Lee Kyung-jae
Encyclopedia
Lee Kyung-jae is an ethnic Korean community organiser in Japan
.
n nationality, he grew up in Nariai, an impoverished Korean village. His father was a day labourer
, while his mother worked in a quarry
; the two were illiterate
in both Japanese
and Korean
. Further, his mother, who had immigrated to Japan at the age of three, had forgotten how to speak Korean, and as a result, their home language
was exclusively Japanese. Lee used the Japanese pass name Takayasu Keisai, and felt ashamed of being Korean due to his poverty; he revealed his Korean name to his classmates at his middle school graduation, but upon entering high school, he resumed the use of his pass name.
. The name came from mukuge, the Japanese word for hibiscus syriacus
, a former symbol of resistance to Japanese colonial rule in Korea
and the national flower of South Korea. He hoped to address the problems of violence and delinquency among Korean youth in Osaka; he chose to found a new association rather than work through existing ethnic associations such as Mindan
or Chongryon
because he felt both were more concerned with the politics of the Korean peninsula
than of local Korean communities in Japan. Though at first they made little progress, their children's programme, founded in 1978, in Nariai was particularly successful; in 1985, they began a campaign which resulted in the establishment of a division in the city board of education devoted exclusively to education for ethnic Koreans, and the elimination of the requirement that city employees hold Japanese nationality.
In 2006, Lee naturalised as a Japanese citizen in order to run for a position in the assembly of Osaka Prefecture
. Running from his hometown, the Takatsuki electoral district, he estimated that he would require 13,000 votes to gain a seat. Though in the past, he had held on to his South Korean nationality as an expression of his identity, and joined campaigns demanding suffrage for foreign residents, he naturalised for the express purpose of representing foreign residents and other minorities in local politics. If elected, he would have been Osaka's first ethnic Korean assembly member; he hoped that his campaign would provide an opportunity for Koreans who had taken up Japanese nationality to strengthen their ethnic identity and express it openly to the society at large. However, in the end, out of six candidates competing for five seats, he came in last, with only 2,543 votes out of 127,646 cast (compared to 19,475 for the fifth-place candidate).
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...
.
Early life
Born to Zainichi Korean parents holding South KoreaSouth 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, he grew up in Nariai, an impoverished Korean village. His father was a day labourer
Day labor
Day labor is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. It is a form of contingent work.-Types:Day laborers find work through three common routes....
, while his mother worked in a quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
; the two were illiterate
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
in both 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...
and Korean
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...
. Further, his mother, who had immigrated to Japan at the age of three, had forgotten how to speak Korean, and as a result, their home language
Home language
Following a widely accepted definition by Valdes , a heritage language is a language that is acquired by individuals raised in homes where the dominant language of the region, such as English in the United States, is not spoken or not exclusively spoken...
was exclusively Japanese. Lee used the Japanese pass name Takayasu Keisai, and felt ashamed of being Korean due to his poverty; he revealed his Korean name to his classmates at his middle school graduation, but upon entering high school, he resumed the use of his pass name.
Political career
After Lee graduated from high school in 1972, his former teachers provided him with no assistance in finding a job. While supporting himself through part-time work, he founded Mukuge no Kai, one of the predecessor organisations of MintohrenMintohren
Mintohren, also Mintōren, is a grass-roots movement created by young Zainichi Koreans to combat ethnic discrimination by encouraging a multicultural and positive approach to integration of Koreans into Japanese society...
. The name came from mukuge, the Japanese word for hibiscus syriacus
Hibiscus syriacus
Hibiscus syriacus is a widely cultivated ornamental shrub in the genus Hibiscus. Common names include Rose of Sharon , Shrub Althea and Rose Althea.-Growth:...
, a former symbol of resistance to Japanese colonial rule in Korea
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
and the national flower of South Korea. He hoped to address the problems of violence and delinquency among Korean youth in Osaka; he chose to found a new association rather than work through existing ethnic associations such as 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...
or Chongryon
Chongryon
The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan , abbreviated to Chongryon 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 The General Association of Korean Residents...
because he felt both were more concerned with the politics of the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
than of local Korean communities in Japan. Though at first they made little progress, their children's programme, founded in 1978, in Nariai was particularly successful; in 1985, they began a campaign which resulted in the establishment of a division in the city board of education devoted exclusively to education for ethnic Koreans, and the elimination of the requirement that city employees hold Japanese nationality.
In 2006, Lee naturalised as a Japanese citizen in order to run for a position in the assembly of Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
. Running from his hometown, the Takatsuki electoral district, he estimated that he would require 13,000 votes to gain a seat. Though in the past, he had held on to his South Korean nationality as an expression of his identity, and joined campaigns demanding suffrage for foreign residents, he naturalised for the express purpose of representing foreign residents and other minorities in local politics. If elected, he would have been Osaka's first ethnic Korean assembly member; he hoped that his campaign would provide an opportunity for Koreans who had taken up Japanese nationality to strengthen their ethnic identity and express it openly to the society at large. However, in the end, out of six candidates competing for five seats, he came in last, with only 2,543 votes out of 127,646 cast (compared to 19,475 for the fifth-place candidate).