해방 직후 재북일본인 법적 상황과 성격(1945~1948): 북한의 차별적 대우를 중심으로

Abstract

The paper aimed to examine the situation of Japanese in Chosun who have been studied as colonizers/rulers since 1945. As of August 15, 1945, Japanese who had lived on the Korean Peninsula changed in position into subjects from rulers. In the changed world, Japanese rapidly returned to their country or were confined in prisons as prisoners. In addition, based on the 38 parallel, the situations of the Japanese in the northern area and those in the southern area developed in a different way gradually. This article intends to examine in priority ‘Japanese in the northern area.’ There is lack of studies on Japanese in the northern area compared to when studies on Japanese in Chosun were well advanced during the Japanese occupation. The reason is that there was not enough data because keeping a record of their existence in the North Korea was disliked, and that even the Japanese who returned to Japan after remaining in the North Korea did not want the memory of the North Korea left on record due to ideological issues. This article has the primary purpose to reproduce the then situation of the Japanese in the northern area. Especially, it intends to determine how they were treated by the North Korea, whether there was discrimination in the treatment, and what the reason would be if there was within legal limits that can be said to be objective. It is expected that this analysis will enable us to examine how flexibly the political situation of the North Korea that had been focused on ‘Kim Il-sung’ and the Soviet army applied, not simply historical description of the Japanese in the northern area.