도일과 히로시마 원폭피해, 귀환: 일제강점기 합천 출신 이주 1.5, 2세대의 경험

Abstract

This paper examines the life experiences of Korean atomic bomb survivors who returned ‘homeland’ from Hiroshima after August 15, 1945. Specifically, it pays attention to the 1.5 and 2nd generation of Korean migrants from the Hapcheon region with a focus on their border-crossing experiences and living conditions in both societies. They are the first generation of the atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima. However, in the migration context, they are the 1.5 and 2nd generation who were born and (or) raised in Japan, and repatriated to the liberated Korean Peninsula. Therefore, their identities and life experiences in both societies must be different from those of their parents in many aspects. Most of the previous studies on them have focused on their experiences of victimization. Yet, their life experiences as a dependent of their parents who crossed the state border back and forth on their own has rarely been discussed in those studies. This paper has three research questions as follows. Firstly, why and how were the migration flows to Hiroshima by the people of Hapcheon formed? Secondly, what were their living conditions in Hiroshima and particularly, their experiences of atomic bombing like? Thirdly, how did they feel when they first arrived in their ‘homeland’ and how did their life experiences in Hiroshima affected their settlement in Hapcheon? Oral interviews with 23 survivors collected from Hapcheon in 2017 are used for the analysis of this study. This study is expected to contribute to the studies of emigration and return migration during the period of the Japanese occupation of Korea by including the first generation atomic bomb survivors with the 1.5 and 2nd generation migration background as a ‘new’ research subject. It is also notable that this paper provides an empirical study showing how their life conditions and identities as a (return) migrant in both Hiroshima and Hapcheon were shaped by various elements, including generation, regional affiliation, and atomic bombing, other than ethnic identity.