Caught between history

A group of ethnically Korean elementary schoolers residing in Japan was invited to sing children’s songs at a concert held in Gyeonggi Province on August 22. Though Korean by ethnicity, the children are from families who have chosen neither to become South Korean or Japanese nationals, long after their relatives were relocated to Japan during the colonial era.

There are about 670,000 ethnic Koreans who stay permanently in Japan but do not have Japanese nationality. Some have converted to South Korean nationality, while others continue to claim only Joseon nationality, which comes from the name of the last Korean dynasty before Japanese colonization, and was the title given to them by the Japanese government before South Korea and Japan normalized relations in 1965. Some support North instead of South Korea, while others support neither, maintaining neutrality by not assuming a nationality.

The South Korean government did not allow those claiming Joseon nationality to enter the country until the 1990s. Those Joseon who have not converted to South Korean nationality must gain entry and re-entry permission from both countries in order to travel, as they hold neither North or South Korean nor Japanese passports.