User:Hayashikiyo/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: (link) Koreans in Japan
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I decided to evaluate this article because it covers many issues of legal discrimination that Zainichi Koreans faced and continue to face in Japan.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * The introductory sentence does not very clearly describe the article's topic. It references ethnic Koreans with permanent residency in Japan, ethnic Koreans who have become Japanese citizens, immigrants who arrived before 1945, and descendants of these immigrants, but the phrasing is somewhat confusing.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * The Lead does not include a description of the major Korean organizations in Japan referenced by Chongryon and Mindan.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * The Lead does not seem very concise, repeating the statement that the Korean population in Japan mentioned in the article are distinct from the wave of Korean immigrants to Japan from the 1980s. The article seems to focus primarily on Zainichi Koreans, but the title of the article is still Koreans in Japan. It is also confusing why the article makes a distinction that the phrase Koreans in Japan as used in the article is distinct from this later wave of Korean immigrants to Japan.

Lead evaluation
According to the lead, the article seems to focus primarily on Zainichi Koreans, but the title of the article is still Koreans in Japan. It is also confusing why the article makes a distinction that the phrase Koreans in Japan as used in the article is distinct from this later wave of Korean immigrants to Japan. Additionally, the romanization of Japanese is not consistent throughout the Lead, there is no romanization for Korean phrases in the Lead, and the romanization for 在日コリアン is missing from the "Terms for Koreans in Japan" box.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * The article's content is significant and relevant to the topic.
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * The content appears to be up-to-date, but there are some sentences in the Chongryon and Mindan section that are missing citations. Most of the article sites sources from 2017 and 2018.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * There does not appear to be any content that is missing.
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?
 * Yes, the article mostly focuses on the history and presence of ethnic Koreans in Japan, a topic that is typically underrepresented in discussions about Japan despite being the second largest group of immigrants there.

Content evaluation
There seem to be no issues with the content of the article, but I don't think I have done enough research on the topic to be completely sure that this is the case. Most of the information in the article is cited, save for a few broken links and two sentences that require a citation.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Most of the article tends to favor Zainichi Koreans and details various forms of legal, economic, and social discrimination that they faced. Additionally, it is mentioned that the neutrality of the article is still disputed.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * The section regarding the Chongryon organization is somewhat biased. There is no citation provided for the statement that says that "Chongryon has long been suspected of a variety of criminal acts on behalf of North Korea," which is a pretty accusatory statement.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * While it makes sense that the majority of the article focuses on the experiences of Zainichi Koreans, the Lead mentions a later wave of Korean immigrants to Japan in the 1980s. However, the article only briefly mentions this population, with the majority of the section on "Newcomers" referencing people who are studying abroad.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
 * Other than the issues mentioned above, the article is mostly neutral.
 * Other than the issues mentioned above, the article is mostly neutral.

Tone and balance evaluation
The article tends to reflect some of the (perhaps biased) perceptions about North Korea held in the West, but in other aspects the article seems to be fairly neutral.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Most of the facts in the article appear to be backed up by a secondary source from an academic or news source, although it is difficult to confirm some of them because they are referenced from articles and papers written in other languages. There are two statements in the Chongryon and Mindan section that are missing citations and two others in the History section that need verification. Additionally, the statement about existing Korean organizations tending to exclude newcomers, who eventually formed the Association of South Korean Residents in Japan, has two sources that are broken.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Many of the sources are in Japanese or Korean, so it is difficult to ascertain whether or not they provide an accurate sampling of available literature on the topic. However, many of the policies that are referenced in the page are backed up with news sources that reported on them being passed, so it seems like the references are for the most part accurate.
 * Are the sources current?
 * The majority of the sources are from 2017 and 2018, making them relatively current.
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
 * It is difficult to confirm whether or not there is a lot of diversity in the sources, but the article does include writing and testimonies from many Zainichi Koreans themselves, suggesting that a wide range of experts were consulted.
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * Most of the links work with the exception of the ones mentioned in the first response. Some of the statements link to web archive pages that are no longer available.

Sources and references evaluation
From the working links, there seems to be a wide pool of representatives and most of the references are scholarly works or news sources from recent years. There are a few missing or broken links, but otherwise the article appears very well cited.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * For the most part, the article is well-written and lacks any glaring syntax or grammatical errors. There are a few passages, such as the "Integration into Japanese Society" section that could use some editing for clarification or flow, but otherwise the article is fine.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * There do not appear to be any significant grammatical or spelling errors that could potentially impede understanding.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
 * The article is well-organized by section, although it would have been helpful if these sections were mentioned in the Lead.

Organization evaluation
Overall, there are not any huge issues with the organization and syntax of the article, although some paragraphs could be rewritten to provide greater clarity. Additionally, since the article frequently mentions Korean and Japanese terms or organizations, it would help if the romanization for these was standardized across the entire article. Some added names and words are still missing romanization that could help a reader look into them further without knowing how to read the language.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * The article includes several images that contribute to the understanding of the topic. The majority of them are graphs and other statistical information that supports the statements made.
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Most of the image captions are fine, but the caption for the "Registered Korean residents in Japan" graph is confusing and extremely long. It is difficult to understand what it is describing.
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Yes, all of the images appear to adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
 * There are not that many images in the article but they are laid out well!

Images and media evaluation
The images generally enhance the content of the article overall and help provide clarification.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * There seem to be many discussions on the talk page, particularly concerning Anti-Korean Sentiment in Japan (a section of the article that no longer exists or was renamed to something else), the List of Famous Koreans in Japan, and Division between Chongryon and Mindan. The article was flagged for potentially biased representation of the topic, so many of these discussions are about whether or not the content of the article is truly neutral. Many of the references in the talk page are difficult to find in the main article, so it could be that they were edited accordingly.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * The article is rated C-class and high importance. It is part of WikiProject Japan, WikiProject Korea, WikiProject East Asia, and WikiProject Ethnic Groups.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * Although we have not discussed Zainichi Koreans in class yet, the Wikipedia article differs from Professor Hwaji Shin's lecture on them, focusing more on divisions within the Zainichi populations and modern conflicts.

Talk page evaluation
It seems like the article went through a lot of revision based on the differences between what is discussed on the talk page and what shows up in the main article, but I am not sure if all of the mentioned issues in the talk page have been revised yet. There also appears to be disagreement about the true size of the Zainichi Korean population.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * The article appears to be a work-in-progress still, particularly regarding how neutral the presentation of facts is.
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * The article is well sourced and provides a thorough explanation of each section. It also cites many statistics to back some of the arguments, many of which are well sourced.
 * How can the article be improved?
 * The article could use more images in order to aid comprehension. Additionally, the article could be written more neutrally, since it seems to be somewhat biased right now.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
 * I would say that the article is pretty well-developed in some areas, but there are definitely parts that could use improvement. I would describe it as a work-in-progress rather than a fully fleshed out article. Additionally, the Japanese version of the article seems to provide more information than what is available in the English one.

Overall evaluation
Overall, I would say that the article could use more work but is in the process of becoming a good source of information on a topic that is not covered much.

Optional activity

 * Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback

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