A Study of Yi Yang-ji’s Novelette Yuhi: Identity in Zainichi Korean LiteratureDejanović, Ana (Avtor) Visočnik, Nataša (Mentor) Kang, Byoung Yoong (Mentor) Zainichi Korean diasporaYi Yang-jipostcolonial literaturehybridityin-betweennessDuring Japan’s annexation of Korea (1910–1945), a considerable number of Koreans were forced to live in Japan as a labour force. Faced with discrimination, the first generation of Koreans in Japan began writing about their experiences. After the occupation ended, many had become financially dependent on Japan. Around 600,000 Koreans remained in Japan and thus became the Zainichi Korean diaspora. Throughout the decades, these Koreans have written about their lives in Japan, their struggles under Japanese imperialism, and their continued challenges in the years that followed. Some explored the traumas, others the search for identity, while the current generation gradually diverges from traditional definitions of Zainichi identity. As a second-generation Zainichi writer, Yi Yang-ji grew up in Japan and spoke Japanese as her first language. Like many Koreans of her generation, she was raised without direct contact with Korea. However, throughout her life, she sought to better understand her Korean roots and learn the language. Traditional Korean music and dance held a special place in her heart, a medium through which she explored preconceived notions of homeland and mother tongue. Her works were inspired by her personal life, which dealt with the themes of identity exploration and the search for homeland. This thesis examines the multi-layered notion of homeland within her novelette Yuhi, as well as how Yi Yang-ji’s narration choices embody the essence of hybrid identity of diasporic existence.[A. Dejanović]20252025-10-10 12:10:51Diplomsko delo/naloga174879sl