“Kikan Sanzenri”, the Public Sphere for Solidarity, Built by Zainichi Korean Intellectuals
Authors:   The Korean Association For Japanese History, Cho Su-Il 
Published: January 2023

By reviewing the pathway of “Kikan Sanzenri” (Issues 1 to 50: Feb. 1975 to May 1987), an academic journal published by Zainichi Korean intellectuals and in which they expressed their clear critical mind toward the issues of peaceful reunification of their home country Korea, restoration of democratization/human rights in Korea, and promotion of mutual understanding and solidarity between Korea and Japan in the time and space of their foreign land, this paper examined the overall picture of this public sphere written in Japanese.
In particular, while the Korean intellectuals’ articles translated and introduced in “Kikan Sanzenri” were not covered in previous researches, this paper paid attention to them and examined what kind of stature they have in the journal. First, through division into “Special Features”, “Conversation/Round-table Talks/Symposiums”, “Serial Publication” and “Translation”, which clearly indicate the journal’s direction, the critical mind and roles of “Kikan Sanzenri” were analyzed.
The public sphere “Kikan Sanzenri” is a journal which Zainichi Korean intellectuals who were inspired by the July 4 Inter-Korean Joint Statement in 1972 initiatively started publishing. Through “Kikan Sanzenri”, they aimed to write a “History of Korea-Japan Exchange” for historical agreement, through collection of various ideas and opinions by planning special features on the contemporary historical tasks of Korea and on pending issues about the Korean Peninsula and about the Japanese Islands. Also, through special features examining the past, present and future of Zainichi Koreans, “Kikan Sanzenri” functioned as a venue for “unity in diversity” which is a synonym for polyphony.
It is also worth noting that “Kikan Sanzenri” shared its critical mind with readers through conversation, round-table talks, and symposiums. Through serial publication of articles in a wide range of fields and genres, the journal fulfilled its social and cultural roles as the public sphere. In particular, by focusing on “Seoul Report” written by K·I. and Yasuhiro Maeda, this paper examined the significance of this “another series.” The articles by K·I. and Yasuhiro Maeda, which sought to reveal the truth hidden in the politics between Korea and Japan by taking the lives and voices of the Korean people as their own, are significant in that they convey the overall picture of the times in solidarity with oppressed Korean intellectuals including Chi-ha Kim who expressed the importance of political imagination and creativity, as well as workers, and Zainichi Korean students.
Finally, this paper focused on the articles by Korean intellectuals translated and introduced on “Kikan Sanzenri.” “Kikan Sanzenri” introduced the practice of intellectuals who wrote articles by diagnosing the divided Korean peninsula and diagnosing the crisis situation in Korea, where human rights were being violated and freedom of speech was deprived of. This paper identified that “Kikan Sanzenri” tried to further strengthen its sense of purpose through this, and that the spirit of the times contained in the intellectuals’ voices transcending time and space from Korea functioned as a reason to urge contemporary Zainichi/Japanese people to self-reflect their attitudes toward the reality and history in which they are placed.
The movement of “Kikan Sanzenri”, which gathered the voices of all social classes while accompanying practice, is worth noting as a historical record and deserves further discussion in that, in this era of ongoing hostility typified by anti-Japanese and anti-Korean sentiments, it provides an opportunity to discover the history of Korea-Japan exchange and to look into its significance in the present time.