The Use of Video Recordings in Minority Studies and Challenges

Focusing on the Ethnic Education Movement of Koreans in Japan

Abstract

Since the invention of photography and film, video recording has been actively used in anthropological research. Video, especially film, is a medium that can simultaneously record the culture of the subject of research from the perspectives of both the whole and the individual, and can also record the context through the recorded time, expanding the possibilities of anthropological research. However, this possibility of video has inclined the nature of video ethnography in anthropology to “salvage ethnography.” Today, it cannot be denied that one of the main tasks of visual anthropology is the mission of preserving the records of disappearing traditional societies and cultures. In the same vein, the possibility of using video recording in anthropological research on social minorities can also be confirmed. However, when structural discrimination against social minorities exists, video recording of research subjects and its use must be done with caution. This is because there is a risk of outing the subjects through video recording and public release. This report considers the possibilities and challenges of using video recording in research on Koreans in Japan, based on the researcher’s own experience.