한국정부의 재일본 한국인 유골봉환 정책 연구 ‒1980년~1984년까지의 민간단체 유골봉환 관련외교문서를 중심으로‒

Abstract

In this paper, through diplomatic documents related to the repatriation of Korean remains in Japan from 1980 to 1984, we examined the activities of private organizations in Korea and Japan and the policies and responses of the Korean government to the repatriation of remains. It was confirmed that private organizations that carried out the repatriation activities during this period mainly carried out joint activities in cooperation with other domestic and foreign organizations that agreed rather than working alone. In particular, private organizations worked with local Mindan to directly investigate and collect remains placed in temples or shrines in Japan, and then actively carried out the repatriation activities by asking for cooperation from the Korean government and the Japanese government. However, rather than actively supporting the activities of various private organizations at home and abroad, the Korean government responded passively by worrying about the possibility of side effects such as disturbance of private organizations and departure from purpose, and the Japanese government’s fulfillment of responsibilities. In addition, even when the remains were delivered to the bereaved family, including the issue of compensation for the bereaved families, the voices of the bereaved families were thoroughly excluded from the issue of returning the remains, such as refraining from contacting officials from the Japanese government.