Before they knew what happened, the United States and the Soviet Union had divided the Korean peninsula into two countries. So Koreans were allowed to stay in Japan but were forced to choose between South and North Korean nationality. My old man chose North Korea because it touted Marxist ideology and was assumed to be more compassionate toward the poor. And because it showed more concern than the South Korean government for Koreans living in Japan. That’s how my father became a North Korean resident of Japan.
