Zainichi Korean and Japanese Magazine Discourse on the Korean Peninsula in the 1980s ：Focusing on Democratization-Related Articles in Sanzenri and Sekai

This article examines the characteristics of and the differences between the discourses on the Korean Peninsula formed in the 1980s by the Japanese general-interest magazine Sekai and the Zainichi Korean general-interest magazine Sanzenri. Focusing on representations of South Korea’s democratization under the Chun Doo-hwan regime, the study analyzes how each magazine addressed issues such as inter-Korean relations, Japan–Korea relations, and the Zainichi Korean question.</br>Sekai approached South Korea’s democratization within the broader framework of Cold War politics, international relations, and the reconfiguration of Japan–South Korea and Japan–North Korea relations. In doing so, it framed the status of the Korean Peninsula as a matter of international justice, and explored the responsibilities of Japanese civil society in this respect. By contrast, Sanzenri developed its discourse on the Korean Peninsula from the perspective of the “homeland.” It foregrounded Kim Dae-jung as the central symbol of South Korea’s democratization and emphasized the confrontation between the military regime and democratic forces by juxtaposing Chun Doo-hwan and Kim Dae-jung. Moreover, Sanzenri presented South Korea’s democratization not merely as an internal issue for Zainichi Koreans, but as a task requiring the solidarity and cooperation of Japanese society.</br>By examining these contrasting discourses, this study elucidates the differing consciousness of issues and modes of articulation within 1980s Japanese debates on the Korean Peninsula, highlighting the external-oriented, civil society–centered discourse of Sekai and the diaspora-oriented, homeland-centered discourse of Sanzenri.