North Korea's Secret Schools in Japan are Failing.

Overview

The video argues that Japan’s long-running “Joseon gakko” (Korean schools linked to North Korea) are in serious decline and are likely to disappear or shrink further. It attributes this to a mix of political pressure, funding restrictions, and demographic/cultural assimilation—while also emphasizing that the schools’ existence is rooted in the history and legal ambiguity surrounding Korean residents in Japan.

Symbolic Opening Example: Jeon Tae-se’s World Cup Tears (2010)

The video begins with footballer Jeon Tae-se, who:

• was born and raised in Japan
• played for North Korea, despite not living in or being directly connected to North Korea in everyday terms

Cameras famously focused on his crying during the North Korean national anthem. The video uses this to illustrate how North Korea’s influence can persist in a Japanese community through education and diaspora institutions, even while daily life remains separated from North Korea.

Who These Schools Are For—and Why They Exist

The speaker explains that students in these schools are typically:

• ethnic Koreans born in Japan
• often holding North Korea-linked documents (“Joseon seki”)

The schools are tied to Chongryong/Cheonryong, described as operating like a North Korea-linked organization in Japan (including functioning in a role similar to an unofficial embassy).

A key framing point is that Japan does not recognize North Korea as a sovereign state, shaping how citizenship and schooling function for Korean residents.

Historical Backdrop: From Colonial Exploitation to Postwar “Statelessness” and Competing Organizations

The video traces Korean presence in Japan to long-term migration, peaking under:

• Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945), when Koreans were brought to Japan for labor and faced discrimination and violence, including the Kantō Massacre after the 1923 earthquake.

After Japan’s 1945 surrender and the division of Korea:

• many Korean residents in Japan became stateless or effectively trapped
• they were caught between a split homeland and a host country that denied full belonging

The video also describes how Korean groups in Japan divided into competing organizations:

• Chōren/Joryeong (initially North-leaning; later suppressed by occupation authorities)
• Mindan (aligned with South Korea)
• later, Chongryong/Cheonryong, founded with support from Pyongyang, expanding a North Korea-aligned school network

How the School System Works (“Soft Power”)

The video portrays Joseon gakko as more than language education. It argues they function as:

• identity preservation institutions
• providers of a Pyongyang-aligned historical narrative and loyalty messaging

While schools may look academically similar to other schools (e.g., math, science, clubs), they differ in:

• language
• curriculum framing
• political messaging (such as leadership portraits/anthem routines, as described in the video)

They are also described as community hubs that reinforce North Korea-linked identity and sustain diaspora networks.

Why the System Is Collapsing

The speaker argues the schools’ decline is largely structural and financial:

• Economic change: South Korea’s rapid growth under Park Chung-hee made the North’s “alternative future” less compelling, leading Zainichi families to shift children to other schools.
• Funding erosion: support from Pyongyang shrank over time; donation pipelines weakened (including due to changes in businesses such as pachinko amid assimilation).
• Internal pressure and partial reforms (late 1990s–2000s): parents and teachers pushed curriculum changes (e.g., removing some leader portraits and reducing “Revolutionary Activities” content), though ties to Pyongyang were not fully severed.

Escalation Linked to North Korea Intensifies Scrutiny in Japan

The video argues that major provocations—especially abductions and nuclear/missile tests—fuel Japanese backlash against Korean schools and communities.

It highlights that after a Koizumi–Kim Jong-il summit (2002) revealed information about kidnappings:

• anger in Japan rose
• pressure increased on schools and students
• examples include hiding uniforms and advising girls to cover with traditional clothing

It also mentions far-right harassment, including incidents at schools in Kyoto.

Major Turning Point: Education-Funding Exclusion and Legal Battles (2010s)

The video emphasizes a key shift in policy:

• In 2012, under Shinzo Abe’s government, Japan excluded Chongryong-linked schools from expanded fee-free education programs, citing concerns about political ties, autonomy, and North Korea-linked threats.

The exclusion triggered lawsuits with mixed results:

• 2017 Osaka District Court: exclusion ruled illegal; deemed political rather than educational.
• 2018 Osaka High Court: reversed the decision.
• Higher courts ultimately did not reopen it.

After policy uncertainty and renewed tuition burdens:

• campuses reportedly closed or merged
• student numbers fell from tens of thousands to only a few thousand by the late 2010s

Counterpoint: Mindan-Linked Schools Are Smaller and Face Less Scrutiny

The video notes that Mindan (South Korea-aligned) has a far smaller school footprint in Japan—only a handful of schools compared with the larger Joseon gakko system—suggesting that North-linked education expanded more deeply, then shrank more sharply under modern pressure.

Repatriation Campaign and Aiko Kawasaki’s Testimony

The video revisits the repatriation program in the late 1950s–1980s, portraying it as deceptive recruitment for skilled workers and technicians.

It centers on Aiko Kawasaki, who:

• went to North Korea at 17 (1960)
• endured famine-era atrocities, including cannibalism
• escaped in 2003 via China
• later sued

The story is tied to later court developments, culminating in 2026, when a court found North Korea liable and ordered damages (though enforcement is described as unlikely).

The video uses this account to argue that diaspora schooling and identity policies can be connected to coercive or exploitative state practices.

Final Framing: Identity Hardened by External Pressure

The concluding message is that even as institutions weaken:

• families persist because these schools are described as the only place where Korean language and Korean names feel normal and protected

The video portrays external pressure as not necessarily eliminating identity, but sometimes strengthening community cohesion, even while future attendance remains uncertain.

Presenters / Contributors (as named in the subtitles)

• Jeon Tae-se
• Aiko Kawasaki
• Junichiro Koizumi
• Kim Jong-il
• Syngman Rhee
• Han Tok-su (founder associated with Cheonryong/Chongryong)
• Park Chung-hee
• Shinzo Abe
• Kim Il-sung
• John Lee (sociology professor, UC Berkeley)
• Anthony Faiola (Washington Post)
• Fiona (student quoted/identified in the school description)
• Kim Yong (parent mentioned)
• Park Tae-jin (former teacher mentioned)
• Al Jazeera (media outlet cited)
• The Washington Post (publication cited)
• Zaitokukai (far-right group referenced)