Chongryon
Encyclopedia
The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Ch'ongryŏnhaphoe in Korean
or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese
), abbreviated to Chongryon (Korean: 총련,
Hanja: 總聯) or Chōsen Sōren (Japanese: 朝鮮総連), is one of two main organisations for Zainichi (or Jaeil) Koreans
(long term Korean residents in Japan), and has close ties to North Korea
(DPRK). As there are no diplomatic relations between the two states
, it has functioned as North Korea's de facto embassy in Japan
.
Chongryon members primarily consist of those who have retained their nationality registration of Joseon
(Japanese: Chōsen), as opposed to those who have chosen to take up either Japanese or South Korean nationality. Joseon nationality was a legal definition that the Japanese government developed in the aftermath of World War II, when the government of Korean peninsula was in an undetermined state. Prior to the end of World War II, Korea was administered by the Japanese government as being part of Japan, thus the legal nationality of Koreans, both in Japan and in Korea, was Japanese.
The other main organization is called Mindan
, the Korean Residents Union In Japan, and consists of Zainichi Koreans who have adopted South Korea
n nationality. Currently, among 610,000 Korean residents in Japan who have not adopted Japanese nationality, 25 percent are members of Chongryon, and 65 percent are members of Mindan. Chongryon's strong links to North Korea, its allegiance to the North Korean ideology and its opposition to integration of Koreans into Japanese society have made it the more controversial of the two organisations in Japan.
Chongryon's headquarters are in Chiyoda, Tokyo
, and there are prefectural and regional head offices and branches throughout Japan.
There are numerous organisations affiliated with Chongryon, including eighteen mass propaganda bodies and twenty-three business enterprises. One of the most important business sectors is pachinko
. It also operates about 60 Korean schools and a Korean university, as well as banks and other facilities in Japan.
Its current Chairman, Seo Man-sul, and five other senior Chongryon officials are also members of the Supreme People's Assembly
(North Korea's parliament).
Long term ethnic Korean residents in Japan primarily consist of those, and descendants of, ethnic Koreans who settled in Japan as:
A 1953 government survey revealed that 93% were from the southern half of the Korean peninsula.
Until 1945, ethnic Koreans were Japanese nationals. The end of the Second World War left the nationality status of Koreans in an ambiguous position, as no functional nation existed on the Korean Peninsula. Their nationality was provisionally registered under the name of Joseon (Chōsen in Japanese, 朝鮮, 조선), the old name
of undivided Korea.
The 1948 declaration of independence by both South and North Korea made Joseon a defunct nation. Those with Joseon nationality were allowed to re-register their nationality to a South Korean one; however the same did not apply to North Korea due to the fact that Japan only recognises South Korea as the legitimate government of Korea, so supporters of the North retained their Joseon nationality.
Ethnic Koreans in Japan established the Association of Koreans in Japan in 1945, which followed a socialist ideology, and was banned in 1949 by the order of Allied occupation army
. The United Democratic Front of Korea in Japan was established in 1951, which was banned due to suspected involvement in the 1952 May Day riots.
In 1952, the North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung
called on the socialist zainichi Korean movement to be co-ordinated in close contact with the North Korean government, and to fight, not for a socialist revolution in Japan, but for the socialist reunification of the Korean peninsula.
Chongryon was established on May 25, 1955 by Han Deok Su, who was an activist for leftist labor movements in Japan. (The pro-South Mindan had already branched off from the main organisation in 1946).
In the late 1950s, Chongryon conducted a campaign to persuade Zainichi Koreans to migrate to North Korea, which it hailed as a socialist "Paradise on Earth". The campaign was vehemently opposed by Mindan which organised hunger strikes and train obstructions. Some 87,000 Zainichi Koreans and about 6000 Japanese spouses moved to the North. This experience was detailed in Kang Chol-Hwan
's autobiography Aquariums of Pyongyang. According to a defector, himself a former returnee, many petitioned to be returned to Japan and in response were sent to prison camps. Japanese research puts the number of Zainichi Korean returnees condemned to prison camps at around 10,000.
In 1990 Su-to Ha, former vice chief of organization for Chongryon who was expelled in 1972 for demanding democratic reforms, led a rally in Tokyo of 500 to protest against North Korea's human rights violations, in which protesters accused North Korea of holding the ex-Zainichi returnees captive in order to siphon money off remittances from their relatives in Japan.
, the official state ideology of North Korea.
Chongryon says it is committed to a peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula under North Korean Juche, and it does not recognise the Republic of Korea (South Korea). It refers to South Korea as Minami Chosen (Namjosŏn - "Southern Joseon"), as opposed to the usual term used in Japanese to refer to it: Kankoku (hanguk). (See Names of Korea
).
Chongryon opposes the use of the Japanese word Kita-Chosen ("North Korea") as an abbreviation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It refers to the country as "kyowakoku" ("The Republic") or "sokoku" ("The Fatherland"). In 1972 Chongryon campaigned to get the Japanese media to stop referring to North Korea as Kita-Chosen. This effort was not successful, but as a compromise most media companies agreed to refer to the DPRK with its full official title at least once in every article. This policy was recently abandoned by most newspapers and TV stations, on the basis that other nations with naming issues such as South Korea (ROK) and Taiwan (ROC) aren't necessarily referred to by their official names.
Chongryon claims to be a representative body of overseas North Korean citizens living in Japan, and reject the notion that they are a mere ethnic minority.
Out of the two main Korean organisations in Japan, Chongryon has been the more militant in terms of advocating retention of Korean ethnic identity. It is generally opposed to Korean-Japanese integration into Japanese society; for example it discourages its members from naturalising as Japanese citizens, or marrying Japanese (which it calls an "international marriage"). It even goes as far as rejecting zainichi Koreans' right to vote or participate in Japanese regional elections, which it sees as an unacceptable attempt at assimilation into Japanese society. This is in contrast to Mindan, which is campaigning for wider zainichi Korean participation in Japanese politics.
Chongryon-affiliated organisations operate businesses and banks to provide the necessary jobs, services and social networks for Zainichi Koreans outside of mainstream society. Chongryon supporters are thought to control as much as one third of the pachinko
industry in Japan
. An important function of these enterprises is earning hard currency to be remitted to Pyongyang. These remittances have been estimated at between $600 million and $1.9 billion each year, but are probably much lower. Chongryong also announced plans on March 17, 2010 to open three restaurants in Pyongyang; each restaurant will be managed by the main headquarter in Tokyo, the Kantō regional chapter, and the Kinki-Tōkai regional chapter.
Chongryon publishes a newspaper (Chosen Shinpo) as well as various magazines and other publications. Websites run by Chongryon-affiliated organisations include the English language People's Korea. Chongryon also runs various cultural activities and sports teams representing its members.
Chongryon organises trips by members to North Korea, usually to visit relatives, as well as educational visits for students of Korean schools. They operate Mangyongbong-92
, a passenger and cargo ferry which links Niigata
in Japan to Wonsan
in North Korea, which serves as the only direct link between the two countries, and is a subject of much controversy. The ferry was barred from entering the Japanese port for 6 months in response to North Korea's July 2006 missile tests and was banned indefinitely following the 2006 North Korean nuclear test
.
The Congress, the highest legislative organ of Chongryon, has met every three years since 1961 to discuss its agenda, the election of key leaders and its budget.
, initially partly funded by the North Korean government. All lessons, and all conversations within the school are conducted in Korean. They teach a strong pro-North Korean ideology and allegiance to Kim Il-Sung
and Kim Jong-Il
. They are not classified as regular schools under Japanese law as they do not follow the national curriculum.
Their militant stance is increasingly coming under criticism from pupils, parents and the public alike. The number of pupils receiving ethnic education from Chongryon-affiliated schools has declined sharply in recent years, down to about 15,000 in 2004 from a high of 46,000 in the early 1970s, with many, if not most, Zainichi now opting to send their children to mainstream Japanese schools. As of March 2010, there were 12 Chosen high schools with an enrollment of about 2,000 students.
The schools were initially funded by North Korea, but this money has now dried up. Today funding comes partly from local Japanese authorities, but many schools are facing financial difficulties. The Japanese government has refused Chongryon's requests that it fund Korean schools, citing Article 89 of the Japanese Constitution, according to which use of public funds for education by "schemes not under public control" is prohibited. Chongryon calls this an act of racial discrimination. Funding from local authorities usually takes place in the form of special benefits paid to the families of pupils, as opposed to paying the schools directly, in order to avoid a blatant breach of Article 89.
Mindan has also traditionally operated a school system for the children of its members, although it has been always been less widespread and organized compared to its Chongryon counterpart, and is said to be nearly defunct at the present time.
Another issue is an examination called the High School Equivalency Test, or daiken, which qualifies those who have not graduated from a regular high school to apply for a place in a state university and take an entrance exam. Until recently, only those who had completed compulsory education (i.e. up to junior high school) were entitled to take the daiken; this meant pupils of ethnic schools had to do extra courses before being allowed to take the exam. In 1999 the requirement was amended so that anyone over a certain age is qualified. Campaigners were not satisfied because this still meant graduates of non-Japanese high schools had to take the daiken. In 2003, the Education Ministry removed the requirement to take the Equivalency Test from graduates of Chinese schools, Mindan-run Korean schools and international schools affiliated with Western nations and accredited by American and British organisations. However this did not apply to graduates of Chongryon schools, saying it could not approve their curricula. The decision was left up to individual universities, 70% of which allowed Chongryon school graduates to apply directly.
The North Korean government sponsored Chongryon schools for 50 years with "funds for educational support" and "scholarships" totaling around 46 billion yen. The Japanese government has proposed covering the tuition for all private high schools in Japan, with the exception of the Chosen schools. As the Chosen high schools are not being covered by the tuition support, there have been conflicts within the Chongryon whether to make amends of school policies or keep them as is.
The Zaitokukai
received criticism from the District Court for harassing Chongryon-affiliated schoolchildren.
, the pro-South Korean group, the larger and less politically controversial faction.
In general, Chongryon is a declining organization primarily maintained by older Zainichi Chosenjin who appreciate the contributions the organization and the North Korean government has made to their lives, regardless of present political conditions. In comparison, third- and fourth-generation Zainichi Chosenjin have largely given up active participation or loyalty to the Chongryon ideology. Reasons stated for this increased disassociation include widespread mainstream tolerance of Koreans by Japanese in recent years, greatly reducing the need to rely on Chongryon, and the increasing unpopularity of Kim Jong Il even among loyal members of Chongryon. Many Zainichi Chosenjin also felt deeply betrayed by the North Korean government's recent admission that it had kidnapped at least 13 Japanese citizens
over the years, because Chongryon had been categorically and fiercely denying for many years that the abductions had ever taken place. Whether the officials of Chongryon knew of the kidnappings or not, ordinary members of Chongryon who had believed the party line felt deeply humiliated and disillusioned upon discovering that they had been used as mouthpieces to deny serious wrongdoing by North Korea.
and its abduction of Japanese nationals
has led to a resurgence of public animosity against Chongryon due to its active support of the Pyongyang regime. Acts which Chongryon officials are suspected of include illicit transfer of funds to North Korea, espionage, and smuggling of technology and missile parts.
Since allegations of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme first surfaced in the early 1990s, Chongryon has frequently reported being targeted by hate mail, malicious phone calls, and numerous incidents. Chongryon facilities have also frequently been sites of protests by Japanese right-wing groups.
The Japanese authorities have recently started to crack down on Chongryon activities, moves usually criticised by Chongryon as acts of political suppression.
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
), abbreviated to Chongryon (Korean: 총련,
Hanja: 總聯) or Chōsen Sōren (Japanese: 朝鮮総連), is one of two main organisations for Zainichi (or Jaeil) Koreans
Zainichi Korean
Koreans in Japan are the ethnic Korean residents of Japan. They currently constitute the second largest ethnic minority group in Japan. The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans, also often known as Zainichi for short, who are the permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan...
(long term Korean residents in Japan), and has close ties to North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
(DPRK). As there are no diplomatic relations between the two states
Japan-Korea relations
Korea-Japan relations are the relations between Korea and Japan. In a modern context, these relations pertain to three states: Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. Japan and Korea have had cultural interactions for over a thousand years and direct political contact almost as long...
, it has functioned as North Korea's de facto embassy in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Chongryon members primarily consist of those who have retained their nationality registration of Joseon
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
(Japanese: Chōsen), as opposed to those who have chosen to take up either Japanese or South Korean nationality. Joseon nationality was a legal definition that the Japanese government developed in the aftermath of World War II, when the government of Korean peninsula was in an undetermined state. Prior to the end of World War II, Korea was administered by the Japanese government as being part of Japan, thus the legal nationality of Koreans, both in Japan and in Korea, was Japanese.
The other main organization is called Mindan
Mindan
Mindan , or the Korean Residents Union in Japan, is the name of one of two main organizations for Koreans living in Japan, the other being Chongryon. Mindan has ties to South Korea and was established in 1946 in Tokyo, Japan...
, the Korean Residents Union In Japan, and consists of Zainichi Koreans who have adopted South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n nationality. Currently, among 610,000 Korean residents in Japan who have not adopted Japanese nationality, 25 percent are members of Chongryon, and 65 percent are members of Mindan. Chongryon's strong links to North Korea, its allegiance to the North Korean ideology and its opposition to integration of Koreans into Japanese society have made it the more controversial of the two organisations in Japan.
Chongryon's headquarters are in Chiyoda, Tokyo
Chiyoda, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda ward. As of October 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 45,543 and a population density of 3,912 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards...
, and there are prefectural and regional head offices and branches throughout Japan.
There are numerous organisations affiliated with Chongryon, including eighteen mass propaganda bodies and twenty-three business enterprises. One of the most important business sectors is pachinko
Pachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
. It also operates about 60 Korean schools and a Korean university, as well as banks and other facilities in Japan.
Its current Chairman, Seo Man-sul, and five other senior Chongryon officials are also members of the Supreme People's Assembly
Supreme People's Assembly
The Supreme People's Assembly is the unicameral parliament of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea...
(North Korea's parliament).
Background and history
- Migrants during Japan's rule over Korea (1910–1945)
- Conscripted labourers during the Second World War
- Post-WW2 refugees, especially from Jeju island escaping the 1948 Jeju massacreJeju massacreThe Jeju Uprising was a revolt on Jeju island off the south coast of the Korean Peninsula, beginning on April 3, 1948. Between 14,000 and 60,000 individuals were killed in fighting or execution between various fractions on the island...
.
A 1953 government survey revealed that 93% were from the southern half of the Korean peninsula.
Until 1945, ethnic Koreans were Japanese nationals. The end of the Second World War left the nationality status of Koreans in an ambiguous position, as no functional nation existed on the Korean Peninsula. Their nationality was provisionally registered under the name of Joseon (Chōsen in Japanese, 朝鮮, 조선), the old name
Names of Korea
There are various names of Korea in use today, derived from ancient kingdoms and dynasties. The modern English name Korea is an exonym derived from the Goryeo period and is used by both North Korea and South Korea in international contexts...
of undivided Korea.
The 1948 declaration of independence by both South and North Korea made Joseon a defunct nation. Those with Joseon nationality were allowed to re-register their nationality to a South Korean one; however the same did not apply to North Korea due to the fact that Japan only recognises South Korea as the legitimate government of Korea, so supporters of the North retained their Joseon nationality.
Ethnic Koreans in Japan established the Association of Koreans in Japan in 1945, which followed a socialist ideology, and was banned in 1949 by the order of Allied occupation army
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
. The United Democratic Front of Korea in Japan was established in 1951, which was banned due to suspected involvement in the 1952 May Day riots.
In 1952, the North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
called on the socialist zainichi Korean movement to be co-ordinated in close contact with the North Korean government, and to fight, not for a socialist revolution in Japan, but for the socialist reunification of the Korean peninsula.
Chongryon was established on May 25, 1955 by Han Deok Su, who was an activist for leftist labor movements in Japan. (The pro-South Mindan had already branched off from the main organisation in 1946).
In the late 1950s, Chongryon conducted a campaign to persuade Zainichi Koreans to migrate to North Korea, which it hailed as a socialist "Paradise on Earth". The campaign was vehemently opposed by Mindan which organised hunger strikes and train obstructions. Some 87,000 Zainichi Koreans and about 6000 Japanese spouses moved to the North. This experience was detailed in Kang Chol-Hwan
Kang Chol-Hwan
Kang Chol-Hwan is a defector from North Korea. As a child he was imprisoned in the Yodok concentration camp for 10 years; after his release he fled the country, first to China and eventually to South Korea...
's autobiography Aquariums of Pyongyang. According to a defector, himself a former returnee, many petitioned to be returned to Japan and in response were sent to prison camps. Japanese research puts the number of Zainichi Korean returnees condemned to prison camps at around 10,000.
In 1990 Su-to Ha, former vice chief of organization for Chongryon who was expelled in 1972 for demanding democratic reforms, led a rally in Tokyo of 500 to protest against North Korea's human rights violations, in which protesters accused North Korea of holding the ex-Zainichi returnees captive in order to siphon money off remittances from their relatives in Japan.
Conflict with South Korea
The South Korean National Election Commission has considered to prevent Chongryon residents from voting in the 2012 South Korean Presidential Election.Ideology
On their website, Chongryon claims that all their activities are based around the concept of JucheJuche
Juche or Chuch'e is a Korean word usually translated as "self-reliance." In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , "Juche" refers specifically to a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea, that identifies the Korean masses as the masters of the country's development...
, the official state ideology of North Korea.
Chongryon says it is committed to a peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula under North Korean Juche, and it does not recognise the Republic of Korea (South Korea). It refers to South Korea as Minami Chosen (Namjosŏn - "Southern Joseon"), as opposed to the usual term used in Japanese to refer to it: Kankoku (hanguk). (See Names of Korea
Names of Korea
There are various names of Korea in use today, derived from ancient kingdoms and dynasties. The modern English name Korea is an exonym derived from the Goryeo period and is used by both North Korea and South Korea in international contexts...
).
Chongryon opposes the use of the Japanese word Kita-Chosen ("North Korea") as an abbreviation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It refers to the country as "kyowakoku" ("The Republic") or "sokoku" ("The Fatherland"). In 1972 Chongryon campaigned to get the Japanese media to stop referring to North Korea as Kita-Chosen. This effort was not successful, but as a compromise most media companies agreed to refer to the DPRK with its full official title at least once in every article. This policy was recently abandoned by most newspapers and TV stations, on the basis that other nations with naming issues such as South Korea (ROK) and Taiwan (ROC) aren't necessarily referred to by their official names.
Chongryon claims to be a representative body of overseas North Korean citizens living in Japan, and reject the notion that they are a mere ethnic minority.
Out of the two main Korean organisations in Japan, Chongryon has been the more militant in terms of advocating retention of Korean ethnic identity. It is generally opposed to Korean-Japanese integration into Japanese society; for example it discourages its members from naturalising as Japanese citizens, or marrying Japanese (which it calls an "international marriage"). It even goes as far as rejecting zainichi Koreans' right to vote or participate in Japanese regional elections, which it sees as an unacceptable attempt at assimilation into Japanese society. This is in contrast to Mindan, which is campaigning for wider zainichi Korean participation in Japanese politics.
Activities
Chongryon runs various support and advisory services for members, such as legal and marriage advice and employment help. It is also responsible for issuing North Korean passports.Chongryon-affiliated organisations operate businesses and banks to provide the necessary jobs, services and social networks for Zainichi Koreans outside of mainstream society. Chongryon supporters are thought to control as much as one third of the pachinko
Pachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
industry in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. An important function of these enterprises is earning hard currency to be remitted to Pyongyang. These remittances have been estimated at between $600 million and $1.9 billion each year, but are probably much lower. Chongryong also announced plans on March 17, 2010 to open three restaurants in Pyongyang; each restaurant will be managed by the main headquarter in Tokyo, the Kantō regional chapter, and the Kinki-Tōkai regional chapter.
Chongryon publishes a newspaper (Chosen Shinpo) as well as various magazines and other publications. Websites run by Chongryon-affiliated organisations include the English language People's Korea. Chongryon also runs various cultural activities and sports teams representing its members.
Chongryon organises trips by members to North Korea, usually to visit relatives, as well as educational visits for students of Korean schools. They operate Mangyongbong-92
Mangyongbong-92
The Mangyongbong-92, named after a hill near Pyongyang, is a passenger ferry built in 1992 to celebrate the North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung's 80th birthday. The ferry was built with funds from Chongryon, the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.The ferry makes 20 to 30...
, a passenger and cargo ferry which links Niigata
Niigata, Niigata
is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island....
in Japan to Wonsan
Wonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
in North Korea, which serves as the only direct link between the two countries, and is a subject of much controversy. The ferry was barred from entering the Japanese port for 6 months in response to North Korea's July 2006 missile tests and was banned indefinitely following the 2006 North Korean nuclear test
2006 North Korean nuclear test
The 2006 North Korean nuclear test was the detonation of a nuclear device conducted on October 9, 2006 by North Korea.North Korea announced its intention to conduct a test on October 3, six days prior, and in doing so became the first nation to give warning of its first nuclear test...
.
The Congress, the highest legislative organ of Chongryon, has met every three years since 1961 to discuss its agenda, the election of key leaders and its budget.
Korean schools
Chongryon operates 140 ethnic Korean schools (chosen gakko 朝鮮学校 or chosǒn hakkyo 조선학교) across Japan, including kindergartens and one university, Korea UniversityKorea University (Japan)
Korea University is a university located in Kodaira, Tokyo. It was established by ethnic activist association and de-facto North Korean embassy Chongryon on 10 April 1956. Korean is the medium of instruction...
, initially partly funded by the North Korean government. All lessons, and all conversations within the school are conducted in Korean. They teach a strong pro-North Korean ideology and allegiance to Kim Il-Sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
and Kim Jong-Il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
. They are not classified as regular schools under Japanese law as they do not follow the national curriculum.
Their militant stance is increasingly coming under criticism from pupils, parents and the public alike. The number of pupils receiving ethnic education from Chongryon-affiliated schools has declined sharply in recent years, down to about 15,000 in 2004 from a high of 46,000 in the early 1970s, with many, if not most, Zainichi now opting to send their children to mainstream Japanese schools. As of March 2010, there were 12 Chosen high schools with an enrollment of about 2,000 students.
The schools were initially funded by North Korea, but this money has now dried up. Today funding comes partly from local Japanese authorities, but many schools are facing financial difficulties. The Japanese government has refused Chongryon's requests that it fund Korean schools, citing Article 89 of the Japanese Constitution, according to which use of public funds for education by "schemes not under public control" is prohibited. Chongryon calls this an act of racial discrimination. Funding from local authorities usually takes place in the form of special benefits paid to the families of pupils, as opposed to paying the schools directly, in order to avoid a blatant breach of Article 89.
Mindan has also traditionally operated a school system for the children of its members, although it has been always been less widespread and organized compared to its Chongryon counterpart, and is said to be nearly defunct at the present time.
Another issue is an examination called the High School Equivalency Test, or daiken, which qualifies those who have not graduated from a regular high school to apply for a place in a state university and take an entrance exam. Until recently, only those who had completed compulsory education (i.e. up to junior high school) were entitled to take the daiken; this meant pupils of ethnic schools had to do extra courses before being allowed to take the exam. In 1999 the requirement was amended so that anyone over a certain age is qualified. Campaigners were not satisfied because this still meant graduates of non-Japanese high schools had to take the daiken. In 2003, the Education Ministry removed the requirement to take the Equivalency Test from graduates of Chinese schools, Mindan-run Korean schools and international schools affiliated with Western nations and accredited by American and British organisations. However this did not apply to graduates of Chongryon schools, saying it could not approve their curricula. The decision was left up to individual universities, 70% of which allowed Chongryon school graduates to apply directly.
The North Korean government sponsored Chongryon schools for 50 years with "funds for educational support" and "scholarships" totaling around 46 billion yen. The Japanese government has proposed covering the tuition for all private high schools in Japan, with the exception of the Chosen schools. As the Chosen high schools are not being covered by the tuition support, there have been conflicts within the Chongryon whether to make amends of school policies or keep them as is.
The Zaitokukai
Zaitokukai
, is a Japanese group, led by Makoto Sakurai . The group opposed what it calls "special privilege" for Zainichi Koreans, a term for long-term residents in Japan with South Korean or North Korean nationalities.- Incidents :...
received criticism from the District Court for harassing Chongryon-affiliated schoolchildren.
Decline in membership
Until well into at least the 1970s, Chongryon was the dominant Zainichi group, and in some ways remains more politically significant today in Japan. However, the widening disparity between the political and economic conditions of the two Koreas has since made MindanMindan
Mindan , or the Korean Residents Union in Japan, is the name of one of two main organizations for Koreans living in Japan, the other being Chongryon. Mindan has ties to South Korea and was established in 1946 in Tokyo, Japan...
, the pro-South Korean group, the larger and less politically controversial faction.
In general, Chongryon is a declining organization primarily maintained by older Zainichi Chosenjin who appreciate the contributions the organization and the North Korean government has made to their lives, regardless of present political conditions. In comparison, third- and fourth-generation Zainichi Chosenjin have largely given up active participation or loyalty to the Chongryon ideology. Reasons stated for this increased disassociation include widespread mainstream tolerance of Koreans by Japanese in recent years, greatly reducing the need to rely on Chongryon, and the increasing unpopularity of Kim Jong Il even among loyal members of Chongryon. Many Zainichi Chosenjin also felt deeply betrayed by the North Korean government's recent admission that it had kidnapped at least 13 Japanese citizens
North Korean abductions of Japanese
The abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government happened during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. Although only 17 Japanese are officially recognized by the Japanese government as having been abducted, there may have been as many as 70 to 80...
over the years, because Chongryon had been categorically and fiercely denying for many years that the abductions had ever taken place. Whether the officials of Chongryon knew of the kidnappings or not, ordinary members of Chongryon who had believed the party line felt deeply humiliated and disillusioned upon discovering that they had been used as mouthpieces to deny serious wrongdoing by North Korea.
Controversies over Chongryon
For a long time, Chongryon enjoyed unofficial immunity from searches and investigations, partly out of respect for its role as North Korea's de facto embassy, and partly due to its power as a political pressure group. However, escalating tensions between Japan and North Korea over a number of issues, namely its nuclear weapons programmeNorth Korea and weapons of mass destruction
North Korea has declared that it has nuclear weapons and is believed by many to have nuclear weapons. The CIA assesses that North Korea also has a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons...
and its abduction of Japanese nationals
North Korean abductions of Japanese
The abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government happened during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. Although only 17 Japanese are officially recognized by the Japanese government as having been abducted, there may have been as many as 70 to 80...
has led to a resurgence of public animosity against Chongryon due to its active support of the Pyongyang regime. Acts which Chongryon officials are suspected of include illicit transfer of funds to North Korea, espionage, and smuggling of technology and missile parts.
Since allegations of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme first surfaced in the early 1990s, Chongryon has frequently reported being targeted by hate mail, malicious phone calls, and numerous incidents. Chongryon facilities have also frequently been sites of protests by Japanese right-wing groups.
- There have been numerous incidents of students of Chongryon schools, identifiable by their uniforms based on traditional Korean costumes, suffering verbal abuse. Furthermore, around May and June 1994 there was a series of physical assaults on Chongryon students in which their uniforms were cut; this was reported heavily in the Japanese media and triggered a Ministry of Justice investigation.
- In 1998, a petrol bomb was thrown at Chongryon's headquarters in Tokyo, causing minor damage.
- In June 2003, a shot was fired into a Chongryon warehouse in Niigata, hitting cargo waiting to be loaded onto Mangyongbong-92Mangyongbong-92The Mangyongbong-92, named after a hill near Pyongyang, is a passenger ferry built in 1992 to celebrate the North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung's 80th birthday. The ferry was built with funds from Chongryon, the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.The ferry makes 20 to 30...
. - In October 2006 in the aftermath of North Korea's first nuclear test, a suspected arson attack damaged a bamboo grove inside Chongryon's school in MitoMito, Ibarakiis the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and has a central location, moderately offset towards the coast in that prefecture. As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 263,748 and a total area is 217.45 km², giving a population density of 1,212.91 persons per km²...
. A 15 year old female student was pelted with eggs at the school the same day.
The Japanese authorities have recently started to crack down on Chongryon activities, moves usually criticised by Chongryon as acts of political suppression.
- The first raid on Chongryon facilities was in 1994, when a rally held in Osaka by Rescue the North Korean People! (RENK), a Japanese citizens group set up to help refugees and demand democracy and human rights in North Korea, was attacked and broken up by a 100-strong mob. Police investigations revealed that the disruption was orchestrated by Chongryon.
- In November 2001, police raided the Tokyo headquarters of Chongryon and its Tokyo regional office as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement by one of it senior officials. This followed an arrest of Kang Young Kwan, 66, a member of Chongryon's central standing committee and a former head of its financial bureau, among other Chongryon officials, who admitted diverting $6.5 million on behalf of Chongryon from the Tokyo Chogin, a credit union set up to serve pro-North Korean residents which failed in 1999. About 400 Chongroyn supporters scuffled with police after they gathered in protest at what they called an act of political suppression and racial discrimination.
- In 2002, Shotaro Tochigi, deputy head of the Public Security Intelligence AgencyPublic Security Intelligence AgencyThe is the national intelligence agency of Japan. It is administered by the Ministry of Justice in the government of Japan, and is tasked with internal security and espionage against threats to Japanese national security based on the Subversive Activities Prevention Act.As the national agency with...
told a session of the House of Representatives Financial Affairs Committee that the agency is investigating Chongryon for suspected illicit transfers of funds to the North. - In 2003, a North Korean defector made a statement to the US Senate committee stating that more than 90% of the parts used by North Korea to construct its missiles were brought from Japan aboard Mangyongbong-92Mangyongbong-92The Mangyongbong-92, named after a hill near Pyongyang, is a passenger ferry built in 1992 to celebrate the North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung's 80th birthday. The ferry was built with funds from Chongryon, the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.The ferry makes 20 to 30...
, a Chongryon-operated ship which is the only regular direct link between North Korea and Japan. - In 2003, The Associated Press reported that Japanese authorities are preparing to charge a 72-year old former senior member of Chongryon who was engaged in espionage activities for using false identity. It was claimed that espionage instructions were relayed to him by the captain of Mangyongbong-92. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters "We must watch (the vessel) closely lest it be used for crime."
- In July 2003, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reversed a decision made in 1972 by the Marxist Governor Ryokichi MinobeRyokichi Minobewas a Japanese politician who served as Governor of Tokyo from 1967 to 1979. He is one of the best known socialist figures in modern Japanese history.-Early life:Minobe was born in Tokyo...
to exempt Chongryon from property tax. Chongryon refused to pay, resulting in seizure of three Chongryon properties. - In March 2006, following a ruling by Fukuoka High Court, the Internal Affairs Ministry instructed prefectural governments across Japan to review any property tax exemptions on Chongryon properties. Some local authorities resisted the move.
- In March 2006, police raided six Chongryon-related facilities in an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the June 1980 disappearance of one of the alleged abductees, Tadaaki Hara. Police spokesman said that the head of Chongryon at the time is suspected of co-operating in his kidnap.
- In May 2006, Chongryon and the pro-South Mindan agreed to reconcile, only for the agreement to break down the following month due to Mindan's distrust of Chongryon. North Korea's missile testsNorth Korean missile test, 2006Two rounds of North Korean missile tests were conducted on July 5, 2006. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea reportedly fired at least seven separate missiles...
in July 2006 have deepened the divide, with Chongryon refusing to condemn the missile tests, expressing only its regret that the Japanese government has suspended the operation of the Mangyongbong-92. Outraged senior Mindan officials joined mainstream Japanese politicians and media in sharply criticizing Chongryon's silence over the matter. - In November 2006, police raided the Chongryon's Tokyo headquarters in an investigation behind an attempt to illegally export 60 bags of intravenous solutions to North Korea. The solution was intercepted by Japanese customs as they were taken aboard Mangyongbong-92. It was reported that the solutions could have been used to make biological weapons, a claim denied by Chongryon. Crowds of Chongryon supporters tried to block access to the building, leading to deployment of riot police.
- In Feb 2007, police in Hokkaido raided ten locations linked to Chongryon, including its Hokkaido head office in Sapporo and a famous mutton yakinikuYakinikuYakiniku , meaning "grilled meat", is a Japanese term which, in its broadest sense, refers to grilled meat dishes. The present style of yakiniku restaurants are derived from the Korean restaurants in Osaka and Tokyo which were opened around 1945....
restaurant owned by a senior Chongryon official in SusukinoSusukinois a red-light district located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is one of the major red-light districts in Japan along with Kabukichō, Tokyo, and Nakasu, Fukuoka. Currently, the district is congested with many restaurants, bars, hotels, and adult-entertainment establishments...
, Sapporo, over alleged tax evasion amounting to tens of millions of yen. Four people, including the restaurant owner and a senior official of Chongryon's Sapporo chamber of commerce and industry, were arrested. - Also in Feb 2007, Police raided several locations including Chongryon's Hyogo headquarters in Kobe, and arrested three people, including Song Gi Hwan, who heads the accounting division of Chongryon's Hyogo chamber of commerce and industry, over alleged unlicensed accounting. Riot police scuffled with a crowd of Chongryon supporters who gathered in protest. Footage of the raids were later released by Chongryon.
- On 3 March 2007, thousands of Chongryon members staged a rally in Hibiya ParkHibiya Parkis a park in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, Japan. It covers an area of 161,636.66m2 between the east gardens of the Imperial Palace to the north, the Shinbashi district to the southeast and the Kasumigaseki government district to the west....
in protest against police investigations into the organisation and bullying of schoolchildren, which they called "political suppression and human rights abuses" by the Japanese authorities. The protesters, who numbered between 3000 (according to local media) and 7000 (according to Chongryon), staged a 2.9 km-long march wielding posters of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. Chongryon's number two, Nam Sung-U was quoted as saying "Japan's violations of human rights against the DPRK and Koreans in Japan cannot be allowed, no matter what". The Tokyo Metropolitan Government attempted to ban the protest fearing violence but they were overruled by a court ruling. Riot police scuffled with Japanese ultranationalist groupsUyoku dantaiUyoku dantai are Japanese nationalist right-wing groups.In 1996, the National Police Agency estimated that there are over 1000 right wing groups in Japan with about 100,000 members in total.-Tennō period:...
who had gathered in counterprotest resulting in one arrest. - In June 2007, it was reported that Chongryon attempted to sell its main headquarters to Shigetake Ogata, (ex-head of the Public Security Intelligence AgencyPublic Security Intelligence AgencyThe is the national intelligence agency of Japan. It is administered by the Ministry of Justice in the government of Japan, and is tasked with internal security and espionage against threats to Japanese national security based on the Subversive Activities Prevention Act.As the national agency with...
who now leads an investment firm) due to financial troubles and tensions with the Japanese government, however creditors moved to block the sale in court and, according to North Korea's official news service article of June 22, 2007, the courts granted a Japanese collection agency the right to dispose of the property.
Schools and institutions under Chongryon
- 3 Kindergartens
- 19 Elementary schools
- 34 Elementary schools with junior high school
- 5 Elementary schools with junior and high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
- 2 Junior high schools
- 3 Junior high schools with high school
- 4 High schools
- 1 UniversityUniversityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
- Korea University (Japan)Korea University (Japan)Korea University is a university located in Kodaira, Tokyo. It was established by ethnic activist association and de-facto North Korean embassy Chongryon on 10 April 1956. Korean is the medium of instruction... - 8 BankBankA bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s - Zainichi Korean Science and Technology Association
- Chugai TravelChugai Travelis a travel agency based in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is a Zainichi Korean Chongryon-affiliated company that caters international travels and especially international travels to North Korea. Its current CEO is Han Jeong-chi . It also has package deals for people with Japanese passports to tour North...
External links
- Chongryon official website (Korean & Japanese) Note: Connection to this site is blocked in South Korea.
- Identity crisis for Japan's Koreans - BBC
- Japan’s Korean Residents Caught in the Japan-North Korea Crossfire - series of articles about Chongryon originally published by Asahi.com
- Testing Tolerance article on Chongryon schools in Tokyo