‘야쿠자 아니면 의사’- 재일한인의사의 역사와 의미- = “Yakuza or Doctors”: History and Significance of Zainichi Korean Physicians in Japan

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines whether the common belief that “there are many doctors among Zainichi Koreans” is in fact accurate. In doing so, it seeks both to explore the medical professional group within the Zainichi Korean community—an area that has received little scholarly attention—and to document one aspect of social change within that community. To this end, the article first discusses previous research on physicians in diaspora communities and considers the significance of studying physician groups within diasporas. It also reviews prior studies on overseas Korean doctors.
It then analyzes the current status of Zainichi Korean doctors through statistical data and Korean-language media sources in Japan. Furthermore, drawing on both Korean and Japanese materials, it reconstructs the historical formation of the Zainichi Korean medical professional group, demonstrating that the present-day community of Zainichi Korean doctors constitutes a professional group within the diaspora that has continued without interruption since the early twentieth century.