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Discuss critically the double identities of the 2 nd and 3 rd generations of the North Many of the North Koreans in Japan associate themselves with Chongryun. Chongryun is a North Korean organization-the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. Chongryun was founded in 1955 and identifies its members and potential members as overseas nationals of North Korea, with a strict non-involvement policy with Japans internal affairs. For Chongryun Koreans, their Korean identity means a primarily a North Korean political identity, which they adjust according to present political conditions. Chongryun consists of a number of associations that are affiliated with the main organization.
They also have a bank and school system. Children are exposed to Chongryun (its way of life and ideology) through its schooling system. Chongryun has one university, twelve high schools, fifty-six middle schools, and eighty-one primary schools. The first language of Chongryun Koreans who are born in Japan is Japanese. However, the lessons in the schools are taught exclusively in Korean, with the exception of the foreign language classes, such as Japanese and English. The schools teach about North Korea, and the children are taught that they are overseas nationals of North Korea.
Children and their parents decide whether they want their students to continue to study in Chongryun schools or enter Japanese schools. While, many second generation Chongryun students continued through the university, some of the third generation (and their second generation parents) are entering the Japanese schooling system. The Korean language that schoolchildren speak is primarily text-dependent-a formal written form is spoken, rather than daily Korean. This is because the schools do not teach how to speak daily Korean and instead teach how to read and write correct sentences. Because of this some Chongryun Koreans feel that they cannot adequately speak Korean like a native Korean, and so that the future generations should stick with Japanese since they are living in Japanese society. Both second and third generation Chongryun Koreans have the difficulty of dealing with their double identities-being ethnically Korean but living in a Japanese society.
Third generations, as well as some second generation Chongryun Koreans, adapt to living in dual cultures by switching between the two different modes of existence. Chongryun's second generation has the dilemma of being caught between the position of having to look after the first generation as well as the third generation. The second generation has to face the moral conflict of their filial obligation towards the first generation, while trying to raise their own children, who are part of a new era. They cannot leave their present lives.
The younger of the second generation face an even greater dilemma since they are not old enough to persuade themselves to be content with the present and yet not young enough to change their present lives immediately. It is difficult for someone who has grown up only knowing the Chongryun environment to get out of Chongryun's way of life. The majority of second generation Chongryun Koreans have received an exclusively Chongryun education, which leaves them with few career alternatives outside of Chongryun. They get caught up in the day-to-day living constraints that are part of Chongryun's structure. Any change on their part involves high risk not only for themselves, but their children and other family members. Due to the few career alternatives in Japanese society for Chongryun's second generation, if one were to leave, there would be the problem of finances.
They must always try to balance various factors such as educational background and their current social position. They are less emotional than the first generation about North Korea, but more attached to the organizational life of Chongryun than the third generation. Second generation Chongryun Koreans are the most sensitive about the uncertainty of todays world. With the death of Kim Il-Sung, it became clear to Chongryun Koreans that the future of North Korea could be uncertain.
They tend to reflect on the implications of this uncertainty, but do not have the skills to cope with dual modes of existence as the third generation do-to neatly separate the two worlds. They have grown up extensively immersed in the Chongryun way of life, and few have contact during childhood with outside life. Unlike, the third generation, few of the second generation have Japanese friends. They were sheltered by being kept in a state of diaspora stability. It protected them from a hostile environment, but it also delayed their realization of practical living conditions outside of Chongryun. The death of Kim Il-Sung forced the second generation to rethink Chongryun life and if necessary adjust to a new life without Kim, possibly even leaving Chongryun's fulltime service.
Third generation Chongryun Koreans are better accustomed to their multiple identity. They cope well with their multiple identity as North Koreans in Japan and cultural member of Japanese society. The key reason for this is the emphasis on the emphasis on a particular version of Korean strengthened the performative skill of schoolchildren. This leads to dual competence. From a very young age, they attend Japanese cramming schools or other private afternoon schools, which expose them to Japanese and allow them to have Japanese friends.
This puts them at an advantage in managing their double identities. The curricular reform in Chongryun schools also allows the third generation to live relatively unabated by their two existences. The curricular reform has made Chongryun schools more flexible than it previously was. It has withdrawn Kim Il Sung related vocabulary and has put more of an emphasis on colloquial spoken Korean. The new curriculum allows the children more room to breathe since it only controls the children within school.
Second generation students were often told by school that they must speak Korean at home, thus extending Chongryun's sphere of influence outside the school. Third generations students also get off for both North Korean and Japanese holidays, allowing them to associate with both societies, whereas the second generation only got for North Korean holidays. This further ostracized them from Japanese society as they rode the train in their school uniforms along side Japanese on their way to vacation. Language use (Korean and Japanese) plays a big part in how second and third generation cope with their double identities. The first generation can stick to their old language, so their identity is stable since it is not easily adjustable. The third generation is flexible because they have acquired the performative skill to allow them to shift from one language to another without too much thought.
However, the second generation is caught somewhere in-between since their position is characterized by ambiguity. Third generations in-Japanese is clear to them. They identify themselves as North Korean in Korean and then temporarily suspend the process by speaking in Japanese. However, with the second generation, the case is different. They grew up being scolded by parents and teachers of the first generation if they behaved like Japanese. They also actively participated in the 100 % Our Language Movement.
Third generation children are not blamed for demonstrating Japanese mannerisms and lifestyles, as their parents are no longer able to tell what is genuinely Korean. The third generation have the social experience to effectively switch languages in one situation and in another. For example, within schools and school settings they would use Korean, while outside of school, they would switch to Japanese. The second generation can do the same type of switching as the third generation does, but the boundaries for them were more severe. The boundaries of organizational and non organizational life today tend to intersect and overlap to a much greater degree than in the past. They know through second nature what language to use and what ideology to portray without much problem or hesitation.
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