Mindan

Korean Residents Union in Japan
Japanese name
Kanji	在日本大韓民国民団
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Zai-Nihon Daikanminkoku Mindan
Korean name
Hangul	재일본대한민국민단
Hanja	在日本大韓民國民團
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Jae-Ilbon Daehanminguk Mindan McCune–Reischauer Chae-Ilbon Taehan Min'guk Mindan

Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Zai-Nihon Daikanminkoku Mindan

Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Jae-Ilbon Daehanminguk Mindan
McCune–Reischauer	Chae-Ilbon Taehan Min'guk Mindan

Mindan (Korean: 민단), or the Korean Residents Union in Japan (Korean: 재일본대한민국민단), is the name of one of two main organizations for Koreans living in Japan, the other being Chongryon. Mindan has ties to South Korea and was established in 1946 in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, among 610,000 Korean residents in Japan who have not adopted Japanese nationality, 65 percent are members of Mindan, and another 25 percent are members of Chongryon.

Mindan members prefer the modern term Kankoku (韓国^?) to be used when discussing Korea. Chongryon members, some of whom are North Korean fellow travellers, prefer the older term Chōsen (朝鮮^?). Because Chōsen was the term used during the Japanese rule of Korea and North Korea does not recognize Kankoku, this causes enmity between the groups.

Mindan was established in 1946 as the Zai-Nihon Chōsen Kyoryū Mindan (在日本朝鮮居留民団^?). With the founding of South Korea in 1948 the name Chōsen was dropped, and the organization was reincorporated as Zai-Nihon Daikanminkoku Kyoryū Mindan (在日本大韓民国居留民団^?). The Korean War (1950–1953) brought about a sharp division between members of Chongryon and Mindan, with each organization strongly supporting the North or South respectively. Mindan members went to Korea as volunteer soldiers in the conflict.

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