Lee Punghe
Korea University (Japan)

Received January 2, 2022; Revised version received February 10, 2022; Accepted February 20, 2022

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to revisit the organizational processes and activities of the General Union of Korean Workers in Japan (hereafter referred to as the General Union), which was formed vis-à-vis the unification of the various labor organizations by Koreans in Japan throughout different regions, to examine the lives of Korean residents in Japan and the struggle for national liberation after 1922. It is imperative that light be shone upon the interrelationship between the Korean-Japanese intellectuals and “the people” who faced ethnic and class contradictions within the structure of Japanese colonial governance. This means analyzing the tensions and anxieties borne of how the movements unfolded amid conflicts surrounding the discourses toward national liberation and contradictions inherent in the lower ranks. Only through such an analysis can movement history be reconstructed into that which reflects the demands forwarded by “the people.” The articles examines the organization and activities of the General Union, which played a significant part in the Korean national liberation movements in Japan and fought to defend the lives of Korean residents in Japan. The General Union was a federation of Korean labor unions established in various regions of Japan. As such, simply analyzing the processes of the organization and activities of the General Union does not diverge in any meaningful way from the framework innate in previous studies; in fact, what must be clarified is the Union’s relationship with the struggles of local unions or workers.

Key Words : General Union of Korean Workers in Japan, March First Movement, national liberation movement, Korea, Japan, labor organization