan from 2009 to 2011 for the purpose of using films to improve the citizens' understanding of the histories of Korea and Japan and lay a foundation for historical reconciliation. For this year's symposium, the Japanese director Shohei Imamura's movie 〈An Elder Brother (にあんちゃん)〉 made in 1959 was chosen for presentation and discussion of the life and history of the Korean-Japanese and how they were perceived. In this symposium, presided over by Hanyang University professor Yoon Sang-in, Waseda University professor Lee Sung-si and University of Tokyo professor Masaru Tonomura (外村大) gave keynote speeches titled 'Changes in Korea-Japan Relations as Seen from the Life of the Korean-Japanese' and 'Rethinking Our History, on the Occasion of the Special Exhibition of the History of Koreans in Japan,' respectively. And the ensuing discussion was participated by film critic Kim Jong-won, former Hankyeorye reporter Kim Hyo-soon, Asahi Shinbun Seoul Branch Manager Tetsuya Hakoda (箱田哲也), and myself, each of whom spoke from their points of view. While the unique historical circumstances under which the Korean-Japanese had been placed were debated during the presentation and discussion, it was also argued that the debate should be taken up to the levels of East Asia/human rights/multi cultures in light of the age of 'migration and diaspora.'

An Opportunity to Understand the Life and History of the Korean-Japanese

The number of foreign residents in Korea is 1,409,577, or 2.8 percent of the total number of registered residents (50,734,284), according to the '2012 Local Government's Survey of Foreign Residents' as of January 2012 released by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security of Korea. Hopefully, 'The 100 Years of the Koreans in Japan' will not only help better understand the life and history of the Korean-Japanese but take one step further toward creating a mature civil society where there is no discrimination against minorities.

This special exhibition will remain open to the public until September 30. Don't miss it. It's not late yet.