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Korea Old & New: a View from Russia

Recent years in Russia have been marked by a real boom in Korean Studies. In many respects, the situation reflects the Russian public’s heightened interest in the events on the Korean peninsula, which directly adjoins our Far Eastern boundaries. To understand the current complicated situation in Korea and to make a sound forecast of future events, it is necessary to know more about the history and spiritual heritage of Koreans, including the economic achievements of the South and the circumstances under which the North continues to openly challenge the world’s only superpower.

The number of publications about Korea has appreciably increased. New Korean Studies centers are being established. In Moscow and other Russian cities, numerous academic conferences, seminars, and round tables on Korean affairs, including those that enjoy the participation of Korean scholars, are being held. Russian experts on Korea command respect abroad. they participate in almost all major international seminars on Korean affairs. Especially encouraging is the increase of creative and promising young talent in the field.

All these trends in Korean Studies showed up at the eighth annual conference of Russian Koreanists: “Korea in Search of Peace and Prosperity.” The forum was held on March 25-26, 2004 in Moscow, at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies (IFES) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

This conference, launched in mid-1990 by the IFES Center for Korean Studies, has become the most representative meeting of Russian experts on Korea. More than 60 scholars and students from various research and educational institutes of Russia, plus representatives from the government, business circles, and the Russian and foreign mass media were in attendance. The heads of all major non-Moscow centers for Korean Studies participated in the conference. This year, participants also came from such remote Russian cities as Magnitogorsk and Surgut. Over the years, the regular participants of the conference has come to include a group of Russian scientists working abroad. Their presence also demonstrates that the forum organized by the IFES has become a real laboratory of creative thinking, a powerful generator of new ideas and academic research in the area of Koreanology.

The papers submitted at the conference covered all major areas of Korean Studies, and the forum organizers divided them into four main sections: history, culture, politics, and economy.

History
Papers presented under “History” seemed particularly appropriate this year, as 2004 is marked by a series of jubilee anniversaries in the history of Russian-Korean ties. Among them are the 120th anniversary of the establishment of international relations between two countries, the 140th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean immigration to the Russian Far East, and the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war.

Russia’s role in Korean affairs has changed dramatically since the end of the 19th century. V. Denisov, Professor of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), noted that it was certainly possible to find shortcomings in Russia’s policy toward Korea in the past. Russia’s overall ive was to preserve Korea’s independence and to prevent its absorption by China, Japan or any other state. Only Russia’s economic and military weakness in the Far East at the time prevented her from defending independent development of Korea.

It was mentioned that Russia is sincerely interested in peaceful reunification of North and South Korea. Moscow hopes that unified Korea will be a democratic, prosperous country that would pursue a peaceful policy toward its neighbor states and actively cooperate with them in various areas.

The director of the Center for Korean Studies of the Far Eastern State University at Vladivostok, I. Tolstokulakov, spoke on the problem of influence of traditional political culture on the speed and forms of political modernization of Korea from the end of the 19th century up to the present times.

Culture
The papers submitted under “Culture” were characterized by an extraordinarily wide spectrum of issues: from the ethnogenesis of Koreans, to ancient Korean beliefs such as shamanism, and the contribution made by Russian Koreans to the development of science in Russia. Interest in modern Korean culture and art is not only limited to Russia’s capital, but is also present in the provinces, as Prof. L. Kireeva from Magnitogorsk University testified in her paper on achievements of South Korean cinematography.

Politics
The most representative part of the conference dealt with the current political developments in North and South Korea, security problems on the Korean peninsula, and Russian-Korean relations.

The paper presenters paid special attention to the “nuclear problem” on the Korean peninsula and to prospects of its settlement. IFES Director M. Titarenko and I pointed out that tension surrounding this question is far from disappearing. The second round of the six-party talks in Beijing were not productive. The problem here, we argued, is not only in North Korea’s “obstinacy,” but also in the United States’ rigid position. Trust between the U.S. and the North Korea is essential for the success of any talks.

Dr. V. Tkachenko of the IFES noted that the U.S. administration is compelled to take into consideration the position of its closest allies in the region, and that Japan and the South Korea do not approve of a military option in settling the conflict. In addition, the U.S. must recognize that military actions just next to the Chinese and Russian borders will be perceived as a direct threat to the security of these countries. Thus, Americans must decide whether it is worth risking their relations with Moscow and Beijing because of North Korea.

Several experts spoke about the domestic political situation in the North Korea. They noted that Pyeongyang was departing from ideological dogmas. Russian scholars are making efforts to understand what is going on behind the facade. During the 10 years since Kim Il-sung’s death, North Korean society has certainly undergone changes. It is necessary to find out how big these changes have been, and to what extent they are irreversible.

Economy
The fourth general subject included the economy of North and South Korea, Northeast Asia as a whole, and conditions and prospects for Russian-Korean trade and economic relations.

Dr. S. Suslina of the IFES emphasized that it is necessary for Russia to encourage faster integration of the Northeast Asian region. According to her, Russia is capable of accelerating the process of economic union by removing some obstacles on the road to that aim. Such a union could be an organization similar to a free trade zone. It should include Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea. Ideally, it would also involve the North, but at the moment that does not seem likely. For Russia, participation in tripartite and multilateral cooperation on the Korean peninsula can provide a chance to strengthen her economic positions in Northeast Asia, and to join integration processes in the region.

Dr. M. Steklov of the MGIMO spoke about Russia’s prospects of cooperating with the South and the North Korea in the energy field. He analyzed the difficulties of such collaborations and the influences rendered by neighboring countries, including China.

Russian specialists scrutinized the South Korean experience of modernization, including the creation of a modern labor market and the appropriate labor legislation ─ problems that are quite relevant in today’s Russia.

The conference proceedings will be published in a separate volume, which is expected to appear this autumn. Together with the previous seven volumes, it will become a kind of encyclopedia of modern Russian Koreanology. The ninth conference of Russian Koreanists will be held in spring of 2005 at the IFES, Moscow.

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