The Zainichi Experience: Koreans in Japan w/ Haruki Eda

Red Star Over Asia

Both Koreas have a historically frought relationship with Japan, due to the history of colinization. Beginning in the late 19th century, there were waves of Korean immigration to Japan. This accelerated dramatically with Japan's formal annexation of the Korean pennisula in the early 20th century.

In Japan today, the descendants of these Koreas are known as Zainichi.

We are joined on this episode by our friend Haruki Eda, a third generation Zainichi. We talked about the complex and fascinating history of Koreans in Japan, the politics of the community, how this diaspora relates to both North and South Korea, and so much more.

Haruki Eda is an interdisplinary social scientist specializing in ethnicity and nationalism, international political economy, gender/sexuality, and cultural ecology. He recently completed his PhD in Sociology at Rutgers University and is preparing to publish his first book, Queer Unification: Community and Healing in the Korean Diaspora.

He is also an activist with the U.S. based Korean organization Nodutdol, comprised of diasproic Koreans and organizing for a world free of imperialism, and for Korea’s re/unification and national liberation.

You can follow him on Twitter @zainichipoetics and check out his website here: https://www.harukieda.com/

And follow Notdutdol on twitter @https://nodutdol.org/ and their website: https://nodutdol.org/ ​