Korea_University_(Japan) Knowpia

Korea University
Established	10 April 1956
Location	Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
Language	Korean
Website	www.korea-u.ac.jp
Japanese name
Kanji	朝鮮大学校
Hiragana	ちょうせんだいがっこう
Revised Hepburn
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Chōsendaigakkō
North Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	조선대학교
Hancha	朝鮮大學校
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Joseon-daehakgyo
McCune–Reischauer	Chosŏn-daehakkyo

Korea University (朝鮮大学校, Korean: 조선대학교) is a university-level miscellaneous school located in Kodaira, Tokyo. It was established by the North Korea-affiliated organization Chongryon on 10 April 1956. Korean is the medium of instruction.

Description edit

It operates seven four-year faculties: political economy (including courses in philosophy under its rubric), literature, history and geography, management, foreign languages, science (physics, mathematics, and biochemistry) and technology (mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, and metallurgy). The school also runs two and three-year normal school programmes, as well as a two-year post-graduate school.^[1] This school offers a university level education, but based on the Japanese School Education Law, it is not authorized a “university” and consequently is treated as a "miscellaneous school.”^[2]

History edit

The school was first established by Chongryon on 10 April 1956.^[3] When Chongryon first sought approval to establish the school, it faced backlash from both the Japanese right-wing and South Korea. North Korea has influenced the school's textbooks and curriculum since its establishment.^[4]

The school has received funding directly from the government of North Korea every year since 1956. Between 1956 and 1958, the North Korean government paid ¥321.6 million to purchase the real estate for the school and set up its curriculum.^[4] In 2002, it received ¥132.42 million in funding at the direction of then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.^[5]

After graduation, most students either go on to work for Chongryon or become teachers at Chongryon-affiliated schools.^[6]^[4] As of July 2001^[update], the school's rector is Chang Byong Tae, a graduate of Kyoto University and a former researcher in solid-state chemistry with the French National Centre for Scientific Research.^[7]

Korea University and other Chongryon-affiliated schools have recently experienced greater difficulty in recruiting new students. This has been attributed to Japan's overall preference towards South Korea since its economic boom in the late 1980s. Correspondingly, ethnic Koreans in Japan have also increasingly aligned themselves with the South.^[4]

Analysis edit

Between 2018 and 2019, Cha Eun-jeong, a South Korean anthropologist from Seoul National University, was allowed to visit the school a number of times. When she first visited the school, she did so without prior notice, and was turned away with the explanation that they "do not officially accept guests from the Southern side".^[a] However, she was eventually allowed to visit after explaining her intention to help bridge North–South relations.^[4]

Cha estimated that the school had around 500 students that all lived in the school dormitories. She noted that the school strongly emphasized Korean national identity and community, and that teachers and students were all encouraged to develop strong personal and emotional relationships with each other.^[4]

While she noted that portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were displayed prominently in the school, she described the overall attitude of the students towards the South as being conciliatory, if not even positive. She attributed this to two reasons: firstly, the students were fourth-to-fifth generation descendants of the original Korean settlers, and thus increasingly removed from the North–South conflict. In addition, she theorized that they were following the overall Japanese zeitgeist of increasing preference towards South Korea.^[4]

Notes and references edit

Notes edit

^ Korean: 『우리는 공식적으로 남측 손님을 받지 않는다.』

References edit

^ "Facts about Chongryun". The People's Korea. 6 August 1997. Archived from the original on 1 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
^ Ryang, Sonia (2019). North Koreans In Japan: Language, Ideology, And Identity (1st ed.). S.l.: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-367-31705-8.
^ "교육리념과 연혁 (Educational philosophy and development)". Korea University. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Cha, Eun-jeong (December 2019). "일본 조선대학교의 역할과 전망: 재일조선인의 새로운 위상을 위하여" [The Role and Future of Korea University in Japan: For the New Status of Zainichi Koreans] (in Korean). Seoul National University. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^ "Kim Jong Il Sends Funds to Korea University & Opera Troupe in Japan". The People's Korea. 30 March 2002. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
^ Mervio, Mika (2006). "Koreans in Japan and Shimane". Crossing National Borders: human migration issues in Northeast Asia. United Nations University Press. pp. 141–162. ISBN 9280811177.
^ "Interview with Chang Byong Tae, Rector of Korea University". The People's Korea. 25 July 2001. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.