EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE FOUNDATION
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CHIBA KOREAN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL IN JAPAN

On September 13, 1946, a year after Japan’s surrender in WWII, the Chiba Korean Elementary was opened as a school for the children of Korean forced laborers in Chiba Prefecture. These forced laborers had been brought to Chiba and surrounding areas by the Japanese military before and during WWII, and their children had not had access to formalized schooling. Although housed in a dilapidated building, the school provided a chance for the children to learn the language, history, and culture of Korea while living in Japan. In 1962, the school moved to a newly-constructed building and added a middle school.

Throughout the school’s history, as with most Korean schools in Japan, Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School has endured ongoing state-sanctioned educational injustices based on ethnicity. 

Since 1972, annual juried student art exhibitions showcasing work from both Japanese schools and Korean schools in Japan has provided meaningful opportunities for increasing mutual respect and understanding. 

In December 2016, Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School hosted the 45th Student Art Exhibition with artwork from elementary through high school student artists. At the exhibition, Chiba Mayor Toshihito Kumagai spotted two pieces of artwork by high school students of Korean ancestry. Student Yon-Su Jo’s artwork, What Requires Reparations, expressed her opposition to the flawed 2015 “comfort women” agreement between the Republic of Korea and Japan, while student Ae-Hyang Kang’s piece, The Force to Conceal the Truth and the Strength to Fight Against It, voiced the significance of restorative justice for the survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery. Referring to their artwork expressing objection to the Japanese government’s position regarding “comfort women” issues, on April 27, 2017, Mayor Kumagai announced his decision to cut annual city funding for Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School. This amounted to a loss of 500,000 JYP (around $4,757 USD in 2017), some of which had been used to organize the annual exhibition. The Education for Social Justice Foundation (ESJF) raised $5,000 USD to make up for the lost funding. Since then, ESJF has supported this school. In response to this injustice, the principal, Yusop Kim, said, “It’s wrong to repress the students’ freedom of expression and to bring politics to interfere with education.” In May 2017, Mayor Kumagai won re-election to a third four-year term. 

The Education for Social Justice Foundation raised US$5,000 to make up for the lost funding in summer 2017. Since then, ESJF has been supporting this school.

Marking our fifth consecutive year of support, since 2021, ESJF hosted a student art competition held solely for the school’s students. The three selected pieces are Act of Drawing, Moving Forward with Unity, and Overcoming Obstacles. Click here for more information.
Support Chiba Korean Elementary Middle School!

If you’d like to join us in supporting this school, please send us a check and indicate that your donation is for the Chiba School. ​
​Please make your check payable to Education for Social Justice Education Foundation and mail to

Education for Social Justice Foundation 
PO Box 225202  
San Francisco, CA 94122

Thank you for your support. Your help, no matter the capacity, makes a huge impact. ​
Picture
手のひらの上 ("In the Palm of My Hands"), Yun A Ku (8th grade), 2016
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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Social Justice Education
      • Advocacy >
        • International Community Outreach >
          • Chiba Korean Elementary Middle School >
            • Our First Advocacy
            • ESJF Student Art Competition
            • ESJF Statement: “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’” Shut Down to Suppress Freedom of Expression
            • Letter to Aichi Prefectural Triennale Promotion Office
          • Days for Girls International
        • Civil Society
    • Blog
    • Interviews and articles
  • Educator Resources
    • Sexual and Gender-based Violence >
      • Japanese military sexual slavery system >
        • Brief Historical Background
        • Lesson Plans and Worksheets >
          • ​In Their Own Words
          • Resistance & Collective activism
          • Denial of legal and historical responsibility
          • ​Remembering and honoring "comfort women"
          • Global plague
          • Contemporary movements towards justice
          • Worksheets
          • Puzzles
        • 2017 CA H-SS Framework >
          • Basic questions surrounding the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System
        • Map of "Comfort Women" Memorials in the United States
        • Survivors' Testimonies & Legacies >
          • Korea
          • China
          • Philippines
          • Indonesia
          • Japan
          • Netherlands
        • Primary Source Documents: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
          • Concerning the Recruitment of Women for Military Comfort Stations
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Report No. 49
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Bulletin No. 2
          • SEATIC Psychological Warfare Bulletin No. 182
          • G-3 Daily Dairy
          • C.B.I. Roundup
          • Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) No. 470
          • Research Report No. 120: Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces
          • San Francisco Local History >
            • Resolutions >
              • Resolution 158-25A1
            • Chronology: Teaching "Comfort Women" History from the 1990s to Present
          • Images
        • Secondary Source Documents and ESJF Statements >
          • Secondary Resource References
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, April 21, 2021
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, January 8, 2021
          • International Joint Statement, August 14, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, March 1, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, October 6, 2018
          • International Joint Statement, January 7, 2018
        • Reflections on Collective Activism in SF >
          • Reflection and Chronology: Eric Mar
          • Reflection: Steven Whyte & Ellen Wilson
          • Reflection: Sung Sohn
        • International "Comfort Women" Day >
          • 30th Anniversary of Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni's public testimony >
            • Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni
        • 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery
        • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement
        • 2017 Special Task Force Report on 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement between S. Korea and Japan
        • UNESCO and the "Voices of the 'Comfort Women'" >
          • Timeline
          • 2021 Youth Artwork Competition
          • 2021 Young Adult Online Campaign
        • Historic Lawsuits related to Japanese military sexual slavery before and during WWII >
          • Sung Sohn's Essay with commentaries and statement
        • YouTube >
          • First Video Footage of Korean "Comfort Women": July, 2017
          • First Video Footage of Mass Murdered "Comfort Women": Feb. 2018
          • Life as a "Comfort Woman": Story of Kim Bok-Dong
          • Meet Estelita Dy: A Filipino "Comfort Woman" Survivor
          • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement and Victims' Reaction
          • 2018 International "Comfort Women" Day
        • Wednesday Demonstration
        • Peace Statue
      • Sexual and medical violence against Black Americans >
        • Lesson Plans >
          • Medical Experimentation on Enslaved Women
          • Nurse Rivers
      • Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray and Afghanistan
      • Reports and Papers on SGBV & Gender Justice
    • History of and Issues Surrounding Asian Diaspora in the United States >
      • ESJF >
        • 19th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • 20th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • Today >
          • Lesson Plans
      • TACT >
        • K-5
        • 6-8
        • 9-12
      • Facing History and Ourselves
      • Fred T. Korematsu Institute
      • San Francisco Asian Art Museum
      • Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons >
      • United States >
        • Lesson Plans
      • Asia >
        • Lesson Plans
        • Video Footage for Classroom
        • Primary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
        • Secondary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
      • Europe >
        • Lesson Plans
    • Resistance and Collective Activism >
      • U.S. Slavery
      • Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
  • ESJF Publications
    • "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
      • Teacher Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
      • Student Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons
  • ESJF Professional Development opportunities
  • Get Involved
    • Join Our Email List
    • Donate
    • Contact Us >
      • Workshop and Lecture Request