怪鮮人

怪鮮人

Japanese

Kanji in this term
怪	鮮	人
かい Grade: S	せん Grade: S	じん Grade: 1
kan’on

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠isẽ̞ɲ̟d͡ʑĩɴ]

Noun

怪(かい)鮮(せん)人(じん) • (kaisenjin) 

1. (historical, archaic, discriminatory, sensitive) suspicious Korean person; Korean criminal [c. 1910 to 1945]
   • 2018 [1922], Chung Daekyun, quoting Fukuoka Nichi-nichi Shimbun, “朝鮮人は不幸だったのか [Korean people were unhappy?]”, in Hamada, page 255:

     〈 […] 普(ふ)通(つう)の労(ろう)働(どう)目(め)当(とう)に渡(と)来(らい)した者(もの)ではあるまいとて、同(どう)署(しょ)から原(げん)籍(せき)地(ち)に照(しょう)会(かい)中(ちゅう)である〉（「北(ほく)鮮(せん)から密(みっ)航(こう)の怪(かい)鮮(せん)人(じん)」『福(ふく)岡(おか)日(にち)日(にち)新(しん)聞(ぶん)』一(１)九(９)二(２)二(２)年(ねん)五(ご)月(がつ)二(に)十(じゅう)一(いち)日(にち)夕(ゆう)刊(かん)）

     〈 […] futsū no rōdō metō ni torai shita mono de wa aru mai tote, dōsho kara gensekichi ni shōkai chū de aru〉 (“Hokusen kara mikkō no kaisenjin” “Fukuoka Nichinichi Shinbun” 1922-nen gogatsu nijūichi-nichi yūkan)

     “... as he did not arrive in the country for the usual purpose of manual labor, authorities are inquiring at his domicile.” (“Suspicious Korean smuggled in from North”, Fukuoka Nichi-nichi Shimbun 21 May 1922, evening edition)

Usage notes

Used during Japan’s annexation of Korea (1910 to 1945) to describe Korean Imperial subjects living in Japan who were accused or suspected of criminal acts. The word may be less inflammatory than 不逞鮮人(ふていせんじん) (futeisenjin, “insubordinate Korean”), as the latter is seen as suggesting that all Korean subjects in Japan were suspicious.

See also

• 不逞鮮人(ふていせんじん) (futeisenjin, “insubordinate Korean person; Korean subject opposed to Japanese rule”)
• 鮮人(せんじん) (senjin, “Korean person”, dated)
• 朝鮮人(ちょうせんじん) (chōsenjin, “Korean person”, contemporary)
• 在日(ざいにち) (zainichi, “(foreign person) resident in Japan”)