ABSTRACT
The many ways second-generation Zainichi women refer to and describe themselves are complex and vary according to context and audience. Drawing from numerous interviews and writings, both personal and academic, this chapter provides insight into how Zainichi women view themselves, particularly vis-à-vis their history, and highlights commonly used words, concepts, and stereotypes. The variety of experiences reflected in their stories reveals a complex interplay of accepting and contesting the various social appropriations made by mainstream society and the ethnic community. Zainichi women share experiences of sometimes unbearable suppression, sacrificial conformity, quiet dissidence, and outright resistance. In their efforts to make sense of the entanglements of their lives and to know themselves and those who share similar experiences more intimately, they reveal the complexities of the lives of women who seek a place to call their own and simultaneously discover a community that offers a sense of belonging. They demonstrate their agency by navigating the intricacies of multiple identities as a way of resisting and refuting the expectations of Japanese society and the Zainichi Korean community.
