Forming a Korean identity in Japan
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Mary Goebel Noguchi
Abstract
Resident Koreans are one of the oldest and largest immigrant groups living in Japan. The origins of this community lie in Japan’s colonization of Korea in the early part of the 20th Century, when many Korean farmers were forced off their land and large numbers of Koreans were brought to Japan to work on construction projects and in the nation’s mines and factories, often against their will. Many “Zainichi” (as this group is called in Japanese) who chose to stay in Japan after World War II have endeavored to maintain their ethnic identity despite large-scale language shift to Japanese. Their main means of maintaining Korean language proficiency is through heritage language immersion programs in schools affiliated with North Korea. This case study examines the way one such school supports Korean language and culture maintenance by examining the role it played in the identity formation of three members of one Zainichi family in Kyoto: the mother, father and their adult son.
Abstract
Resident Koreans are one of the oldest and largest immigrant groups living in Japan. The origins of this community lie in Japan’s colonization of Korea in the early part of the 20th Century, when many Korean farmers were forced off their land and large numbers of Koreans were brought to Japan to work on construction projects and in the nation’s mines and factories, often against their will. Many “Zainichi” (as this group is called in Japanese) who chose to stay in Japan after World War II have endeavored to maintain their ethnic identity despite large-scale language shift to Japanese. Their main means of maintaining Korean language proficiency is through heritage language immersion programs in schools affiliated with North Korea. This case study examines the way one such school supports Korean language and culture maintenance by examining the role it played in the identity formation of three members of one Zainichi family in Kyoto: the mother, father and their adult son.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Dedication v
- Table of contents vii
- Preface xi
- Foreword xiii
-
Introduction
- The diversity of Asia-Pacific language ecologies 1
- Education, power and sociolinguistic mobility 13
-
East Asia
- A Yami language teacher’s journey in Taiwan 33
- Power and other issues in minority language education in China 49
- Forming a Korean identity in Japan 65
-
Southeast Asia
- Patani Malay in Thai education 91
- Language in schooling in Timor-Leste 111
- Bidayuh as a subject at pre-school and primary levels 131
- Sustaining and maintaining a minority language 153
-
Oceania
- UNESCO’s action in culture and the importance of language maintenance in the Pacific 175
- State versus community approaches to language revival 185
- Vernacular education in Papua New Guinea 205
- From despised jargon to language of education 223
- Te Reo Māori – He Reo Kura? (Māori Language – A School Language?) 243
- A study of bilingual education using Samoan language in New Zealand 261
- Index 293
- Authors 289
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Dedication v
- Table of contents vii
- Preface xi
- Foreword xiii
-
Introduction
- The diversity of Asia-Pacific language ecologies 1
- Education, power and sociolinguistic mobility 13
-
East Asia
- A Yami language teacher’s journey in Taiwan 33
- Power and other issues in minority language education in China 49
- Forming a Korean identity in Japan 65
-
Southeast Asia
- Patani Malay in Thai education 91
- Language in schooling in Timor-Leste 111
- Bidayuh as a subject at pre-school and primary levels 131
- Sustaining and maintaining a minority language 153
-
Oceania
- UNESCO’s action in culture and the importance of language maintenance in the Pacific 175
- State versus community approaches to language revival 185
- Vernacular education in Papua New Guinea 205
- From despised jargon to language of education 223
- Te Reo Māori – He Reo Kura? (Māori Language – A School Language?) 243
- A study of bilingual education using Samoan language in New Zealand 261
- Index 293
- Authors 289
