Koreans are the largest ethnic minority in contemporary Japan as a direct result of Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-1945. Despite ethnic Koreans having lived in Japan for multiple generations now, they continue to face prejudice and discrimination from Japanese citizens. While some Zainichi attempt to lay low and quietly assimilate by trying to pass as Japanese or through intermarriage with the locals, others seek to challenge their status as a marginalized group.

The very word “Zainichi,” meaning “living in Japan,” has been used as a label to justify their separation from mainstream Japanese society. Zainichi literature aims to bring attention to the plight of those still facing repercussions from Japanese colonialism, racial discrimination, and economic exploitation in a land that refuses to acknowledge their historic hardships.