Ethnic schools in the society of Korean residents in Japan can be largely divided into Chochongryeon-Korean schools and civil-level Korean schools that are recognized as formal schools by the Korean government. Currently, there are 34 Korean schools o...
Ethnic schools in the society of Korean residents in Japan can be largely divided into Chochongryeon-Korean schools and civil-level Korean schools that are recognized as formal schools by the Korean government. Currently, there are 34 Korean schools overseas, of which 4 are in Japan. Among the four schools in Japan, there are 3 Korean schools in the Kansai region including Osaka. However, the existence of Korean schools among the ethnic educational institutions in Japan is not well known, and even less is known about their early history.
This article focuses on the appearance of an elementary school that was launched as ‘Korean School (Our School)’ in Nishinari, Osaka in 1946. In 1948, a new school was built and launched as ‘Nishinari Korean Elementary School’. Nishinari Korean Elementary School existed until 1949, and in April 1950, it reopened as Geumgang Elementary School. It is intended to investigate the process of existence in the Nishinari community and how it was operated.
Based on the documents and photographs created by the Nishinari Japanese Education Association at the time, as well as the experiences of those who attended the school, we will look at what the Nishinari Korean Elementary School actually looked like. Because the school existed from 1946 to 1949, we will also look at the policies of the General Headquarters and the Japanese Ministry of Education at the time. We will also look at the characteristics of the Nishinari area and the appearance of the Korean community in order to examine why schools began in the Nishinari area.
In 1946, in the Nishinari area, the Korean elementary school established by the hands of compatriots was called ‘our school’. The students, who had been distributed and accommodated in nearby Japanese schools because there was no school building, built a building with donations from compatriots in the Nishinari area and was launched as ‘Nishinari Korean elementary school’ from April 1948. At that time, most of the students were composed mainly of compatriots living in the Nishinari area. Meanwhile, the confrontation between local left and right wing organizations also affected the school, and after the raising of the artificial flag in 1949, it became a school operated mainly by the Nishinari Mindan. As for the research achievements so far, it has been known that ethnic schools have been closed except for the founding school established by Baekdu Academy. However, Nishinari Korean elementary school made administrative preparations, and in 1950, it became an official school in Japan as Geumgang elementary school. Due to the practical limitations of Japan, classes had to be taught in Japanese, but it was found that it was still a school that did not forget the people. If we look at the establishment process and operation of other Korean schools in the future based on these research results, it will be a good data to gauge the direction of Korean schools around the world.