ABSTRACT
Koreans often regard the post-war attitude of officialdom in Japan to resident aliens as typified by a remark from a councilor in Immigration Control at the conclusion of the Peace Treaty in 1952. The decades that have passed since 1952 confirm the basic truth of this, although gradual improvements have occurred as a result both of international pressures and action by the Korean community. Yumi Lee recalls her early experience of the Alien Registration system. In 1987, Yumi Lee was planning to study in Britain. Yumi Lee’s experiences and feelings are supported by those of many others. The anomaly of deportation to South Korea of a member of a later generation born in Japan was forcefully expressed by Sin Kyong-hwan in the first such case to occur after the Normalization Treaty. Alien Registration which has to be maintained up to date in the municipality of present residence partly serves the same civil functions as the Japanese nationals’ Residents’ Basic Register.
