The Quelpart Islanders in Tokyo

Abstract

The Quelpart Island is a volcanic island located at the southernmost end of Korea, with a population of about 90, 000. Her natural resourses are so poor that a great deal of the islanders have emigrated to Japanese cities, thus occupying a considerable part of the Korean population in Tokyo and Osaka. The present research was conducted from May to September, 1950. The authors regret that political tension caused by the outbreak of the Korean war hindered them from carrying out a thoroughgoing study. (1) The rural Quelpart social structure is almost completely disintegrated due to the high degree of urban life in Tokyo. The neighborhood relationship, however, which regulates their daily life in Tokyo, is based on the paternal kinship tie and due to exodus from a common native place on the paternal side. (2) The principle of clan exogamy is being gradually lost. The range of marriage is expanding, and the possibility to marry the home Koreans is less than that to marry the Japanese. (3) During the Pacific War, those who adopted formal Japanese names under governmental pressure increased in number, but suddenly decreased after the War. However, only 2.8% of them have no informal Japanese names besides their Korean ones. (4) In their home island, females take upon themselves far greater part of labor than males. In Tokyo, on the contrary, the number of females with jobs is as few as in the case of the Japanese. (5) Korean costumes are owned only by females, and not by males except for the aged. The diet and table manners are almost the same as in the Quelpart Island. The dwelling is completely Japanese. (6) The standard of education is considerably high. In the religious life, great concern with Shamanism is still evident especially among females. There are a few Buddhists and Christians, but generally speaking, religious concern is not conspicuous. (7) The results of the Rorschach test on the 4th, 5th and 6th year school children are as follows : (a) R is a little inferior to that of the Japanese school children in Tokyo, but far superior to those in villages of Aomori prefecture. (b) Their quite extroversive and shallowminded type, ready to react recklessly to outer stimulus, as evident in Exp., is never discerned with the Japanese children. (c) Their A% is higher than that of the Japanese children in Tokyo and there are scarcely any W, Z, and Orig., which show their low intelligence. (d) Contents of responses are "Korea, ""Northern Korea, ""Quelpart Island, " etc., which show the intensity of their political concern. (e) Other traits are not so different from those of the Japanese children. It is to be regretted that the same test could not be attempted in the Quelpart Island.