A Nation Within: North Korean Zainichi in Postimperial Japan

by Sayaka Chatani

The presence of hundreds of thousands ethnic Koreans in Japan, or "zainichi Koreans," is one of the visible legacies of Japanese colonialism. A surprising and influential group among zainichi Koreans that persists to this day is Chongryon, the only pro–North Korean diasporic group based in a capitalist society. Chongryon historically represented the central grassroots force seeking to liberate Koreans from Japan's imperial and neo-imperial influences. At the heart of the Chongryon community stands a political organization equipped with a central bureaucracy in Tokyo, with a headquarters in nearly every prefecture. Often called a de facto embassy of North Korea, the Chongryon organization has, in effect, functioned as a state within another state—operating hundreds of schools, banks, hospitals, business associations, publishing houses, and many other institutions across Japan. Based on extensive archival research and nearly 250 original interviews collected with co-researcher KumHee Cho, who was raised within the Chongryon community, Sayaka Chatani offers a sweeping social history of this secretive, protective community in xenophobic Japanese society. Weaving together personal accounts and situating them in a multi-layered, transnational political context, the book offers a finely textured, intimate narrative of the community's tumultuous history and decolonial praxis. Through the stories of Chongryon, this book provides a bottom-up analysis of power politics among zainichi Koreans and reshapes our understanding of Japanese history, Korean history, and the Cold War in Asia.

318 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2026

Reviews

[Buruno]

um estudo fascinante e muito esclarecedor sobre a diáspora coreana no Japão pós-guerra – ou pós-imperial, como a autora propõe –, um processo permeado por ecos das pátrias-mãe e reverberações da nova, transformando comunidades e relações individuais tanto em microcosmos da guerra fria, quanto em universos em si mesmas. vale também a reflexão sobre como o abrupto fim da guerra, com auxílio da intervenção dos EUA, interferiu na assimilação natural de novas identidades e na devida acepção dos crimes coloniais que a precederam.

[Anitha Silvia]

"I finally understand what my father meant when he said that “Chongryon is a country without a military” and what Sayaka meant when she said that “this is like writing an entire history of an invisible nation-state." -KumHee Cho