Tokyo Korean Junior and Senior High School

A North Korea-aligned Chongryon school in Jujodai, Kita-ku, serving Zainichi Korean families who want a Korean-language secondary education tied to that political tradition.

The school opened in 1946 and added a senior high department in 1948, making it the oldest and largest of the Chosen schools in Japan. Around 395 students attend as of 2023, down from peaks above 2,000 in the late 1960s. Modern history is taught with the school's own materials, and other subjects use Korean translations of Japanese textbooks. The curriculum tracks Japanese senior high standards with a Korean ethnic and ideological frame.

This is not an international school in the conventional expat sense. Japanese government tuition waivers were withdrawn in 2010 and the Supreme Court upheld that exclusion in 2019. Families choosing here are typically Zainichi Korean households committed to the Chongryon community and the language. Anyone considering it for general Korean-language schooling rather than community alignment usually looks at Tokyo Korean School in Shinjuku, which is South Korea-affiliated and a different proposition entirely.

• Public discussion is dominated by the school's political and cultural identity rather than normal parent reviews.
• Former visitors and teachers describe ordinary students and friendly staff, while also noting visible ideological symbols, older facilities, and limited funding.
• The strongest caution is fit: families need to be comfortable with a Korean heritage school whose status and curriculum sit outside the usual international-school comparison set.