<論文>分離主義的教育空間の誕生 : 「朝鮮学校」の歴史

Abstract

From the Liberation in 1945 to today, it is no exaggeration to say that the history of Koreans in Japan is the history of their 'Minzokukyoiku (ethnic education)'. Soon after the liberation, they started ethnic education to teach their children in preparation for their return to their fatherland. When they abandoned plans for returning, the contents of their education changed to deal with their new life in Japan. There are two types of Minzokukyoiku in Korean society in Japan. One is the Minzokugakkyu (ethnic classes in Japanese public school), and the other is Minzokugakkou (ethnic school). Minzokugakkou is divided along political lines, i.e. South Korean schools and North Korean schools. Since South Korean schools are very few, most Minzokugakkou in Japan are 'Chousengakkou (North Korean ethnic school)'. Chousengakkou is led by Soren, the organizations of Koreans in Japan that is close to the North Korean government. Today, Soren runs 120 Chousengakkou in Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and from kindergarten to college. There are over 12, 000 students at Chousengakkou, and it is the largest educational organization run by foreigners in Japan. In Chousengakkou, female students wear the Korean traditional clothes as their uniform, and, even though the teachers and the students are native Japanese speakers, it is an obligation to use Korean language in class and in daily conversation. The reason why this kind of special education is possible is due to the existence of school as a closed autonomous space which is separated from 'Japan'. As a socio-historical study, this article pursues the process of the birth of separated space in the ethnic education movement of Koreans in Japan. It often said that the North Korean government launched Chousengakkou in Japan, and for that reason, Chousengakkou became the group which blindly obeys North Korea. It goes without saying that the North Korean government helped establish and manage Chousengakkou, but in this study, I focus on the history of the attempt and failure by Korean activists who had been working with the Japanese Communist Party before the Liberation in 1945. As a 'Proletarian Internationalist', they firmly believed that when proletarian revolution succeeds in Japan, the liberation of Korea is also accomplished. But their dream is betrayed by the nationalistic thinking of Japanese communists. After all, to Japanese communists, Koreans in Japan are just a minority group, not 'comrades'. From this failure, it is natural that Korean activists found another hope from North Korea. In 1955, Soren, as a new organization of Koreans in Japan, established a declaration of principles that refrains from interfering in the domestic affairs of Japan. In this point of view, I argue Chousengakkou, a separated space from 'Japan', is a 'collaboration' of nationalism of North Korea and Japan.