[KS] New book publication on Koreans in Japan

[jackie kim]

Dear List-Members,

I would like to draw your attention to a new publication on "Korean Women in
Japan" (covering a multitude of historical and societal aspects) that might 
be
of interest to many of you:


*HIDDEN TREASURES*
*LIVES OF FIRST-GENERATION KOREAN WOMEN IN JAPAN*
By JACKIE J. KIM
Introduction by Sonia Ryang

December 2004 // 240 pages
Paper ISBN 0-7425-3595-9 // $29.95
Cloth ISBN 0-7425-3594-0 // $65.00
http://www.RowmanLittlefield.com/ISBN/0742535959     (15% discount on 
on-line
orders)


"_Hidden Treasures_ records the recessed but resonant voices of Korean women 
in
Japan. At once poignant and painful, passionate and powerful, the narratives 
are
literally recovered treasures. With Sonia Ryang's rewarding introduction, it 
is
an invaluable contribution to the study of East Asia's tumultuous twentieth
century." ---John Lie, University of California, Berkeley

Ten first-generation Korean women who migrated to Japan during Korea's 
colonial
period tell their compelling stories in HIDDEN TREASURES: LIVES OF
FIRST-GENERATION KOREAN WOMEN IN JAPAN. Powerful narratives of migration,
minority life, gender discrimination, and the often difficult social 
relations
between Korean immigrants and the Japanese are included, written in the 
women's
own words.
During the colonial area, many Koreans came to Japan as migrant workers in
search of a better life or were drafted as laborers. After 1945 they lost
citizenship and were left to exist on the fringes of society. With fewer
societal options available, women in particular were forced to transform and
adapt. The women in this volume participated in tumultuous times in the 
modern
history of Korea and Japan, involving physical, psychological, geographic, 
and
cultural displacements. These women transformed themselves in multiple ways: 
one
from colonial subject to diasporic subject, another from a young and naive
virgin bride to a self-made matriarch. Each transformation involved risk,
determination, and pain as the women grappled with multilayered structures 
of
gendered, colonial, ethnic, and socioeconomic relations of power. Many of 
these
transformations, however, also entailed self-enhancement, fulfillment,
accomplishment, and, at times, triumph and joy.
An introduction by leading researcher Sonia Ryang provides context for the 
very
personal stories of these ten women. This unparalleled social history of 
Korean
women in Japan will engage both students and general readers.

JACKIE J. KIM is a freelance writer living in Hawaii and Germany.


Table of Contents:

o 	Introduction: On Korean Women in Japan: Past and Present
		Sonia Ryang
o 	Prologue: In Search of Hidden Treasures

Part I: To Join My Husband

o 	I Love to Study
	Tokumoto Hiroko (Jung Bun-Ki)
o 	I Have Done My Best
	Koda Sumi
o 	Through His Grace
	Pak Sam-Yang

Part II: Journey of a New Bride

o 	No More Tears
	Tanaka Kimiko
o 	Blessings Came Later in My Life
	Kim Ch'ae-Yun
o 	Dear General Kim Il-Sung
	Kang Yang-Ok

Part III: Solitary Sojourn

o 	It's My Destiny
	Yasuda Kimiko (Kim Song-Yun)
o 	Now I Can Say That I'm Happy
	So Meng-Sun

Part IV: Growing Up in Japan

o 	We Koreans Have Come a Long Way
	Pak Hui-Sun (Uehara Tamae)
o 	A Life Worth Living Is a Life That Has Meaning
	Pak Sun-Hui

	Glossary
	Bibliography
	Index