It was a big leap for Takae Hayama to switch from her Japanese name to her real name when she went to college.

Lee Gwi Hoe, a third-generation "zainichi," or ethnic Korean in Japan, remembers being overly conscious of herself every time her teachers took roll call using her Korean name.

"I was told not to use my Korean name when I was young," said Lee, 31. "But I did not want to spend the rest of my life acting like a Japanese."