ISSN 0285-9033

OCCASIONAL REPORT No. 33
THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION

July 2002

Shinjuku Mitsui Building 37F • 2-1-1 Nishi-Shinjuku • Shinjuku-ku • Tokyo 163-0437, Japan • Tel: (03) 3344-1701 • Fax: (03) 3342-6911

At the Forefront of Northeast AsianStudies
Revival of the Ethnic Korean “Home” in the
Russian Far East
Hyun Mooam
University of Tokyo
When the perestroika reforms began in the Soviet
Union, and particularly when the Russian economy
was liberalized after the end of the Cold War,
Primorsky Krai—the maritime region of the Russian
Far East—again became a focus of attention in East
Asia. It had first been in the limelight during the period of active population movements and contacts,
starting when Japan and Korea came to have borders
with a European country as a result of Imperial
Russia’s advance into the Far East, and continuing
through the Russo-Japanese war to the Siberian intervention in 1918. As Primorsky Krai became increasingly sovietized and inward looking, it shiftedout of Japanese memories. For Koreans in Korea, theforced migrations of 1937 meant the loss of their“compatriots in Russia” and Primorsky Krai suffered
the same fate, falling into oblivion.
Those forced to migrate—the Koreans living in
Russia—also forgot about Primorsky Krai. It was in
1989 that the memory of their Russian home began toreturn to them. This was the year when the Central

Committee of the Soviet Communist Party adopted
the resolution “Concerning the Problem of Nationalities at the Present Time.” This resolution publicly
recognized the fact of the Koreans’ deportation. By
that time, however, the Koryo Saram (as ethnic Koreans in Russia were known) had already lost their national language and were scattered across Central
Asia, far from where they had lived before 1937,
Primorsky Krai. But the Korean-language newspaper Lenin Kichi (the present Koryo Ilbo), which had
been published without a break since before the migration, broke its long silence and began to assert theinjustice of the forced migration. Encouraged bythese events, some of the Koryo Saram have returned
to Primorsky Krai, the homeland of their forebears.
For the Koryo Saram of Central Asia, “returning”
means going back not to the Korean Peninsula but toPrimorsky Krai—the Russian Far East. For them, this“Far East” is the home they can return to and where
they can claim the right of residence. Many Koryo
Saram are at present returning to Primorsky Krai, but
their lives there are by no means stable. In spite ofthis, “push” factors, such as internal conflicts and the
linguistic nationalism that arose in many parts ofCentral Asia following the collapse of the Soviet
Union, seem to have combined with “pull” factors,
such as memories and a longing for an autonomous
region to guarantee their revival, causing them toleave behind their third homeland and the place towhich they had become accustomed, Central Asia.
As the nationalism that erupted in the process of na-

CONTENTS
At the Forefront of Northeast Asian Studies
Revival of the Ethnic Korean “Home” in the Russian Far East ..........................................1
Building a Better East Asia: The Toyota Foundation Yuseong Conference ........................7
Meeting of Young Toyota Foundation Research Grant Recipients ........................................9
Recent Publications Based on Foundation-Supported Research ........................................12
New Secretary .................................................................................................................. 12
Obituary ...........................................................................................................................12

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

tion building has calmed, the flow of returnees has
slowed; but it has not stopped entirely.
Thus Koreans are once more gathering in
Primorsky Krai, but they are heterogeneous Koreans
with differing identities. They include people returning from locations in Central Asia to which they had
been forced to migrate, others who had stayed on in
Sakhalin after World War II, ethnic Koreans from theadjoining Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in
China, and North Korean laborers, not to mention
investors and aid organizations from South Korea.
This makes for a collection of ethnic Koreans of various nationalities who speak various languages andare products of various cultures.
I spent the period from November 2 to 29, 2001, in
Primorsky Krai and was able to observe how these
ethnic Korean returnees, at the mercy of the times
and ideology, are reviving their “homeland.”
Ussuriisk (110 kilometers north of Vladivostok),
where the largest number of Koreans in Primorsky
Krai now live, is the center of the Korean community.
It is also home to organizations supporting Korean
migration back to the region, such as the Primorsky
Krai Fund for Korean Revival and the Association for
National Cultural Autonomy of Russian Koreans, aswell as agricultural enterprises and religious and aidorganizations from South Korea. Just a week before
my arrival in Ussuriisk the Education and Cultural
Center had been opened with the cooperation of local Korean associations and South Korean aid organizations. The center teaches local residents the
Korean language and computing skills. Here I would
like to look at the revival of national culture being
promoted by such organizations and the cooperative
relations among them. I shall make a frank appraisal
also of the conflicts that arise due to their differing
viewpoints. And after looking at the community’smode of existence in a multi-tiered space, I shall examine its significance as a Korean network in East Asia.
By this means I hope to present a picture of how theKoryo Saram are striving to revive their homeland.
Rebirth of a Community
Many people felt an urge to return to their homelandwhen the Resolution Concerning the Rehabilitationof Russian Koreans was passed by the Supreme
Council of the Russian Federation on April 1, 1993, a
resolution that resulted in the granting of the right toreturn. But with the Russian economy stagnating,hardly any practical measures were taken to help thereturning Koreans settle down and lead stable lives.
Some 30,000 Koreans are said to have returned to2

July 2002

Primorsky Krai to date. But this is the official figure
based on the number of people who have obtained
Russian citizenship or registered Primorsky Krai as
their place of residence. It is thought that in reality
there are more than twice that number, because
many of those who come to Primorsky Krai are anxious about their livelihoods in the new locality andstay there as foreign nationals, without abandoning
their Central Asian citizenships.
As migration from Central Asia increased, Korean
associations were formed in Primorsky Krai. In 1993
the Primorsky Krai Fund for Korean Revival was
founded as an alliance of such associations in themaritime region. The fund is active mainly in the
town of Ussuriisk and helps those Koreans who migrate into the region without means of supportingthemselves to settle down, as well as keeping a register of Korean residents in the region. It has also
been publishing a bilingual newspaper under thetitle Won Don in Russian and Korean. (In February
2001 Won Don split from the fund.) Another organization, the Association for National Cultural Autonomy of Russian Koreans, is active in advancing
Korean rights and welfare and promoting cultural
revival. The Arirang Dance Ensemble operates under
the wing of the ANCARK. This group, which is led by
North Korean teachers and performs folk dances anywhere where Koryo Saram live, is very popular with
the Korean community. It boasts a high artistic level
and has been invited to perform at dance festivals inNorth Korea, Yanbian, and South Korea. Such organizations play an important role in promoting the cohesion of the Korean community in Primorsky Krai.
South Korean aid has been a major factor in the activities of these organizations. In 1995, the chairmanof the Kohap Group, which had come to Primorsky
Krai when migration took on full-fledged proportions, donated the “Primorsky Krai Fund for Korean
Revival Hall” to Ussuriisk. Subsequently, the Construction Association of Korea started its activities,
repairing residences and supporting agriculture,
which developed into its “friendship village” and“friendship farm” projects. An agricultural groupcalled the Korean Rural Restoration Society is building farms as part of efforts to help establish Koreans inagriculture in the region. The former chairman of the
Primorsky Krai Fund for Korean Revival, Kim Telmir,
has traveled to South Korea to explain the plight of
Koreans in Primorsky Krai and appeal for support.
The Korean Sharing Movement is a particularly
active South Korean grass-roots nongovernmentalorganization and enjoys the trust of the Korean com-

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

munity in Primorsky Krai. It undertakes aid activities in areas closely connected to people’s daily lives
while maintaining the bonds between South Korea
and the expatriate Korean community. It also extends aid to North Koreans, assists Chinese Koreans
who have been lured to Primorsky Krai by Russian
tricksters, and aids refugees from North Korea. The
KSM teamed up with the Saemaul movement in
October 2001 to open the Education and Cultural
Center, which is accessible not only to Koreans but
also to other local residents and has attracted interest
with its IT-training programs and Korean-language
classes. There are also cases—like that of the Korean
association in Partizansk—where ethnic Koreans
have built community halls through their own efforts, unaided by outside organizations.
Settlement Villages
Korean return migration from Central Asia to
Primorsky Krai has now been underway for a decade. Quite a few of those who returned in the earlystages have been able to build up a stable means of
livelihood by securing traders’ licenses in the Chinese markets on the outskirts of towns or throughsuccessful agricultural or business ventures. Theirchildren, born in Primorsky Krai, are growing up.
And many of the more recent migrants have come at
the invitation of those who came in the early stages.
At the same time, a significant number of people
who have arrived during the past four or five years
have to endure lives of hardship. Those who had no
close acquaintances or relatives in Primorsky Kraiand so had to rely for accommodation and work on
disused army barracks and agricultural land provided by the regional government lead particularly
wretched lives. These are the residents of the socalled settlement villages.
The settlement villages consist of army barracks
and land provided under an edict issued by the governor of Primorsky Krai, one of the measures aimed
at rehabilitating and compensating returnees. The
Primorsky Krai Fund for Korean Revival attempted
to settle Koreans principally in these settlement villages. But between the time when the decision totransfer the barracks was made and the time when
they were actually handed over, the barracks werelooted by the local populace and their repair required a vast amount of money.
The management of six out of the seven settlement
villages provided—Kremovo, Popovka, Platonovka,
Razdolnoe, Novonezhino, and Orekhovo—was entrusted to the fund. People without means of support

July 2002

had no alternative but to live in the settlement villages, which had poor amenities, no heating, andwere sometimes even without electricity or water.
The Construction Association of Korea, the Korean
Rural Restoration Society, and South Korean privateorganizations have been providing relief in the formof volunteer activities and funds and materials for
those in need. However, because the funds needed to
improve a particular facility have not been available
in time, the state of the villages has not improved,
and more and more people are moving out of them.
In fact, the former residents of the Platonovka settlement village are currently living in a nearby kindergarten that they have rented, while those in the
Popovka facility have abandoned the barracks thatwere refurbished by student volunteers from South
Korea and moved to an adjacent town.
The settlement villages have received support in
the form of the various relief activities undertaken by
the Korean Sharing Movement and the Korean Rural
Restoration Society. The “bonds” program being carried out by the KSM is designed to establish bonds
between Koryo Saram, Chinese Koreans (Chaoxianzu),
and refugees seeking food, on the one hand; andorganizations or individuals in South Korea, on theother. South Korean families taking part in thescheme help their “bond partner” in Primorsky Krai
every month by donating minimum living expensesof 500 rubles (about US$12.50). In 2000, 160 households received this support, mainly in the resettlement villages. The Korean Rural Restoration Society
also provides volunteers for the settlement villages
and sends food and other supplies to tide the residents over during the winter. The KSM employs alocal doctor to carry out regular medical checks on
the settlement-village residents and also provides
medicines.
Although not all migrants from Central Asia passthrough the settlement villages, the villages are themain conduit for aid operations. There are several
important reasons for this. One is that the villages are
symbols of the reparations to ethnic Koreans that are
officially recognized by the Primorsky Krai government. Another is that it is preferable for ethnic Koreans to be engaged in agriculture rather than to beconcentrated in towns. Channeling relief through thevillages makes them bases of ethnic Koreans, andhaving the immense area of agricultural land of
Primorsky Krai in Korean hands is a way of securing
future food supplies for the Korean Peninsula. However, there was virtually no harvest in 1999 (becauseof drought) or in 2000 (because of floods), a further
3

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

factor that has contributed to people leaving thesettlement villages.
The South Korean Agricultural Presence
The significance for the Korean Peninsula of having
a possible source of food in Primorsky Krai is evidenced not only by the efforts of South Korean organizations to maintain the settlement villages but also
by the presence of South Korean agribusiness in theregion. There are currently 11 South Korean enterprises with agricultural operations in Primorsky
Krai, including the Construction Association of Korea and the National Council of the Saemaul Undong
movement. The common perception, however, is thatup to now their efforts have failed to achieve theirgoals. Many of these enterprises, which began tobranch into Primorsky Krai in the mid-1990s, cameto the region for the laudable purposes of securing asource of food supplies, providing food support for
North Korea, and supporting the settlement of ethnic
Koreans, but also because they were attracted by theregion’s vast expanse of agricultural land.
Out of their experience of failure, the groups set
up the Council of Organizations Operating in
Primorsky Krai with a view to exchanging knowhow and information, avoiding duplication of research, minimizing the need for Korean enterprises
wishing to enter the region to start off using trial anderror, and cooperating to provide support for expatriate Koreans. A notable feature of the council is thatthe scope of its activity is not limited to businessmatters but extends also to the systematic facilitationof aid activities for ethnic Koreans. In terms of organization, too, the council is broad-based. It is divided
into an agriculture section and an ethnic section, andparticipating in the latter are various ethnic Korean
aid organizations such as the Korean Sharing Movement and the Aid the Koryo People Movement (asub-organization of the Korean Rural Restoration Society); research organizations such as the Institutionof Overseas Korean Affairs and the National Episcopal Committee for the Reconciliation of Korean
People; and religious groups. With this cooperative
arrangement in place, the Primorsky Krai Pilot Farm
has been set up in order to work out a model for enterprises that come to Primorsky Krai in the future.
As can be seen from the active involvement ofvarious Korean groups, the Korean agricultural presence in Primorsky Krai, exemplified by the council
and the pilot farm, results from an ethnic-oriented
approach spanning aid for ethnic Koreans and theacquisition of a possible future source of food. It is
4

July 2002

surely this approach that sustains the continued
agricultural efforts in Primorsky Krai in spite of repeated failures. Viewed realistically, low productivity, disadvantageous distribution conditions, andother factors mean that—despite low production
costs—farming in Primorsky Krai is not very competitive in price terms. It therefore does not havemuch export potential. Some farm produce grown in
Primorsky Krai is in fact being sent to North Korea asfood aid. Thus in the present situation, where Chineseand other foreign produce is being purchased andused for North Korean food aid, Primorsky Krai has arole to play as a stable and low-cost source for foodaid. The regional government is also eager for agricultural investment from South Korea as a way of reviving Primorsky Krai’s stagnating agricultural sector.
A Language Reviving
The level of everyday use of Korean by ethnic Koreans in Russia is extremely low. Indeed it is said that
the Koryo Saram are the only ethnic group in Russia
to have lost their national language. At the sametime, quite a few people in their sixties or older canspeak Korean, and the number of young people
learning the language is growing. The reason for thisis that many universities in the Russian Far East traditionally had a Korean department, and the presence of South Korean companies in the region has
aroused both interest in and demand for the language. Ussuriisk State Pedagogical Institute and six
other universities currently provide Korean courses,
as well as 16 public schools. Apart from regular educational institutions, schools attached to various organizations and associations also teach the language.
In addition, the Korean Education Center in
Vladivostok offers Korean-language courses. Not all
the students availing themselves of these courses are
ethnic Koreans; they include many Russian students,
too. At present, about one third of the 267 students atthe Higher College of Korean Studies of the Far Eastern National University are Koreans. The number of
ethnic Korean students in the Korean-language department at Ussuriisk State Pedagogical Institute isalso growing; they now account for half of the firstyear students. The department conducts exchanges
with the Department of Russian Language and Literature of Daejeon University in South Korea.
Although over half of Primorsky Krai’s ethnic Koreans live in Ussuriisk, apart from the university—and in contrast to Vladivostok—the town has so far
not had an institution that provides systematic teaching of Korean. With the passing of the Federal Law on

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

July 2002

selling and the Yanbian cold noodles served in the
National Cultural Autonomy on June 5, 1996, it
eating places run by Chinese Koreans. One can also
became possible to set up national-autonomy organienjoy grilled skewered mutton there. Of course thiszations, national schools, and national-culture instidelicacy can be found in Korea, and nowadays eventutions. The Association for National Culturalin Tokyo’s Shin-Okubo and Ueno districts. The diaAutonomy of Russian Koreans has been supporting
lect of Korean spoken by the Russian Koreans isdance ensembles and tae kwon do and running Koquite similar to that of the Chinese Koreans, so they
rean-language classes. But it encountered various
have little difficulty in communicating. In fact Koryo
problems in connection with the language classes
Saram say that it is easier for them to communicate
because of a lack of teaching materials and instrucwith Chinese Koreans than with South Koreans. It
tors. Against this background, the Education andseems likely that the presence of these Chinese ethCultural Center opened in 2001 to give ordinary citinic Koreans is a significant factor in the resurgence ofzens the opportunity to study Korean. The center isthe national language among Russian Koreans.
run on a membership basis. It is open not only to ethnic Koreans but also to other local residents and runs
Cooperation and Discord: A Multinational ComKorean and computer classes, as well as providing amunitylibrary and even a karaoke facility. The center is a
The situation of the multinational Korean commujoint venture by the Primorsky Krai Fund for Koreannity reflected in the scene at Chinese markets in
Revival and the ANCARK. In practice the National
places like Ussuriisk and Artem has recently atCouncil of the Saemaul Undong movement and thetracted the attention of the South Korean media. It
Korean Sharing Movement play a joint leading role,
has been idealized as a kind of experiment in how
contributing the capital and operating costs. Atthe Korean Peninsula might be after unification. That
tracted by the monthly membership fee of 100 rubles
is to say, Primorsky Krai has been presented as a(about US$2.50) for computer and Korean classes,
place where South Koreans, Chinese Koreans, Rusmembers have been growing in number since thesian Koreans, and North Koreans cooperate. The
center opened. Considering that the cost of one
presence of Russian Koreans was instrumental in thehour’s access at the Internet cafe in Ussuriisk is 30
migration of Chinese Koreans and South Koreans torubles (US$0.75), the membership fee is insignificant
Primorsky Krai. There are cases like the Arirangand soon pays for itself. Registered members numFarm, where Chinese and Russian Koreans are coopbered 140 at the beginning. Of the 96 people taking
erating in managing a successful farm. But one canKorean classes, 55 were ethnic Koreans and 41 Rusnot ignore the fact there are also hostilities andsian, while 38 of the 66 people taking computerconflicts caused by the fact that the nationality aspect
classes were Korean and 28 Russian.
of the multinational Korean community has been
One factor in the revival of the use of Korean thatbrought out into the open; these must be overcome inmust not be overlooked is the influx of ethnic Koreorder to achieve cooperation.
ans from China’s three northeastern provinces.
Many South Korean entrepreneurs operating in
Many people from China are currently in Primorsky
Primorsky Krai say that they do not trust Koryo
Krai for business or farming purposes or in search ofSaram. Some even say they prefer to employ Ruswork, and many of these are ethnic Koreans. At thesians because they work
Chinese market on the outharder than Koryo Saram.
skirts of Ussuriisk one can
Organizations like thehear Russian, Chinese, andPrimorsky Krai Fund for
Korean flying back andKorean Revival have also
forth. Ethnic Koreans frombeen criticized. It has been
Russia and China communiclaimed that although acate with each other mainly
great deal of South Korean
in Korean. At the Chinesemoney has gone to themarket I was able to meet
Koryo Saram community,
old ladies who had comelittle has changed as thefrom Sakhalin or North
funds have been pocketed
Korea before the Korean
by a few cronies. At theWar. I enjoyed the kimchi
pickles that the ladies were Women selling kimchi at a market in the suburbs of Ussuriisk. same time, the Koryo Saram
5

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

side also harbors mistrust, accusing South Koreanbusinesses of cozying up to the Koryo Saram community when there is money to be made, but abandoning it once they have established connections withthe regional government.
The distrust between the Koryo Saram and South
Koreans—exacerbated by the opaque way in which
the fund managed its finances; embezzlement by thefund’s middle managers; the haphazard aid policy of
the aid organizations and agricultural enterprises; andpower struggles—eventually exposed a serious difference of opinion in regard to the “friendship village.”
The Construction Association of Korea had been proceeding with housing repairs, farming assistance, andother Koryo Saram aid projects since 1998. The village
is a housing estate built by the association in
Mikhailovka, Primorsky Krai, as a collective dwellingfor Koryo Saram returning to the region from 2000 onwards. At the end of 2001 the village was formallyopened, albeit on a much smaller scale than originallyplanned, but there was a difference of opinion between the builder and the fund concerning themethod of allocating the dwellings. The dispute created a stir throughout the Koryo Saram community.
Of course, such splits are the exception, not therule, in Primorsky Krai’s multinational Korean community as a whole. In point of fact, the presence ofthe Koryo Saram was a significant factor in both the
migration of Chinese Koreans to Primorsky Krai andthe setting up of operations there by South Korean
enterprises. Although some people say that ordinary
Koryo Saram are not suitable to be used as interpreters, in conditions where administration was inefficient and social controls were strict the Koryo Saram
played an important role. And even though South
Korean entrepreneurs express distrust of Koryo
Saram, in practice they are an indispensable source of
employees. The role of Koryo Saram middle managers
is said to have been essential for the 20 or so South
Korean apparel factories in Primorsky Krai, the only
sector considered to have been successful. As I havealready described, South Korean aid to the Koryo
Saram has sustained their basic livelihoods as they
settled down after returning to the region, and has
extended to the cultural sphere in such activities as
the teaching of Korean. It cannot be denied that
South Korean economic development and the South
Korean presence in Primorsky Krai have been influential in raising the social status of the Koryo Saram.
A People Without a History Regain Their Rights
The history of the Koryo Saram stops in 1937, the year
6

July 2002of their forced migration. During a meal with influential members of the Koryo Saram community, thecurrent chairman of the Primorsky Krai Fund for
Korean Revival, Evgeny Kan, criticized former chairman Kim Telmir, who had vigorously pursued the
project to promote the return to the region, sayingthat his historical perception was overly fixated on
the forced migration of 1937. Maybe this showed thata new national movement is needed now that 10
years have passed since the start of the return to theregion. The changeover from Kim Telmir, arevolutionary’s son, to the current chairman, who
has risen to a position of influence in Primorsky Kraiby dint of his business operations in the region, is areflection of the transformation taking place in the
Koryo Saram community.
It is ironic that, against the background of the ongoing series of political and legal processes to restore
the honor lost as a result of past political oppression,
the focus of Koryo Saram history lies increasingly inthe forced migration. The emphasis on this event has
meant that the wealth of independent achievementin education, the arts, culture, the media, and otherfields that the Koryo Saram had attained up to thatpoint is gradually being forgotten. Of course, fromaround 1989 Koryo Saram associations started to beformed in various places, and at the same time aspromoting the rehabilitation of language and culture, served as an arena for debates on national autonomy. But it appears that as far as the history of theirautonomy before 1937 is concerned, Koryo Saram
either know nothing, or at best have only a fragmentary knowledge. It seems unlikely that those whohave returned to Primorsky Krai recently are any
different in this respect, for hardly any use is being
made of the experiences of the Koryo Saram before theforced migration. History is repeating itself—the
problems faced by Koryo Saram society before themigration are replicated in their society today.
A number of such problems can be identified bycomparing the situations before 1937 and now insuch areas as citizenship and newspaper publishing.
Limitations of space prevent me from going into detail here, but if it is true that awareness of history isnecessary not only for the recovery of national identity but also in order to avoid repetition of the past,
what has significance for the present is not the “endof history” that occurred at the moment of the forced
migration but a reexamination of the more than 70
years of history that was brought to an end by the
migration. This is the reason why Oleg Pan, a former
editor of the newspaper Won Don, dug up the history

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORTof the migration and published the results in thenewspaper. The value and meaning of Koryo Saramethnic newspapers in Primorsky Krai is highlighted
by this case, and Pan even traveled to South Korea toappeal for support for his publication. I heard ofPan’s death in January 2002. May the spirit of thiseditor who was deeply attached to both the historyof the Koryo Saram and his publication rest in peace.
“Homeland”: The Politics of Spatialized Memory
What does “homeland” mean for the Koryo Saram?
Almost all those migrating to Primorsky Krai fromCentral Asia were born not in Primorsky Krai but intowns or villages in countries like Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. The “homeland” thatthey are attempting to re-create is neither the Korean
Peninsula, nor Russia, nor the Central Asian villages
in which they lived. Where they actually lived before
is of no consequence—what they have in mind is aspace called “Primorsky Krai.” By spatializing theirmemories, the “homeland” is re-created. Sometimes
a “homeland” is created artificially in accordancewith the regional government’s policy. If a homelandis created ex post facto in this way, the people whohave “returned” to Primorsky Krai may start “hometown” societies based on where they were born.
Then they would discover their “hometown” once
more. In fact, people who have moved to Partizansk
say they chose that location because the landscaperesembles Central Asia.
A Primorsky Krai Koryo Saram culture festival took
place throughout Vladivostok from September 30 to
October 3, 2001. Although it was held on the initiative of Yury Ten, a member of the lower house of theRussian parliament and chairman of the Association
for National Cultural Autonomy of Russian Koreans,
it would have been impossible without the cooperation of such organizations as the Korean Education
Center in Vladivostok. It would be no exaggeration
to say that the principal objective of the festival wasthe creation of a “homeland” called Primorsky Kraiby means of the national culture, as is clear from thefact that the festival’s primary emphasis was on theidea that Primorsky Krai was the “original home” ofthe Korean people. The festival was timed to coincide with South Korea’s National Foundation Day(October 3), and it may be that this was an attempt torecover the “homeland” as spatialized memory in a
temporal sense as well. If the recovery of a “home”
is a political issue, then the “home” that was to be
recovered through the festival probably had a different meaning for those promoting it than for the gen-

July 2002

eral public. The Koryo Saram “home” that was once
formed in the course of diplomatic maneuvering between Russia and Japan has now been revived
within the framework of amity and economic cooperation between Russia and South Korea.
The cultural festival, endorsed by the central andregional governments, passed off successfully amidinterest from Russians and with the participation ofother ethnic minorities. The Koryo Saram were able todisplay their cultural pride as a people to the populace of the host community. “Homeland” within thisframework can help to establish goodwill and harmony between the Koryo Saram community and local
residents. Now that the idea of establishing an autonomous region has dropped out of sight, I believethat in Primorsky Krai, where there is already a multinational, multicultural Korean community, theKoryo Saram themselves have been placed in a situation where they must envisage what kind of “home”
they wish to build.

Building a Better East Asia: The Toyota Foundation Yuseong Conference
From February 13 to 15 a conference was held at the
hot-spring resort of Yuseong, near the city of Daejeon,South Korea, for young researchers involved in studies
related to the Korean Peninsula. All of the participants
had received grants for individual research projects
under the Toyota Foundation Research Grant Program
since the mid-1990s. Kim Puja details what was actually discussed at the conference below. Some aspects ofthe event—such as participants rooming together indormitories, drinking and talking until the early hours,
and bathing together in the hot springs—ran counter
to what one expects of a typical modern conference. But
such informality is essential in terms of building networks of researchers and deepening trust between
people. As suggested by the theme of the conference,“Building a Better East Asia,” it is hoped that the participants will look beyond national borders to work together both in research and in practical efforts to build
peace and stability and a better culture in East Asia.
(Shiro Honda)
Kim Puja
Lecturer, Kanto Gakuin University
It was noticeably chillier in Seoul than in Japan when
we arrived on the Lunar New Year. A three-hour bus
ride took us to the famous hot-spring resort of7

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

Yuseong in Daejeon City, where we stayed at the
Yuseong Youth Hostel, which is unconnected withthe hot spring. We based ourselves there for the conference, which was held from February 13 to 15 under the stewardship of Dr. Yim Kyung Taek, chair of
the organizing committee.
This conference was set up as a forum for researchers who have received Toyota Foundation
grants for research relating to the Korean Peninsula
to meet each other, Foundation members, researchers on Taiwan, and others, to present their research,and to exchange views and information. The gathering was notable for the wide range of the participants’ research fields, including the middle ages, thecolonial period, modern South and North Korea, theKorean diaspora, and gender research; for the factthat members had come not just from South Korea
and Japan but also New York; and for the large number of women researchers. Apart from those involved in the same fields, the participants had not
met each other before, but by giving self-introductions on the bus and at a gathering on the eve of theconference, and by rooming and eating together, theice was soon broken.
On the day after we arrived, February 14, first we
took an early-morning bath in the Yuseong hot
spring, and then the first session—on research relating to colonial Korea—got underway. I was the firstpresenter and gave an overview of my doctoral thesis, titled “The Relationship Between Gender andAttendance and Nonattendance at Primary Education Institutions in Colonial Korea.” Next, Ryuta
Itagaki, a graduate student at the University of Tokyo, gave a report based on his dissertation, “Normal Schools and Local Communities Under the
Colonial Regime: One School in Sangju, Kyongsang
Pukdo,” which he wrote after conducting fieldwork
in Sangju. In a presentation titled “An Aspect of theMovement to Resolve the Korean ‘Comfort Women’Problem: Links with the Anti–Sexual Violence Movement of the 1980s and 1990s,” Yeong Ae Yamashita, alecturer at Ritsumeikan University, discussed not somuch the colonial period but the modern women’s
movement campaigning on the “comfort women”
issue in Korea. Meanwhile, under the theme “Japanese Anthropologists in the Imperialist Era,” Dr. Yim
Kyung Taek, a lecturer at Chonbuk National University in Korea and chair of the conference organizing
committee, discussed figures like Chijun Murayama
and Takashi Akiba whose influence continues to befelt in anthropology and historical research today.
Professor Takeshi Hamashita of Kyoto University
8

July 2002

asked a series of incisive questions based on his
knowledge of the subject.
The second session was due to start after lunch,but the youth hostel where the conference was taking
place was so cold that some participants raised objections to continuing there, leading to a noisy discussion on the idea of switching to another venue. In aclassic case of people being unable to see what is staring them in the face—and following an offer by thekind lady in charge of the cafeteria where we atelunch—it was decided that we would use a privateroom on the second floor of the cafeteria instead. We
hurriedly moved to the new venue, and in the end all
subsequent presentations were made there.
The second session—held in the room that was
small but warm thanks to a Korean floor heater—
was a forum for significant research on topics relating to Koreans living in Central Asia, China, andJapan. Dr. Lee Aeliah of the Japan Center for Area
Studies of the National Museum of Ethnology reported on the past and present of ethnic Koreans living in Kazakhstan, under the title “The Current Stateof Korean Communities in Central Asia and the Issues They Face.” A book by Dr. Lee on this subject
will soon be published. In “Do Ethnic Koreans Exist?
The Drifting Ethnicity of Ethnic Koreans Living in
Korea,” Hyun Mooam, a graduate student at the
University of Tokyo, analyzed from a postcolonial
standpoint views surrounding the 150,000 Chineseborn ethnic Koreans said to now be living in South
Korea. Meanwhile, Lim Youngmi, a graduate student at the City University of New York, and Dr. Lee
Inza, a lecturer at Tohoku University, offered analysis of Koreans living in Japan. Lim’s presentation focused on interviews with Koreans of Japanesenationality and was titled “Ethnicity by Choice andImposed Race Categories: The Paradox Surrounding
the Identity Symbols of Korean Japanese.” In “WhatMigrants Want from Their Hometowns and What
Their Hometowns Want from Them: The History of
Exchange Between a Friendship Association for Koreans in Japan and the Migrants’ Home Village,” Dr.
Lee focused on a friendship association and newspapers to tell the story of migration down the years
from Goneiri Village on Jeju Island to Arakawa inTokyo. The differences in the approaches and methods of these two researchers in the same field—Koreans in Japan—provided considerable food forthought. Dr. Kim Taegi of Honam University in Korea made a more general presentation on the subject
titled “International Relations and Koreans Living
Abroad.” It was the first time I had ever heard such aTHE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

variety of reports on Koreans living abroad in thesame forum.
There followed a general debate—which apparently continued until well into the night—on the future of research on North Korea and other topics.
After another refreshing dip in the hot spring thenext morning, the third session, on society and culture on the peninsula and the archipelago across thesea, got underway. First, Kunihiko Doi, a researcher
at Rikkyo University, reported on “Maehyang Rituals as Seen Through Maehyangbi in Samchonpo,” inwhich he said that studying the Maehyangbi rockcarvings from before Confucianism took hold in Korea had revealed that feng shui was practiced for altruistic rather than selfish reasons. He also reported
that local historians all over South Korea had accumulated a rich store of materials on this. Next, Sangji
University lecturer Kim Young presented “Attitudes
Toward Labor Unions of Female Temporary Workers: Comparing Japan and Korea,” which included
tales of her struggles to conduct surveys in Japan andSouth Korea. Finally, the leading figure of South Korean research on North Korea, Dr. Han Hongkoo of
Sungkonghoe University, presented “The Democratization of South Korea and the Dissolution of Militarism.” Dr. Han currently co-chairs a citizen’s
coalition for conscientious objectors to military service and takes the view that South Korea cannot become a democratic society without shedding
militarism. From that highly practical viewpoint hepainted a vivid picture of the reality of the Korean
military and the issues surrounding it, and his presentation left a deep impression. We also heard about
chair Dr. Yim’s experiences of military service.
I found the cross-disciplinary event highly stimulating as a forum for airing the kind of research andopinions relating to the Korean Peninsula that one
does not encounter in forums limited to one’s own
field. There was, however, some disappointment that
due to time restrictions the presentations tended toresemble self-introductions, with little chance fordeeper discussions. As for the future, there were suggestions for symposiums on research on Koreans living abroad of the kind presented at the conference,
publications, and a further session on colonial research. And there is no reason to stop at research on
the Korean Peninsula. Holding such events has great
potential for facilitating a range of research exchange. Sessions could cover such themes as thecolonial era in Taiwan or the former Manchuria, international gender relations, ethnicity, and migration.
Delays in preparation actually meant that at one

July 2002

stage the Yuseong conference was in danger of cancellation, but in the end arrangements for things likeprinted materials and equipment were completed intime. The problem of the unexpectedly cold youth
hostel was successfully overcome thanks to the quick
thinking and action of organizing committee chair
Dr. Yim, Dr. Lee Aeliah, and Kim Young. I would liketo thank them for their efforts.
Dr. Yoshimi Yamamoto, a visiting research associate at the Institute of Ethnology at Academica Sinica
in Taiwan, attended the conference as part of preparations for a similar event on the subject of researchon Taiwan, an enterprise that is sure to lead to exciting developments. Also, a collection of the reports
from the Yuseong conference is due to be published,
and I encourage those interested in learning more
about the subjects covered to consult this collection.

Meeting of Young Toyota Foundation
Research Grant Recipients
Ryoko Kida
Assistant Program Officer
On January 24 and 25 the Toyota Foundation held ameeting of young researchers who are conducting
studies with research grants from the Foundation.
The theme of the meeting was “Human Activity andthe Environment: Between Research and the Field.”
Over 60 people gathered for the event, filling up therather small venue at Kyoto Shigaku Kaikan.
A growing number of research grant applications
involve field studies focusing on how the social conditions of local communities, local culture, andpeople’s everyday activities relate to the natural environment. The meeting brought together young researchers involved in such studies to discuss not thecontent of their research but various peripheral issues, including problems they have noticed in thecourse of research, the manner in which they disclose
the results, and the desired form of research support.
Presentations were made by researchers of diverse
disciplines, specialties, and careers. They included aformer Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer who,
based on his experiences during two years in Kenya,has been exploring ways for wild animals and neighboring humans to coexist; a scientist researching a
Guinean community’s attitude toward nature as observed during a study of wild chimpanzees; and an
9THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

July 2002

nese is not their first language, both presentations
Inner Mongolian who, after working as a reporter for
were explicit and conveyed their critical awarenessa radio station in his native land, trained as a histoplainly, perhaps due to their strong sense of responrian and is now working to shed light on the desertisibility toward the place where they are conducting
fication of Inner Mongolia from a historical perresearch.
spective.
Among the other presenters was a researcher with
The reports provided an opportunity to hear theexperience in conducting environmental surveys as
researchers express the kind of candid thoughts thata construction consultant, who raised questions
cannot be gleaned from academic presentations andabout the manner in which Japan provides assistancepapers. One presenter after another honestly voiced
to developing countries and what part researchers
the anxieties and difficulties they had felt while dostudying in the region should play in those efforts.
ing fieldwork. “I could not give a convincing answer
Several people made concrete proposals to thewhen asked by villagers why I had gone to the
Toyota Foundation in their presentations, including
trouble of coming so far just to conduct my study,”
a call for long-term support and a request for thesaid one. Another confessed, “A local told me, ‘We
Foundation to become a hub that brings together
will answer your questions. What will you do forpeople of diverse careers.
us?’ and I did not know what to say.” Comments
were also made on the question of how to share reVoices from the Field
search results with local communities and on the
The second day of the gathering commenced withpowerlessness of fieldworkers when an urgent situpresentations by Yoshitaka Tanaka, Yutaka Une, andation arises in the field.
Shintaro Sugiyama, who shared their experiences
A member of the audience pointed out thatengaging in research and other activities in the field.
fieldworkers excessively torment themselves with
Tanaka, founder and executive director of thethe sense of guilt they feel for conducting their studFoundation of Agricultural Development and Eduies in developing countries. The meeting may havecation in Thailand, gave a talk titled “Research, Acaplayed up the negative aspects of field research, bedemics, Funding, and the Feedback of Researchcause one of its aims was to shed light on the probResults to the Local Community,” focusing on his
lems perceived during fieldwork. Nevertheless,research and its funding. Tanaka is currently conwhen we inhabitants of “developed countries” inducting a survey of useful plants in Vietnam. He revolve ourselves in some way with “developing
ported that the FADE would soon complete
countries” in the present social context, there is no
production of a three-volume illustrated plant guide
doubt that any insensitive actions we unwittingly
at a cost of ¥6,000 per set by printtake can undeniably have a great iming and binding the books in Vietpact. Reflecting on how one shouldnam. Local production is not only
respond to the sincere questions ofmuch cheaper than making thethe people who are the object of one’s
books in Japan, but it makes itfieldwork is surely a necessary attieasier to distribute them to local
tude in carrying out research. It is aninhabitants. Tanaka revealed theattitude that is expected of us—yetknow-how he has acquired
often forgotten—in the relationships
through conducting research
not only between developed and dewithout the support of large organveloping countries and between reizations, including the imporsearcher and informant but also intance of carefully checking thethose between aid-giving and aid-reparticulars essential to carrying
ceiving countries, strong and weak,out a field study, such as the local
and majority and minority.
people and the publishing and
The presenters included two fordistribution infrastructure.
eign students, one from Inner MonSugiyama then discussed the
golia and the other from another part
organic-agriculture research andof China. They are investigating thepromotion project that he is condesertification of Inner Mongolia
from the contrasting perspectives of A grant recipient plays a Laotian folk ducting in cooperation with farmers in Thailand. He and theecology and history. Although Japa- instrument at the gathering.
10

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

farmers have been grappling with the problems thatarise, including crabs eating the rice plants andpumpkins being damaged by pests, on a trial-anderror basis. Sugiyama also touched on an episode inwhich he and an assistant from northeastern Thailand pledged on a rainbow to continue further research on organic agriculture.
The final speaker was Yutaka Une, who left his job
as an agricultural promoter in Fukuoka Prefecture toestablish the Institute of Agricultural and Natural
Environments. Une talked about the modernizationof agriculture and about perspectives for describing
farm work in ways that conventional agricultural
studies could not, citing such specific examples as
the medaka (a tiny fish inhabiting ponds, rivulets, andrice paddies) and commonplace insects. Finally, heasserted that new academic disciplines should pursue the nature of true human happiness and affluence and outlined several new disciplines that he hasin mind, including the study of the relationship between nature and humankind, the study of how tomove beyond modernization, and studies that areabout more than just science. “Why do only academics become researchers?” Une asked.
All three of these speakers have demonstrated
through their own activities that “research” is not theexclusive domain of university-based specialists.
Discussion: Between Research and the Field
In the afternoon of the second day, around 20 people
took part in a discussion of the issues involved inresearch and fieldwork, particularly those that had
been highlighted in the earlier presentations. The
mediator was Takeshi Ryusawa, who was an editorof scholarly books with Heibonsha for over 30 years
and is now on the editorial board of the magazine
Hon to Konpyuta (The Book and the Computer).
Ryusawa listed six points for discussion: how toform relationships with the local community; feeding research results back to the community; how toensure the continuity of a study; the need to connect
several different disciplines; research and practice;and expectations of the Toyota Foundation’s grantactivities. Ryusawa started the session by commenting on the proceedings leading up to the discussion.
“I sensed that great changes are happening to universities today, and that the status quo can be said insome ways to be falling apart,” he said. “This is affecting the publishing world as well. The academic
world as a whole is being called to consider the general direction in which it is changing.”
The discussion lasted for two and a half hours.

July 2002

Every participant contributed to the debate, which
took many turns but was ultimately focused on theissues of research versus practice, on the one hand,and approaches to expression in research papers andtheir evaluation, on the other.
Research and practice have generally been seen toplay two distinct, if not opposing, roles. One of theviews voiced was that breaking free of this dualistic
thinking may lead to new ways of thinking. The distinctions between research and practice and between
researcher and activist are meaningless when attempting to tackle the problems that plague modern
society. A comment was also heard that agriculturalscience and fisheries science today are two disciplines that have forgotten the importance of the field.
If research is about solving the various problems andmysteries found in society, then the forms of researchshould be just as variegated as the real world. It may
be, however, that over time the label of “research”
came to be applied only to those undertakings that fit
in with convention. Many of the participants of thismeeting were people who are trying to overcome theframework of convention. But the remarks made in
the discussion suggested that unconventional efforts
often still do not receive the recognition they deservefrom universities and academic societies.
A young researcher observed: “Doing fieldwork,
one makes many interesting discoveries that cannot
be compiled as data. This information is stored in themind of the researcher, but it seems to get lost in theprocess of writing out the report.” This observation
illuminates the discrepancy between the kind ofthings field researchers would like to express and thekind of things that receive recognition when papers
are evaluated. A non-researcher suggested, “Then
why not write a paper on the very things that cannot
be made into a research paper?” Another participant
boldly asked whether those researchers present had
not lost the desire to write about the things that had
impressed them during fieldwork.
Several of the participants sent us their comments
after the gathering. One of them pointed out, “Thesense of involvement is weakening in the world of
research, and this ultimately is draining the cogency
of individual studies.” This led me to think that theidea of involvement may offer a key to solving someof the problems that were brought to light at themeeting. We will be able to take a big step forward
toward a solution if all of us—not only researchers—
strive to always be aware of our involvement in thesettings in which we live and are active. Universities,
as a part of society, will naturally change shape as
11

THE TOYOTA FOUNDATION OCCASIONAL REPORT

society undergoes transformation. This meetingbrought home the need for the Toyota Foundation torecognize that its involvement in research means that
it is affected by changes in universities and in academics and that it must devise flexible programs thatcan cope with these changes.
The presenters offered us much valuable input
right from the preliminary stages of organizing themeeting. They also assisted us with the actual preparations, from putting together the program to sending out invitations. I would like to take thisopportunity to thank them all for their services.

Recent Publications Based on
Foundation-Supported Research
A Social History of Blind Priests in Japan and South Korea. Akiko Nagai. Fukuoka: Ashi Publishing, 2002.
In recent years, the themes and frameworks formany research proposals have been selected for no
more reason than that they are in fashion in the academic world centered on North America. Such plansgive little clue as to why the researcher felt compelled to study the theme and leave the impressionthat the application might have been filed not by aliving person but by a research robot. Akiko Nagai,
the author of this book, entered the world of academics at an age when most researchers are approaching
the end of their careers and are already losing thestamina and powers of memory that sustain young
scholars. But Nagai more than makes up for this withthe depth of her involvement with people on thefringes of society—relationships that she has built up
over many years—and with her resolute motivation
for research based on that involvement. She has used
these assets to the full in her research on blind priests
in Japan and South Korea, which she started in 1995.
There is something remarkable in her ability not only
to freely enter the world of blind priests in her homecountry Japan but also to overcome barriers of language, history, and culture to enter the equivalentworld on the Korean Peninsula. Maybe she feels that
there are no barriers between herself and the blindpriests. The beauty of this book lies in the fact that it
describes a world that is obscured from the view ofpeople in mainstream society and that it attempts totreat the Japanese island of Kyushu and the Korean
12

July 2002

Peninsula as a single sphere. In that sense it has profound implications for the future.

New Secretary
On January 1 Norio Kanie took over as secretary of
the Toyota Foundation. He was previously projectgeneral manager of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Corporate
Planning Division. From July
1 he has also served as managing director.
The photograph shows Kanie welcoming participantsat the recent Toyota Foundation Yuseong Conference
held in South Korea, which
is described on page 7 of thisreport.

Obituary
Makoto Numata, a member of the Toyota Foundation’s board of trustees, died at the end of last year.
He was 84. Numata made a major contribution tonature conservation in Japan, including serving aspresident of the Nature Conservation Society of Japan. He will be sorely missed both by the Foundation and by the movement to which he gave so much.

The Toyota Foundation welcomes responses fromreaders of the Occasional Report. Comments andquestions should be addressed to the International
Division, The Toyota Foundation, Shinjuku Mitsui
Building 37F, 2-1-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 163-0437, Japan. The articles in the Occasional
Report reflect the authors’ opinions and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Foundation.
Coordinating editor: Shiro Honda. Production: Japan Echo Inc., Tokyo.
Copyright ©2002 by The Toyota Foundation; all rights reserved. Printed
in Japan.