Chongryon

General Association of Korean Residents in Japan

Headquarters of Ch'ongryŏn, Chiyoda, Tokyo
Abbreviation	Ch'ongryŏn, Chōsen Sōren
Formation	March 30, 1955; 62 years ago (1955-03-30)
Type	NGO
Location	Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates	35°41′49″N 139°44′37″E / 35.696972°N 139.7435°E / 35.696972; 139.7435Coordinates: 35°41′49″N 139°44′37″E / 35.696972°N 139.7435°E / 35.696972; 139.7435
Region served	Japan
Official language	Korean, Japanese
Chairman	Ho Jong-man
Key people	Han Duk-su, founder
Main organ	General Assembly
Website	http://www.chongryon.com/

The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Ch'ongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon (Korean: 총련, Hanja: 總聯) or Chōsen Sōren (Japanese: 朝鮮総連), is one of two main organisations for Zainichi (or Jaeil) Koreans (long-term Korean residents in Japan), and has close ties to North Korea (DPRK). As there are no diplomatic relations between the two states, it has functioned as North Korea's de facto embassy in Japan.

Chongryon members primarily consist of those who have retained their registration as Joseon nationals (Japanese: Chōsen-seki), instead of taking or being born with Japanese or South Korean nationality. Joseon nationality was a legal status that the Japanese government defined in the aftermath of World War II, when the government of the Korean peninsula was in an undetermined state. Prior to the end of World War II, Korea was administered by the Japanese government as being part of Japan, thus the legal nationality of Koreans, both in Japan and in Korea, was Japanese.

The other main organization is called Mindan, the Korean Residents Union In Japan, and consists of Zainichi Koreans who have adopted South Korean nationality. Currently, among 610,000 Korean residents in Japan who have not adopted Japanese nationality, 25 percent are members of Chongryon, and 65 percent are members of Mindan. Chongryon's strong links to North Korea, its allegiance to the North Korean ideology and its opposition to integration of Koreans into Japanese society have made it the more controversial of the two organisations in Japan.