Abstract
This paper attempts to illuminate and analyze the social history about everyday lives of Zainichi Koreans in regional cities of Japan based on the fieldwork research in Kumamoto City. There were relatively large numbers of Korean residencies along the market area of which originated from the black-market built immediately after the World War II. Unlike Osaka and Tokyo, or Kawasaki and Kyoto, it did not create the ethnic enclaves of Zainichi Koreans. Rather, there were Chinese, Okinawans, and Japanese including repatriates from colonies as well as Zainichi Koreans, and created the diversified local community characterized by the ‘international market.’ In addition, this market area eventually became the textile wholesale district. As the consequence, the relatively large numbers of Korean residencies did not create the Korean towns or other ethnic businesses represent Koreans such as Korean BBQ restaurants. When we focus on these local case studies, they illuminate alternative aspects to understand everyday lives of Zainchi Koreans which are different from previous studies focused on the highly concentrated areas in the urban locations. As it attempted in this paper, it is important to examine these local case studies to depict the ‘plural histories and ethnographies of Zainichi Koreans’ for the future studies.
