Page 130 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

Introduction

This paper will address the experiences of the Society to Help
Returnees to North Korea in helping to rescue North Koreans
who escaped to China. It will look at the connection between
Japanese society and North Korean residents and the damage
to their families in Japan by North Koreans who were enticed
to return to the northern “paradise on earth” in the late 1950’s
after the Korean War. It will close with a brief description of
North Korean defector relief activities, while discussing the
Chinese Government’s responsibility for blocking defectors
from proceeding to safer destinations.

Connection between Japanese Society and
North Korean Residents

According to a June 2023 survey, there are 436,000 Koreans
living in Japan. Sixty-four percent of them began living in Japan
after the Japanese took over the Korean Peninsula or they are
their descendants. Many have acquired Japanese citizenship.
The number of Koreans who became Japanese citizens after
World War II exceeds 390,000, with 156,000 acquiring Japanese
citizenship since 2000. Many of these people have family or
relatives living in North Korea.

Seventy years ago, most of the Koreans living in Japan were
immigrants from the southern part of the Korean Peninsula,
the area that is now South Korea. At that time, most of their
families and relatives naturally lived in the South Korean region.

Chapter Eight : Humanitarian Damage Caused by Chinese Deportation of North Korean Defectors 129