List of Koreans in Japan
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This is a list of notable Zainichi Koreans or notable Japanese people of Korean descent.
Korean Royal Family
- Yi Un, the last crown prince of Joseon Korea.
Politics and law
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- Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea (born in Osaka, ancestral roots in Pohang, North Gyeongsang)
- Arai Shoukei, politician, House of Representatives
- Haku Shinkun, politician, House of Councillors
- Kim Ch'on-hae, leading official of the Japanese Communist Party
- So Man-sul, North Korean politician, Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, chairman of Chongryon
- Togo Shigenori, Minister of Foreign Affairs (in 1941), Minister of Greater East Asia (in 1945)
- Ko Yong-hui, wife of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il and mother of North Korea's current leader Kim Jong-un
- Lee Kyung-jae, local activist
Business and economics
- Takeo Shigemitsu, Founder of the Lotte group.
- Akio Shigemitsu, the son of Takeo Shigemitsu and Executive Vice President of Lotte
- Hiroyuki Shigemitsu, the son of Takeo Shigemitsu and Vice President of Lotte USA
- Yoshitaka Fukuda, President and CEO of Japanese consumer finance companies Aiful[1]
- Taizo Son, President and Chairman of GungHo, mobile gaming company
- Masahiro Miki, Founder and CEO of ABC-Mart, Japanese footwear company
- Han Chang-u, CEO of Maruhan (Japan's largest pachinko operator)
- Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank
Crime
- Jo Hiroyuki, uyoku assassin [2]
- Mun Segwang, failed assassin of Park Chung-hee
- Joji Obara, serial rapist and murderer[3]
- Kwon Hyi-ro, murderer who brought public attention to discrimination against the Zainichi
- Sin Gwang-su, North Korean spy, involved in North Korean abductions of Japanese
- Hayashi Yasuo, of the member in the Aum Shinrikyo. He was to carry out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
Yakuza
- Machii Hisayuki, godfather and founder of the Toa-kai yakuza syndicate[4]
- Makino Kuniyasu, Yakuza leader of the Matsuba-kai[5]
- Takayama Tokutaro, godfather of the Aizukotetsu-kai yakuza syndicate [2]
- Kiyota Jiro, godfather of the Inagawa-kai [6]
- Hashimoto Hirofumi, godfather of the Kyokushin-Rengo-Kai[7]
- Yanagawa Jiro, godfather of the Yanagawa-Gumi
Academia
- Kang Sang-jung, political scientist, professor at the Seigakuin University
- Woo Jang-choon, agricultural scientist and botanist
- O Sonfa, professor at Takushoku University
Science and technology
- Kim Chung Un, developer of tamiflu
Literature and poetry
- Kaneshiro Kazuki, novelist
- Lee Hoesung, Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist
- Lee Yangji, Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist
- Tachihara Masaaki, novelist
- Yamanoue no Okura, Man'yō poet[8]
- Yang Sok-il, novelist
- Yu Miri, Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist
Entertainment
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Film
- Hirofumi Arai, actor, third-generation Zainichi North Korean
- Tsuyoshi Ihara, actor (Letters from Iwo Jima)
- Kim Su-gil, film director and producer
- Sang-il Lee, Japan Academy Prize-winning film director
- Yūsaku Matsuda, actor, Japanese father and third-generation Zainichi Korean[9]
- Ryuhei Matsuda, actor, He is the son of Yūsaku Matsuda. His mother is Japanese.[9]
- Shota Matsuda, actor, He is the son of Yūsaku Matsuda. His mother is Japanese.[9]
- Kaho Minami, actress
- Kiko Mizuhara, model and actress
- Romi Park, voice actress and singer
- Sohee Park, actor
- Yoichi Sai, Japan Academy Prize-winning film director
- Tetsuji Tamayama, actor
- Gong Teyu, actor
Music
- Tomoyasu Hotei, rock guitarist and actor
- Yuna Ito, singer, Japanese father and Korean-American mother
- Jyongri, singer
- Crystal Kay, singer
- Hong-Jae Kim, conductor
- Kim Seikyo, conductor
- Ayumi Lee, as also known as Iconiq, singer, Korean father and second-generation Zainichi Korean mother
- Harumi Miyako, singer
- Miyavi, musician, Korean father and Japanese mother
- Park Pushim, reggae artist
- Kunihiko Ryo, composer
- Shion, singer
- Sonim, singer, third-generation Zainichi Korean
- Towa Tei, DJ
- Verbal, rapper of M-Flo
- Akiko Wada, singer
- Kohh, rapper
Sports
Baseball
- Morimoto Hichori, professional baseball player
- Harimoto Isao, professional baseball player, member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
- Hiyama Shinjiro, professional baseball player
- Kaneda Masaichi, professional baseball player, member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
- Kinjoh Tatsuhiko, professional baseball player
- Kanemoto Tomoaki, professional baseball player, member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
- Arai Takahiro, professional baseball player
- Arai Ryota, professional baseball player
- Song Il-soo, former manager of the Doosan Bears
Martial arts
- Akiyama Yoshihiro, judoka and mixed martial artist
- An Chang-rim, South Korean judoka
- Kin Taiei, mixed martial artist
- Matsui Akiyoshi, President of Kyokushin-kaikan
- Ōyama Masutatsu, martial arts expert, founder of IKO Kyokushinkaikan, also known as Choi Bae-dal
- Royama Hatsuo, President of Kyokushin-kan
Pro-wrestling
- Kanemoto Koji, pro-wrestler
- Kanemura Kouhiro, pro-wrestler
- Maeda Akira, pro-wrestler
- Rikidōzan, pro-wrestler, also known as Rikidozan
- Momota Mitsuo, pro-wrestler
- Ryouji Sai, pro-wrestler
- Tatsuhito Takaiwa, pro-wrestler
- Yoshida Mitsuo, pro-wrestler, also known as Riki Choshu
- Jake Lee, pro-wrestler
Soccer
- Ahn Young-Hak, North Korean football player
- Jong Tae-Se, North Korean football player
- Kim Jong-Song, North Korean football player
- Kim Jung-ya, South Korean football player
- Kim Yong-Gwi, South Korean football player
- Kim Seong-Yong, North Korean football player
- Lee Tadanari, professional football player
- Okayama Kazunari, professional football player
- Ri Han-Jae, North Korean football player
- Ryang Gyu-Sa, North Korean football player
- Ryang Yong-Gi, North Korean football player
- Masahiro Okamoto, professional football player
Other
- Hayakawa Ren, archer and bronze medalist at 2012 Summer Olympics
- Hayakawa Nami, archer at 2008 Summer Olympics
- Kim Chae-Hwa, South Korean figure skater
- Kunimoto Keisuke, race car driver
- Maenoyama Taro, sumo wrestler
- Tamarikidō Hideki, sumo wrestler
- Tokuyama Masamori, professional boxer, former WBC super flyweight champion
- Kasugaō Katsumasa, sumo wrestler
- Koo Ji-won, Rugby player for the Japan national rugby union team
References
- ^ "在日韓商（Korean entrepreneurs）の起業家精神 - 李洙任 （SOO IM LEE）" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ a b "FYI YAKUZA IN JAPAN From rackets to real estate, yakuza multifaceted". The Japan Times. Feb 14, 2007.
- ^ Summers, Chris The 'beast with a human face' BBC News - Tuesday, 24 April 2007
- ^ Romero, Frances Top 10 Real-Life Mob Bosses: Hisayuki Machii Time Magazine - Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011
- ^ "暴力団ミニ講座その３７". www.web-sanin.co.jp.
- ^ Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department [1] Archived 2014-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "橋本弘文-六代目山口組若頭補佐・極心連合会会長-". gokudou24.web.fc2.com.
- ^ Historically not considered Korean, but recent scholarship has reached a consensus that he was probably a refugee from the (recently overthrown) Baekje. (Keene, Donald 1999. Seeds in the Heart: A History of Japanese Literature, volume 1. New York: Columbia University Press.)
- ^ a b c The Person Who Crosses The Border - Yusaku Matsuda (越境者 - 松田優作, Ekkyousha - Matsuda Yusaku) by Michiko Matsuda, published 2008