Line #140 UsefulNotes/KoreansInJapan


1	Japan is an ethnically homogeneous country, with ethnic Japanese being about 99% of the population, but it still has its small ethnic minorities. Among these are the Koreans. You'll almost never see them in Japanese or Western media, though.
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4	Japan has about 900,000 people of Korean descent. Many have chosen to become naturalized Japanese citizens which is why official censuses record only 500,000 Koreans in Japan; they have effectively completely assimilated into Japanese society, and their children are Japanese citizens by birth. Others choose to forgo Japanese citizenship and maintain their Korean identity; these are known as ''Zainichi'' Koreans. Many are descendants of those who came from Korea before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
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6	Being neighboring countries, Japan and Korea share a long relationship that predates since ancient times. Most cases, such relations were generally benevolent with both sides engaging in trade, exchanging cultural ideas, and whatnot. This is good as it can get, though. As with any neighboring nations throughout the world, both sides have also waged war against each other throughout history. And major events like these can leave a big impact, especially if one side has committed enough horrendous acts. Korea, in particular, suffers through this from the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasions_of_Korea_(1592%E2%80%931598) Japanese invasions in the late 16th century]], and ultimately, [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan's 35-year colonial rule during the 20th century]]. During the latter, Japan actively tried to [[CulturePolice destroy Korean culture]] and forced the Korean people to change their names in Japanese. Sometimes, Koreans were brought back to Japan, where they would work as slaves in the factories to help Japan vitalize its military. So this does partly explain the Korean minority group present in Japan.
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8	But if that's the case, why are Koreans rarely depicted in Japanese media? Well, the short answer is this: Japanese writers are likely hesitant to include Korean characters for fear of backlash. Since the Japanese colonial period is a very sensitive subject for Koreans to this day, having a fictional Korean character appearing in a Japanese work can be a bit of a gamble at times. Especially if portraying them in a negative light, it can get extremely ugly from [[https://hetalia.kitawiki.net/index.php/Korea_controversy there]]. Of course, Japan is not making it any better in their own terms, as they have the unfortunate tendency to deny some of its past atrocities committed against them, and right-wing Japanese groups don't appreciate being accused of committing them.
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10	In recent years, however, the situation seems to be improving, especially because much of this negative attitude both sides have are largely inspired from the older generations (understandably, they grew up either during World War II or the postwar era). With their influence waning, the younger generations are far more lenient. And they seem to share mutual interests of each other's cultures. Japanese anime, games, and cuisine, are especially popular amongst young South Koreans, and it is not uncommon for Korean tourists to often travel to Japan. Likewise, Korean pop music, drama, and cuisine, are popular amongst younger Japanese people. And some Japanese do admire South Korea for quickly rising up as a developed nation within a few decades after the trecherous Korean War.
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12	While the sentiments from both sides are improving, political spats can be extreme at times between South Korea and Japan, even to this day. And some Japanese writers, particularly those who have a right-wing attitude, are not hesitant to portray Koreans in a negative light. Seeing them as uncivilized and dimwitted, Japanese right-wing authors often portray Koreans as backwards people who more often than not, go through such untimely brutal fates. They're also often drawn differently; Japanese are drawn in typical {{Mukokuseki}} style, but Koreans will be drawn with more obvious and stereotypical Asian features.
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15	Compare StereotypesOfChinesePeople -- how the Japanese think of the Chinese.
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17	!!Examples of Koreans in Japan:
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19	[[foldercontrol]]
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21	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
22	* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga_Kenkanryu Manga Kenkanryu]]'' is an infamous political manga about the relations between Japan and South Korea and a response to the rising popularity of Korean entertainment in Japan. The Japanese are depicted as standard {{Mukokuseki}}, but the South Koreans look very "Asian" and ugly. They're also aggressive, hateful toward Japan, and pretend that most Japanese cultural landmarks originate from Korea.
23	* In Creator/OsamuTezuka's manga series:
24	** ''Manga/{{Ayako}}'' has a minor character, a fat Korean-Japanese called Gosei Kinjo, who is revealed to be [[spoiler:TheMole in a subplot involving a CIA agent, and is killed in the end]]. He looks very "Asian" compared to the other {{Mukokuseki}} Japanese, including his manner of speaking.
25	** ''Manga/{{Phoenix}}'': In the last two volumes, the main character is Nerima, a prince who escaped from the then-just-conquered Korean kingdom of Baekje. He is as {{Mukokuseki}}-looking as the others. The fact that he [[spoiler:becomes accepted as a Japanese citizen and gets reincarnated as a fully Japanese man in the future]] may help.
26	** ''Manga/BlackJack Neo'': In the first chapter, Blackjack gets interested in the works of a female J-pop singer, who turns out to be [[spoiler:a North Korean refugee who underwent a sex change and plastic surgery -- performed by Blackjack himself -- and assumes the identity of a Japanese girl who had died in a disaster]].
27	* ''Manga/BarefootGen'' openly depicted the abuse and persecution Koreans suffered at the hands of the Japanese people and government. Early on, Gen and his brother sing a racist song about Koreans before their father gives them a tongue-lashing about how hurtful and ignorant it is. Later, Gen befriends a Korean, Mr. Pak, and remains one of his few friends.
28	* In ''Kiichi!!'', Chan-Su and his mother are both Korean.
29	* ''Manga/KamichamaKarin'': Mi Yeong Yi, or Miyon, of is one of Himeka and Karin's friends. Though she's drawn with slightly different eyes, she's still has a {{Mukokuseki}} appearance, unusual for depictions of Koreans in manga.
30	* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' caused a ton of controversy with its depiction of Im Yonsoo, representing the Republic of Korea. He appeared in the manga as a childish, naïve KnowNothingKnowItAll and AnnoyingYoungerSibling. He acts like a stereotypical manga-Korean; he [[BrotherSisterIncest crushes]] on both China ''and'' Japan and insists that all Japanese cultural icons were really invented in Korea. Actual Koreans were incensed (particularly at a scene where Korea gropes Japan, which Koreans saw as an allegory of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liancourt_Rocks_dispute Liancourt Rocks dispute]]). The protests led to Korea not appearing in the anime version, despite having already been designed and storyboarded; this led to incredible ire and some ''very'' racist insults from Japanese fans (and American fans, oddly enough). Korea has basically been relegated to the webcomic (where the author can do what he likes without worrying about merchandising backlash).
31	* Korean TabletopGame/{{Go}} players feature prominently in ''Manga/HikaruNoGo''. Touya Akira's school Go club teacher is ''Zainichi''. Hikaru occasionally plays Korean opposition; he stumbles into a Korean-run Go shop and irritates everyone there by showing his complete ignorance of anything Go-related (but he does befriend the owner's grandson Hong Su-yeong by [[DefeatMeansFriendship beating him in Go]]), and he loses the Hokuto Cup to a Korean team led by Ko Yeong-ha.
32	* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'': The Koryo arc takes place in an AlternateHistory Korea based on another manga, ''The Legend of Chung Hyang'', about a legendary Korean heroine.
33	* K-drama series ''Series/WinterSonata'' was [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff such a smash hit in Japan]] that it got its Japanese-produced anime adaptation, although the dialogue was still in Korean (voiced by the original K-drama's actors) and subtitled in Japanese.
34	* ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' has Chojin princess Bibinba (the Japanese spelling of ''bibimbap'', a famous Korean dish). She was technically an alien, though; she [[UnknownRival started as an enemy]] and [[DefeatMeansFriendship fell in love with Suguru]]. ''Anime/UltimateMuscle'' (''a.k.a'' ''Kinnikuman Nisei'') has several explicitly Korean Chokin, including Namul, Jijimiman, Bossam, and Tteok.
35	* ''Anime/NerimaDaikonBrothers'' has an episode involving a Korean-owned pachinko parlor. This being an over-the-top parody series, the employees have all had plastic surgery to make them look like Korean pop idols.
36	* Science fiction anime with ethnically diverse casts can include Korean characters, such as Kim Kyung Hwa from ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'' and Myung Fan Lone from ''Anime/MacrossPlus'' (in spite of the fact that "Myung Fan Lone" is more [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Korean-sounding gibberish]] than an actual Korean name).
37	* Kim in ''Manga/{{Inubaka}}'' is a Korean studying in Japan, and while he's drawn a little different (more obviously Asian), he's depicted in the same positive fashion as everyone else. The series even mentions the Korean custom of eating dog meat without a value judgment.
38	* In ''Manga/HighschoolOfTheDead'', there is a zombie that resembles Bae Yong-joon, a Korean actor most famous for his role in the popular K-drama ''Series/WinterSonata''. [[FriendlySniper Rika Minami]] snipes him in the head; this combined with the creator's right-wing tendencies and the positive portrayal of one of the character's [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic ultra-nationalist]] parents led to protests in Korea.
39	* Presumably martial arts expert Yu Park in ''Anime/DaphneInTheBrilliantBlue''.
40	* There is a Korean team in ''Whistle'', which is the final opponent in the anime.
41	* In ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', there is a minor Mithril member named Yang Jun-kyu and an ex-North Korean spy named Wraith.
42	* ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa World Youth Cup'' features the South Korean team in its early stages. Its two top players, Cha Inchon and [[TheAce Lee Young-woo]], are portrayed quite sympathetically, with Lee as TheAce of his team and Cha as a talented player [[spoiler: plagued by injuries]]. The manga focuses a lot on sportsmanship so it won't go the full OpposingSportsTeam route, tempting though it may be. (Plus the Mexican Team already has its bunch of open jerks.)
43	* The third season of ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' features the South Korean team Fire Dragon as Inazuma Japan's final opponent in the Asian League. Although Inazuma wins, Fire Dragon is depicted as a formidable WorthyOpponent; its captain Choi Chan-soo is based on RealLife soccer player Park Ji-sung, who then played for big English club Manchester United. Fire Dragon also surprisingly featured recurring character [[spoiler:Aphrodi, who was revealed through WordOfGod to be first-generation Korean rather than ''Zainichi'']].
44	* The ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' manga features an oddly young and womanizing magistrate who is implied to be Korean, as his real name is Kim.
45	* Both Creator/MamoruOshii ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' movies take place in an ambiguous location with a seemingly pan-Asian society; the main characters have Japanese names, but the city they're in is modeled after Hong Kong and the signs have Chinese characters. ''Innocence'' takes this a step further by having a Cantonese-speaking faction and characters with non-Japanese names, including a hacker named Kim.
46	* ''Manga/TigerMask'' has two RealLife wrestlers from Korea: Kim Sin-rak, better known as Wrestling/{{Rikidozan}}, appears in various flashbacks in his real-life roles as founder of pro-wrestling in Japan and trainer of Giant Baba (which quietly ignores his Korean origins), and Kintarō Ōki is plainly described South Korean in the Pan-Asian Tournament (in which he takes part as the South Korean wrestler and uses his real name Kim Il). Both were depicted as the capable fighters they actually were.
47	* Ri Akitoshi, the senior goalkeeper for Enoshima High School in ''Manga/AreaNoKishi'', is ethnically Korean, as revealed in the manga such as v.18 c.149 and v.23 c.188. Kim Tae-sung, a midfielder for Tsujido Academy, is also Korean.
48	* [[TheDragon Choe Gu-sung]] in ''Anime/PsychoPass'' is a genius [[TheCracker hacker and cyber-criminal]], in addition to being the series' BigBad right hand and [[VillainousFriendship childhood friend]], making him a rare villainous example.
49	* In ''Manga/{{Saki}}'', Choe Myeonghwa was one of the members of the Rinkai High School, one of the most high ranking teams the protagonists faced.
50	* In ''Manga/TomorrowsJoe'', the Asian-Pacific boxing champion is a South Korean man named Kim Yong-bi (Kin Ryuhi). He turns out to have [[spoiler:a massively DarkAndTroubledPast; he barely lived through UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, saw his mother being blown up in the middle of it, and some time after the end of the conflict he beat to death a man who turned out to be [[SelfMadeOrphan his long-lost father]]. This gave Ryuhi his massive phobia of blood]]. In the anime series, this character is voiced by none other than Creator/NorioWakamoto.
51	* ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'' has Weekly Shonen Jump editor Kim Seong.
52	* ''Manga/DGrayMan'' has Shifu, a member of the Black Order's Science Division.
53	* ''Manga/YonaOfTheDawn'' takes place in a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Korea, though there are still some Japanese elements.
54	* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' has a character going by the handle of "Siune" in Alfheim Online during the ''Mother's Rosario'' arc. It is revealed at the end of the story that her real name is Si-Eun Ahn, which is a very obviously Korean name.
55	* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' has Seung-Gil Lee, a stoic South Korean figure skater who is one of the finalists of the Rostelecom Cup but didn't make it for the Grand Prix Final.
56	* Moon of ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' got a RaceLift during her transition from the games. In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' the protagonist is from Kanto, a Japanese-based region, and moves to Alola (which is based on Hawaii). While she still has her game counterpart's default hair, skin, and eye colors, and hails from [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Sinnoh]], a ''different'' Japanese-based region, Moon in ''Adventures'' is [[WordOfGod stated]] to be further modeled after a Korean actress, and her favored weapon appears to be a Korean bow, so the logical implication is that she is of Korean descent (or whatever the in-universe equivalent of Korea is).
57	* ''Anime/PrettyRhythmDearMyFuture'' features KoreanPopMusic GirlGroup Puretty as fictionalized versions of themselves (with Japanese voice actresses providing their voices) to promote the group's activities in Japan, which coincided with the end of the second Hallyu Wave. Puretty had a FriendlyRivalry with the main cast Prizzmy (also fictionalized versions of themselves).
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60	[[folder:Comic Books]]
61	* ''ComicBook/BlakeAndMortimer'': Professor Sato has a Korean assistant called Kim, who [[spoiler:undergoes a FaceHeelTurn]].
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64	[[folder:Fan Works]]
65	* In the ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' and ComicBook/SpiderMan crossover fic ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy,'' the Enforcers' Vulture is implied to be of Korean descent, given the flag stitched into the back of his costume. He acts much like a preening and loud JapaneseDelinquent with little sense of decorum but an almost brotherly morality towards his teammates, who are a squad of {{Professional Killer}}s.
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68	[[folder:Film]]
69	* ''Film/LindaLindaLinda'': In this movie about four schoolgirls who form a band, the lead singer, Son, is an exchange student from Korea. Although she has difficulty communicating with the other girls in Japanese, she's portrayed in a very positive light.
70	* The 1968 Bizarre Existentialist film ''Film/DeathByHanging''/''Kōshikē'' features an ethnic Korean, R, sentenced to death. After he mysteriously revives, the Japanese men in charge of the execution debate on what to do with him. The racism that some of the officers hold towards the teenaged R is highlighted, deeply discussed and eventually lamented as a hurdle that cannot yet be overcome.
71	* In ''Film/YakuzaGraveyard'', Iwata and Keiko are both Korean, and Japanese xenophobia is a recurring theme in the movie.
72	* ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' and its sequel ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'' seem to portray Storm Shadow (a former member of a Japanese ninja clan, the Arashikage) as an adopted Korean. He speaks Korean in flashbacks to his childhood and he's played by a Korean actor.
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75	[[folder:Literature]]
76	* ''Literature/{{Pachinko}}'' is a 2017 novel by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee. An epic historical novel following a Korean family settled in Japan, it is the first novel written for an adult English speaking audience about Japanese-Korean culture. Pachinko was a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for fiction, and is planned to be made into a TV series. The struggles of the family in Japan and various viewpoints on their national identity are major themes in the book. Despite the family's eventual rise to affluence from humble beginnings, the characters struggle to gain respect in mainstream society, yet form close relationships with Japanese who have for one reason or another been rejected from mainstream society.
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79	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
80	* The four-episode romantic comedy ''Friends'' (no connection to [[Series/{{Friends}} the American sitcom]]) is actually a very progressive Japanese/Korean collaboration. A woman from Japan and a man from South Korea meet in Hong Kong, fall in love, and start a long-distance relationship; she goes to a class to learn Korean and befriends a Zainichi girl who's there to get in touch with her heritage.
81	* KoreanDrama series and movies are becoming increasingly popular in Japan (as in the rest of Asia), and as such Japanese shows are starting to throw {{Shout Out}}s to them. For instance, in ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'', one movie opens with Urataros dressed as Bae Yong-jun, and ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'' has a high school drama club that also sends up Bae Yong-jun.
82	* ''Series/IronChef'' had one Korean challenger, Lee Myong-suk, who challenged Chen Kenichi in Battle Liver.
83	* ''Literature/TrainMan2004'' has a subplot where a Hanshin Tigers fan has a relationship with a Korean waitress.
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86	[[folder:Music]]
87	* Korean music, particularly KPop, has been making inroads in Japan (along with the rest of Asia). Korean singer Music/{{BoA\|Korea}} is the only Asian artist who isn't Japanese to sell over 2 million records in Japan. Music/{{KARA}} and Music/GirlsGeneration have both had singles that have reached number one on the Oricon charts. Girls' Generation also broke [=BoA=]'s first week album sales record in Japan. And KARA's members jointly star in their own TV drama in Japan, ''Series/{{Urakara}}''.
88	* Music/DongBangShinKi and Music/{{BoA\|Korea}} are two KoreanPopMusic artists that are generally beloved by Japanese audiences, even the ones very critical of the Hallyu Wave and Koreans in general. A possibility for this is because they are fluent in Japanese and integrated themselves into the culture, compared to newer Korean artists who only go to the country without doing so. With that said, TVXQ did run into some hot water when one of their music videos mistakenly erased Japan off their map, but they're still remain very popular.
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91	[[folder:Video Games]]
92	* Creator/{{SNK}} games generally have their fair share of Korean fighters:
93	** ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'': Kim, Chang, and Choi are all playable characters, and the most recurring members of the Korea Team. They are not rendered in a stereotypical way, though the latter two may have been joke characters in the beginning, and Kim himself has faced a lot of {{Flanderization}} over the years regarding [[LoveFreak his attitude]] [[PrinciplesZealot toward]] {{justice\|WillPrevail}}. However, [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales Choi became very popular with Korean players]].
94	** ''KOF XIII'' {{lampshade\|hanging}}s the phenomenon; in Kim's pre-fight chat with Goro Daimon, he alludes to the rivalry between Korea and Japan, since Daimon is a famous judoka who won gold in the Olympics, and Kim himself is the former Taekwondo world champion. Daimon politely disagrees, as he feels [[HonorBeforeReason Kim's words are too pretentious]] [[GoodIsOldFashioned for his personal taste]]. They reach a healthy medium via agreeing on how [[SoMyKidsCanWatch they want to set good examples for their kids]] anyway.
95	** Kim's sons Jae Hoon and Dong Hwan feature prominently in ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves'', from the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' saga. Later ''KOF'' games would see Kim joined by his rival Jhun Hoon, his pupil May Lee, and his master Gang-il. (May Lee, notably, mixes in Kim's attacks and [[JusticeWillPrevail mindset]] with various {{toku}} [[ShoutOut homages]], including Series/{{Kikaider}}'s belt, the use of the [[Franchise/KamenRider Rider Kick]], and a [[HenshinHero "Hero Mode"]] inspired by [[Series/KamenRider the original Kamen Rider]].) Two other students of Kim's would appear in other {{Alternate Continuit\|y}}ies to ''FF'' and ''KOF'': Seo Yeong Song in ''VideoGame/BurikiOne'' and Chae Lim in ''KOF: Maximum Impact''.
96	** ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown Sen'' ([[MarketBasedTitle known in most countries outside of Japan as]] ''Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny'') features Kim Hae-Ryeong, [[AmbiguouslyRelated who may be Kim's ancestor]].
97	** ''[[VideoGame/FuunSeries Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle]]'' has Kim Sue Il, who looks and fights exactly like Kim with a staff -- but WordOfGod revealed that he is ''not'' related to Kim. [[FlipFlopOfGod Maybe.]]
98	** Kang Jae-Mo from ''VideoGame/RageOfTheDragons'', Kim Dragon from ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes'' (retconned to Korean in the second game), and Lee Hae Gwon from ''VideoGame/AggressorsOfDarkKombat'' seem to be the only SNK Koreans to not use Taekwondo. Perhaps not-coincidentally, their games were originally created by other developers (Noise Factory and Creator/{{ADK}}, respectively).
99	* Trevor Spacey is an albino Korean in ''VideoGame/MetalSlug 4''. Other than Eri, the Asians in ''Metal Slug'' seem to always have Western names.
100	* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
101	** ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV Super Street Fighter IV]]'' introduced Juri Han, who is [[UnfortunateImplications quite evil]]. But she has PsychicPowers, which makes her [[RuleOfCool pretty cool anyway]]. Weirdly, she was created because Korean fans had been asking Capcom for a Korean character; she turned out to be more popular in Japan and the West.
102	** In the obscure ''VideoGame/StreetFighterOnlineMouseGeneration'', there is a Zainichi fighter named Shin who uses Taekwondo.
103	* The ShootEmUp-slash-Fighting Game ''VideoGame/SenkoNoRonde'' has a Korean character, named Baek Changpo. Saying that she is a GenkiGirl is an understatement.
104	%%*''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' happily averts, with two of the major characters in the first two games ([[TheGambler Tai Ho]] and Yam Koo) being not only very Korean, but heroic.
105	%%** Tai Ho and Yam Koo are both very plausible Chinese names, especially if you consider the variety of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_dialects Chinese dialects]] out there that permit huge permutations in pronunciation; this seems a bit more plausible considering how ''Suikoden ''is essentially the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin Heroes of the Marsh story]] set in Fantasy China.
106	%%** Tai Ho is also not a viable name in Korean, either.
107	* International football is a tricky animal; South Korea has been Japan's biggest rival for a long time. And more often than not, the former has dominated for much of that rivalry. Japan is quite reluctant to admit this, so football video games tend to feature implausibly underpowered Korean teams:
108	** ''VideoGame/KunioKun no Nekketsu Soccer League'', the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] sequel to ''Nintendo World Cup'', makes Korea the weakest team in the game -- worse than [[SarcasmMode real-life powerhouses]] Thailand, Mongolia, and New Guinea.
109	** The also-Japan-only Super Famicom ''Super Formation Soccer 94'' was based on the 1994 [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup FIFA World Cup]]. It did not include South Korea, despite South Korea qualifying for the tournament (in fact, qualifying at Japan's expense when Japan conceded a heartbreaking late goal in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agony_of_Doha "the Agony of Doha"]]). It's likely the programmers were just too sore over the defeat to add South Korea immediately; a later version of the game did include South Korea (and other teams who didn't actually qualify, like Wales and England).
110	* Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment sometimes includes Korean characters into their games:
111	** There are Baek Doo San and Hwoarang in the ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' series. When he first debuted, Baek was portrayed as a villain, being an [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Arrogant Taekwondo Guy]] who destroyed Marshall Law's quarters, though he does have [[AccidentalMurder a troubled backstory]]. This disappeared come ''VideoGame/Tekken5'', though, which saw Baek become OlderAndWiser. Hwoarang, on the other hand, has a [[FriendlyRivalry love-hate relationship]] with the series' main protagonist, Jin Kazama.
112	** The ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' has Hwang Seong-gyeong, Seong Han-myeong, Seong Mi-na, and Hong Yun-seong. Hwang owes his existence to being a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute of [[{{Ronin}} Mitsurugi]] for the Korean arcade version of ''Soul Edge'', as Korea bans the depiction of samurai in its popular culture; fans liked the character so much that Namco upgraded him into a distinct character in ''Soulcalibur'' (whose Korean version has Mitsurugi being replaced by another SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, Arthur). Mi-na is also a BreakoutCharacter in her own right; when it was announced that she would not feature in ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'', fans were ''extremely'' pissed off.
113	** Park Dae Suk in ''VideoGame/UrbanReign'' is a goth Korean Taekwondo master who looks like a cross between Kadaj from ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' and Hwoarang from ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}''.
114	* Han Daehan in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}: God Bless the Ring''.
115	* The ShootEmUp ''VideoGame/CastleOfShikigami'' has Kim Dae-jeong, whose name was humorously translated as "Kim De John", and his cousin Kim Mihee. Though Dae-Jeong is said to be a "Taekwondo Master", this is an InformedAbility, as he throws swords in the game.
116	* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'':
117	** A large part of the plot of ''VideoGame/Yakuza2'' and [[VideoGame/YakuzaKiwami2 its remake]] involves a Korean mafia group hell-bent on revenge for the deaths of most of its members. [[spoiler:In fact, several major plot twists in the game are along the lines of "(Character X) ''is actually Korean''!"]] There's also a side mission that consists of escorting a Korean pop star named Il Yu-jin around the city while avoiding his rabid fans.
118	** ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' has the Little Asia area; it's mostly Chinese and Thai, but Tanimura (who speaks fluent Korean) is often an interpreter for the police department when dealing with Korean immigrants. They're often mentioned in sideplots, especially as laborers that Tanimura wants to protect from being exploited.
119	** One of the important characters in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' is Mirei Park, a female head of a talent agency who manages Haruka Sawamura. She is of Korean ancestry, and feared that it, if revealed, would cause problems when was pursuing a career in being an idol, and hid that aspect of herself from the public.
120	** The [[Film/{{Yakuza}} film version]] of [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 the first game]] has a Korean barber who helps both the police, as well as a Korean hitman who is in the city.
121	** ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'': The Geomijul is one of the three major criminal organizations in Ijincho. Composed of former Jingweon members[[labelnote:*]] [[spoiler:One of Ichiban's party members is a Geomijul hitman and a BodyDouble for [[VideoGame/Yakuza6 a long-deceased Jingweon boss]], while the current leader of the organization was a forger.]][[/labelnote]] and calling Koreatown home, the Geomijul makes use of an [[SinisterSurveillance extensive surveillance system]] and operate from the shadows.
122	* Jonathan, the giant with the mohawk from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', is a Korean-American.
123	* In ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'', Bowser's original Japanese name is ''Kuppa'' (which was anglicized as Koopa and referring instead to the Koopa ''race''). ''Kuppa'' is Japanese for gukbap, a Korean soup with rice. Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto wanted to name the character after a Korean cuisine dish, and considered naming him after bibimbap (''Bibinba'') or yukhoe (''Yukke'') before settling on gukbap and thus ''Kuppa''. When the Mario series were translated to Korean, a phonetic round-trip translation was used for ''Kuppa'', making Bowser's Korean name ''Kupa'' rather than the original ''Gukbap''.
124	* Yun from ''VideoGame/PopNMusic'' is Korean. She even speaks it a little in her losing sprite ([[LittleNo "Ahniyo..."]]).
125	* In the cancelled game ''Ken-Ju'' by Sammy, there was originally going to a Korean fighter named Lee Jongha.
126	* Lee Hyun-Jung has been designing Franchise/{{Pokemon}} from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' onward and is a regular among the [[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} Trading Card Game]]'s illustrators.
127	* The Aron line, introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', are based on the bulgasari, a [[Myth/KoreanMythology Korean mythical creature]] that eats iron. Their appearance is specifically based on the bulgasari from the 1985 North Korean film ''Film/{{Pulgasari}}'' which is a remake of a lost 1962 South Korean film.
128	* Hokkyoku Tsubame from ''VideoGame/BushidoBlade'', despite the Japanese name, is originally from Korea.
129	* Kum Haehyun from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Xrd -REVELATOR-'' is Korean. Notably, Baiken reveals in a conversation with Haehyun that the catastrophe that resulted in the Japanese nearly becoming extinct caused several casualties for the Koreans as well.
130	* According to his Dengeki Nintendo profile, Teseo from ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt2'' is originally from Korea.
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133	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
134	* In the [[YuriGenre Yuri]] VisualNovel ''Sapphism no Gensou'', one of the choices for main character and lesbian Anri is the young Korean girl, Fan Soyoung.
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136
137	[[folder:Web Original]]
138	* The flash series ''WebAnimation/ThereSheIs'', created by a Korean, though starting out as a rather light-hearted story about a girl who is crushing on a guy to stalker levels before he realizes he might love her back; it eventually turns into a relatively dark allegory for the prejudice against interracial dating between Koreans and Japanese people, with them being represented by rabbits and cats. [[spoiler:It has a happy ending for the two leads who choose to stay together despite prejudice.]]
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140
141	[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
142	* In ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'', Gi, the Planeteer with the power of Water, is implied to be of mixed Japanese and Korean descent. She occasionally uses Japanese phrases in her speech (since her voice actor is fluent in it), while her name is of Korean origin.
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144
145	[[folder:Real Life]]
146	Naturally, there are real-life Koreans who have made it big in Japan:
147	* Voice actress Creator/RomiPark, best known for playing Ed Elric in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', is ethnically Korean. She also played the protagonist of ''Anime/TurnAGundam'' (whose creator Creator/YoshiyukiTomino would verbally castigate anyone who disparaged her ethnicity) and Finn in the Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' (which has its own Korean character, Lady Rainicorn, voiced by another Korean-Japanese voice actress, Young Bong-hi).
148	* DJ Towa Tei (or Dong-Hwa Chung), famous for being a member of early-90s dance group Deee-Lite, was born in Japan, but has Korean ancestry.
149	* Japanese recording artist, actress, and radio host Crystal Kay was born and raised in Japan, but her father is African-American and her mother is Korean.
150	* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masayoshi_Son Masayoshi Son]], CEO of Japanese telecom giant [=SoftBank=] and at one time the richest man in Japan, is ethnically Korean.
151	* Creator/KikoMizuhara (born Audrie Daniel) is half-American, half-''Zainichi'' Korean. She's famous in Japan as a model, fashion designer, and actress (she played Mikasa Ackerman in the live-action ''Manga/AttackOnTitan''). That said, she acts a bit too Japanese for Korean netizens, so don't mention her on the Korean internet. (And she's not ethnically Japanese, so don't mention her on the Japanese internet, either.)
152	* Soccer player Tadanari Lee, who plays for Southampton and is a regular on the Japanese national team, is a son of third-generation ''Zainichi'' Koreans. In fact, he had trained with the U-20 Korean team, but racism from his teammates for being ''Zainichi'' led him to opt for Japan instead.
153	* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mas_Oyama Mas Oyama]], who founded the Kyokushinkai style of karate and was once featured on Website/BadassOfTheWeek, is ''Zainichi'' Korean.
154	** Sawk, introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', only has one eyebow because it was inspired by Mas Oyama, who notably shaved off one of his eyebrows because one of his instructors told him to in order to resist the temptation to return to society.
155	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiro_Akiyama Yoshihiro Akiyama]] (Korean name: Cho Sung-hoon), one of the UsefulNotes/{{UFC}}'s most prominent Japanese fighters, is ethnically Korean. He was on the main card for UFC 100, the biggest event in UFC history (and [[MrFanservice he also looks like a supermodel]], earning the AffectionateNickname "Sexyama").
156	* {{Professional Wrestl\|ing}}er Wrestling/{{Rikidozan}}, the man who essentially ''introduced'' pro wrestling in Japan, was presented as Japanese even though he was actually born in South Hamgyong, in what is now North Korea. Even his name was disguised; he was born "Kim Sil-lak", but they called him "Mitsuhiro Momota".
157	* [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Kyuk-ho Shin Kyuk-ho]] (Japanese: Takeo Shigemitsu), the founder of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotte_(conglomerate) Lotte Group]], is ethnically Korean but was born in Ulsan under Japanese rule. He made a name for himself in Japan and built Lotte up into a major retail giant in both countries. Interestingly, neither country particularly wants him; Koreans consider him Japanese, and Japanese consider him Korean.
158	* Japan and Korea are linked more than they would like to admit, and many Koreans wound up in Japan at several points in history, and vice versa:
159	** A popular theory about the origin of the Yayoi people, who assimilated and displaced the older Jomon peoples of the Japanese archipelago, is that they were originally from the Korean peninsula. There was at least [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaya_language one extinct language]] in the Korean peninsula which was probably related to the Japanese language. Genetic evidence has demonstrated that the Japanese and Koreans are strongly genetically related but contrary to popular belief, the Yayoi people were ''not'' modern Koreans themselves. The Yayoi appear to have contributed genetics to both the Japanese and Koreans but are closer related to Japanese people than Koreans. It is likely that the Yayoi people originally populated the Korean peninsula but were pushed out of their homeland by the Koreanic people - the main ancestors to the Korean people.
160	** Buddhism was certainly introduced to Japan through monks from Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and when the Silla kingdom united the peninsula in the 7th century, the remnants of Baekje fled to Japan and became some of Japan's more influential aristocratic clans, such as the Kudara no Konishiki and the Yamato no Fuhito. The latter married into the Japanese imperial family, and Emperor Akihito explicitly acknowledged the Korean blood in the Imperial family in 2001.
161	** When Japan invaded Korea in the late 16th century and basically wrecked the place, many Korean craftsmen settled in Japan (whether by choice or by force). Until the late 19th century, they were allowed to maintain their customs as long as they produced fine ceramics for the Japanese aristocracy. Some of these Koreans' descendants rose to prominence in Japan, such as Togo Shigenori (also known by his Korean name Park Moo-duk), foreign minister of Japan in the 1930s.
162	** While no [[Film/TheLastSamurai Americans]] ever became Samurai, roughly half of the foreign-born Samurai were Korean. Especially since the aftermath of the late 16th Japanese invasion. None of them are nearly as famous as [[BlackVikings Yasuke]] but they generally did see combat, unlike most European-born Samurai who were simply granted the right to carry a sword.
163	** Speaking of the 16th century invasion, the event was pretty brutal with mass killings of civilians. Unsurprisingly, a handful of Japanese samurai were [[NotWhatISignedOnFor against committing such violence]], and thus defected to Korea. The most famous of these defectors was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Chung-seon Sayaka]], who helped the Korean army fight off against his former Japanese compatriots. For his contributions, he was given a Korean name, Kim Chung-seon and was allowed to stay in Korea, continuing to defend the country against the Qing forces decades later. In his final years, he married to a daughter of an admistrative commander in Daegu. 20th century Japanese scholars initially questioned his existence, and established he was either a half-Korean, half-Japanese, or otherwise fictional. However, they eventually concluded that Sayaka did exist and established a monument of him in the Wakayama Prefecture.
164	** Many modern ''Zainichi'' Koreans can trace their ancestry to those who fled from or were repatriated from Korea during Japanese occupation in the early 20th century. The marginalization of Koreans in Japanese society has led them to be associated with specific fields; Koreans are overrepresented among the {{Yakuza}}, and they also run many pachinko parlors (some of which funnel the proceeds to UsefulNotes/NorthKorea). That said, North Korea considers many ''Zainichi'' collaborators with Imperial Japan (and thus the lowest of the low). That's why it's a state secret that [[UsefulNotes/TheRulersOfNorthKorea their leader Kim Jong-un]]'s mother, the late dancer [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Yong-hui Ko Yong-hui]] (Japanese: Hime Takada), although ethnically Korean, was actually born in Japan and that her father Ko Gyon-tek worked in a sewing factory for the Imperial Japanese army.
165	* Kei Aran, Top Star of the Creator/TakarazukaRevue's Star Troupe from 2006-2009, is a third-generator Zainichi Korean. In her memoir she mentions the discrimination her father faced and her visit to her father's ancestral village.
166	* The Japanese version of the ''Theatre/WestSideStory'' play deserves a special mention here regarding this trope: Barring older editions of the play, the most recent ones have half-Japanese actors playing the Puerto Rican characters, including casting Korean-Japanese actors, for the leads.[[note]]Which add ''another'' layer of cultural baggage for Japanese viewers, considering both Puerto Rico and the Korean peninsula has a similar love/hate relationship with their former colonial masters, the United States and Japan respectively.[[/note]] Among them, there had been two zainichi actresses, Erika Hanada and Mika Takagi, who had played Maria, the main lead, while also Korean-Japanese actress Seonim (real name: Seong Son-im) played Anita in the 2019 Japanese version of the play, and others. This is especially worth mentioning here for two particular reasons: Japan is one of the few countries outside the U.S. and Canada on having non-native actors playing as stand-ins for the Latino characters, and the fact that Japanese (and also Korean, for that matter) dubs of both the [[Film/WestSideStory1961 1961]] and [[Film/WestSideStory2021 2021]] film adaptations of the play had ''all'' the characters dubbed by either ethnic Japanese and/or Korean voice actors instead.
167	[[/folder]]
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Context UsefulNotes / KoreansInJapan