Ethnic Consciousness of Zainichi-Korean in Lee Yan-ji's Novels

The theme of this paper is the "ethnic identity" of Zainichi-Koreans, or Korean residents in Japan. The term Zainichi-Korean mainly refers to Koreans who immigrated to Japan during the period from just before World War II and immediately after it, and their descendents. Today, half century after the end of the war, the meaning of "ethnicity" or "nationality" for Zainichi-Koreans themselves seems to have gone through important changes. It has, of course, been influenced by the surrounding Japanese society, and by the two Korean nationstates that confront each other along the 38th parallel. However Zainichi-Korean consciousness is not formed solely by such national influences. The journalist Nomura Susumu (author of Sekai no Korean [Koreans in the World]) argues, "We mistake the essence of the matter if we view the Zainichi-Korean issue as a problem between the two nation-states of Korea and Japan." In this paper the author discusses the novels and essays of Lee Yan-Ji, a Zainichi writer who died too young at the age of 37. Her works have rich depictions of subjectivity, sharply presenting the self-consciousness of her mainly female protagonists. The novels reviewed here are Nabitaryon, Koku, and Yuhi. Several of her essays written along with these novels are also examine. The author stresses the vividness and strength of the novelist's focus on "the place where one really is". She herself left Japan for her Korean homeland that she dreamed of, but realized she was, in fact, an alien in the real land of Korea. Yet, even after going through the conflicts brought about by searching for herself as a "Korean", she kept pursuing some "place" where she belonged. Not a few Zainichi-Koreans would identify themselves with the Zainichi heroine in her conflicts of nationality and the search for the "place" to be. The author wants to present, in Lee Yanji's search for the meaning of her "ethnicity", one factor of the state of ZainichiKorean ethnic consciousness