Chongryon

General Association of Korean Residents in Japan
AbbreviationCh'ongryŏn, Chōsen Sōren
PredecessorMinsen[1]
Formation25 May 1955; 69 years ago (1955-05-25)[2]
TypeNGO
Location
Coordinates35°41′49″N 139°44′37″E / 35.696972°N 139.7435°E / 35.696972; 139.7435
Region served
Japan
Official language
Korean, Japanese
Chairman
Ho Jong-man
First Vice-Chairman
Pak Ku-ho[3]
Vice-Chairman
Nam Sung-woo, Bai Jin-ku, Jo Il-yon, Song Kun-hak, So Chung-on, Kang Chu-ryon
Key people
Han Duk-su, founder
Main organ
General Assembly
Parent organisation
United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea[needs update]
Websitewww.chongryon.com Edit this at Wikidata
Ch'ongryŏn
Japanese name
Kanji在日本朝鮮人総聯合会 or 在日本朝鮮人総連合会
Kanaざいにほんちょうせんじんそうれんごうかい
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnZai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai
North Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl재일본조선인총련합회
Hancha在日本朝鮮人總聯合會
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationJaeilbon Joseonin Chongnyeonhaphoe
McCune–ReischauerChaeilbon Chosŏnin Ch'ongryŏnhaphoe

The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan,[4] abbreviated as Chongryon[4] (Korean: 총련; Hanja: 總聯; RR: Chongryeon; MR: Ch'ongryŏn) or Chōsen Sōren (Japanese: 朝鮮総連),[5] is one of two main organisations for Zainichi Koreans (Korean citizens or residents of Japan), the other being Mindan. It has close ties to North Korea and functions as North Korea's de facto embassy in Japan, as there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries.[6][7] The organisation is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and there are prefectural and regional head offices and branches throughout Japan.

Mindan, officially the Korean Residents Union in Japan, contrastingly consists of Zainichi Koreans who have adopted South Korean nationality. As of 2018, among 610,000 Korean residents in Japan who have not adopted Japanese nationality, 25 percent are affiliated with the Chongryon, and 65 percent are affiliated with Mindan.[8] As of 2016, PSIA reported that Chongryon had 70,000 members.

Chongryon's strong links to North Korea, its allegiance to the North Korean ideology and its opposition to integration of Koreans into Japanese society have made it controversial in Japan. Acts which Chongryon officials are suspected of include notably the 1977-1983 abduction of Japanese nationals, illicit transfer of funds to North Korea, espionage, drug smuggling and the smuggling of electronics and missile parts.[9] The Chongryon has been described by the Washington Post as a "very effective sanctions-busting enterprise".[10] Its wide variety of businesses, including banks and pachinko parlors, are used to generate funds for the North Korean government.[10]

Numerous organisations are affiliated with the Chongryon, including 18 mass propaganda bodies and 23 business enterprises, with one of its most important business sectors being pachinko. The organisation also operates about 60 Korean schools and a Korean university, as well as banks and other facilities in Japan. Chongryon schools teach a strong pro-North Korean ideology.

In recent years, the organization has run into severe financial trouble, with debts of over US$750 million, and was ordered by court in 2012 to dispose of most of its assets, including its Tokyo headquarters.[11]

According to an interview with Mitsuhiro Suganuma, former head of the Public Security Intelligence Agency's Second Intelligence Department, Chongryon is under the control of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea's Liaison Department.[12]

  1. ^ "Japan to keep North Korea-linked association Chongryon under surveillance | the Japan Times". Archived from the original on 17 May 2019.
  2. ^ "재일본조선인총연합회 (在日本朝鮮人總聯合會)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean).
  3. ^ Takahashi, Kosuke (25 November 2020). "North Korea appointed next leader of its de facto embassy in Japan, sources say". NK News – North Korea News.
  4. ^ a b "2. Focal Issues of International Public Security in 2006." Ministry of Justice. Retrieved on 17 January 2009.
  5. ^ "The Mutual Gaze of Okinawans and Zainichi Koreans in Post-War Japan: From 1945 to the 1972 Okinawa Reversion".
  6. ^ John Pike. "Chosen Soren". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  7. ^ "Stage set for Japan to seize North Korea's 'embassy' Archived October 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." Agence France-Presse. 18 June 2007. Retrieved on 15 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Ethnic Korean Groups in Japan Advance Korean Rights, Culture and Unification with Homeland". Voice of America. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Armin Rosen (26 July 2012). "The Strange Rise and Fall of North Korea's Business Empire in Japan". The Atlantic. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Chongryon still Pyongyang's pawn in covert operations: Former intelligence officer | NK News - North Korea News". www.nknews.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2022.