ABSTRACT
At the time of his study, Kazue Ohashi pointed out that Zainichi Koreans are “Japan's largest minority group” and “marginal persons” forced to live while internalizing the centrality and marginality of Japanese society and at the same time trying to understand this internally. “When cultural differences, ethnicity, and history result in actual clinical problems, these problems mainly occur in the psychoneurosis field. In addition to minor cases within the psychological area, such cultural differences, ethnicity, and history may also trigger early phase onset of a disorder and affect the timing of social rehabilitation.” Generally, identity conflict is considered to be a characteristic pathology in adolescence. However, in cases of Zainichi North/South Koreans, it should be noted that this sometimes appears in early old age. Japanese society does not allow a Zainichi North/South Korean to accept him/herself as is or to assimilate to Japanese society.
