For decades, schools for ethnic Koreans living in Japan have been divided along pro-Pyongyang or pro-Seoul lines, with their curricula reflecting the differing political ideologies in North and South Korea.
In 2008, however, a new type of school opened in Osaka in response to Korean residents' desire for an education that, while emphasizing their roots in the Korean Peninsula, is not restricted by differences across the 38th parallel.
Most of the 86 students from the seventh to 12th grades at Korea International School in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, are Koreans living in Japan. But there are also Japanese students and people who have returned after stints abroad.