메인메뉴 바로가기본문으로 바로가기
네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Importance of Cultural Exchange in an Age of Conflict

Causes of Conflict among Regions and Nations
Upon its beginning, the 21st century, which can be regarded as a result of the progress in human history, has been stained by conflict and tension. Although the huge wave of change known as globalization, which seeks to overcome the boundaries of diversity and turn the world into a single global village, is spreading throughout the globe, the world has also seen exclusive conflict as well as competition for power based on a new form of imperialism or colonialism all around the world.
Why does conflict continue and even become more aggravated and miserable despite a realistic perception that no state or group can exist as an isolated and independent being but can survive only through mutual cooperation? The answer is simple. It is because states and nation groups , rather than resolve, conflict. Desire for securing more resources such as food and energy, and selfish and immoral greed for preserving one's own environment at the cost of others stimulate the emergence of conflict. Furthermore, religious differences can cause people to hate each other and engage in cruel destruction in the name of a holy war to such an extent that human beings should be ashamed of. Conflict is not natural but artificial.
Regional conflict is not necessarily caused by inferior material conditions, deficiency, or imbalance. It is caused by ignorance and prejudice about oneself and the outside world. Such ignorance and prejudice may be caused by a lack of education, and also by education based on distorted knowledge, information, and viewpoint. Especially, states and nationalism hinder a concept of living together with neighbors by absolutizing one's purity, superiority, and legitimacy. In addition, it denies, repels, and even seeks to rule and exploit others just because they are different. It is not different in quality from exclusive rule rooted in the imperialism, colonialism, and West-centered view of civilization and evolutionism of the previous century.
A discriminatory worldview of others is also a product of history. The lingering vestiges of the past can be found in the fact that the intellectual arena is still dominated by the distorted knowledge and information about others forged by colonialists. At the root of much conflict, tension and hatred, there are traces and scars remaining from the history of political and economic relations of the previous century. As they have a certain impact on the reality of today's politics, economy, industry, and technology, people cannot be so easily liberated from such past memories. Liquidation of the past or sharing of a common view on history must be attained, but this is neither an easy nor quick process to realize.
Conflict among countries is d when those ambitious for political power stir up hostility, competition, and confrontational circumstances among states, nations, and races for a cause of strengthening competitiveness to secure national unity, international influence, or economic domination. Paradoxically, the perception of a conflict situation is often needed to achieve national unity or support for a regime.

Reality of Conflict and Need for Cultural Exchange
Therefore, an enhancement of cultural understanding and communication capability is essential to prevent and minimize conflict among regions, states, and nations. In order to overcome the unrealistic aspects of a principle of "power comes first" or economic determinism, it is necessary to recognize that all people have a right to dignity and to be respected, along with coexistence and common prosperity being the only path for our survival. There is also a need for the wisdom to acknowledge and trust others and to respect them as partners of the world. That is, we need to be able to accommodate cultural diversity and heterogeneity, and for this, it is necessary to have an ability to understand cultural differences.
Cultural exchange, therefore, is for the understanding of others, and for broadening the breadth and the depth of sharing ethical principles, world views, and wisdom. Even now, however, cultural imperialistic violence is being imposed on the cultures of others. The culture of each nation is ranked and other cultures are deprived of their legitimacy, which undermines the value and propriety of those people with such cultures. Racist and class exclusion as well as distortion serve to destroy human dignity. Therefore, it is necessary to promote cultural exchange as a medium for cultural understanding. Here, culture means the way of life, institutions and practices, and views of the world and values. When these aspects can be understood, it is possible to have a proper understanding about others.
Meanwhile, culture also involves conditions, environments, and systems for a reasonable quality of life. Energy development and distribution systems, and implementation plans for environmental protection, health care, and sanitation are not economic benefits for selected peoples, but requisite conditions for human welfare beyond national boundaries. Therefore, economism, state nationalism, and power structure should be replaced by cultural welfare. Joint efforts in this regard call for cultural exchange and activities to a cultural community.
At the same time, culture is a product of the intellectual and aesthetic endeavors of mankind. Movements to put an end to cultural distortion and the history of looting are being organized out of special interests for cultural relics and artifacts, as well as tangible and intangible cultural properties. One of the biggest issues of this movement involves demands for the return of cultural properties to their original source, together with ways to establish a system to enjoy culture that transcends the boundaries of nation, generation, and ideology, and to make such a system available to everyone.
Regarding the imperialistic looting of cultural properties in the previous century, two different arguments confront each other: one is to demand the return of such cultural properties to their original owners; the other is to assert that the current cultural metropolises should preserve them for universal enjoyment. As argued by the advanced countries that currently possess such cultural properties, it is uncertain whether such relics will be properly preserved when returned to economically less-developed countries.
We have seen numerous cases of destruction and loss of cultural properties because of various kinds of development policies. Nevertheless, movable cultural properties must be returned to their origins. Currently, the world has several cultural metropolises around which regions and cities are culturally ranked. The notion suggested by the advocates of globalization is that efficiency is maximized by organizing countries and cities under a kind of division of labor system, so that people can freely move across national boundaries and enjoy cultural diversity in various regions. However, there is a danger that this approach may justify cultural imperialism over cultural sovereignty. However, this dispute will not be easily resolved unless the current holders of cultural properties abandon their greed.
France claims to be a representative nation that strongly resists America-centered cultural globalization. However, it staunchly opposes the return of cultural properties looted from the Third World and continues to cooperate with the Western world in this regard. Such contradictory attitudes of France are clearly evident in its refusal to return the Joseon Dynasty's Oegyujanggak royal s to Korea.
It is also a serious problem that China does not make public the results of its archaeological excavations of Balhae and Goguryeo relics, and even invents an exclusive history thereof. The ancient history of this region is associated with various nations of a broader scope and thus must be studied publicly and jointly.
Japan's behavior regarding the territorial ownership of Dokdo is far from being a cultural matter, because it seeks to distort and destroy cultural material and information to secure current political gains. Moreover, Japanese leaders make official visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which also venerates war criminals. Such actions directly ignore the universal ethics of those who desire to reflect on the evils of war. Many Japanese use Hiroshima, where an atomic bomb was dropped, as a means to cover up Japan's wrongdoings as a warring party and to present their moral superiority by emphasizing the sacrifice of the Japanese people. But atomic bomb victims of other nationalities are not honored together with Japanese victims.
International trust is broken and conflict is intensified when people refuse to share history as a medium where universal values and ethics can be discovered and restored. Conflict among regions, states, or nations aggravates this cultural problem. It is natural that those who continue to promote cultural distortion cannot be accepted as members of a world community.

Foundation for International Cultural Exchange
International exchange should not be short-sighted, self-publicity activities for immediate goals and benefits, but instead involve far-sighted, collaborative cultural exchange activities for the distribution and sharing of universal human values. It is also a means of providing people with an opportunity to experience other cultures and engage in dialogue and communication with different cultures. Cultural exchange in a broad sense includes exchange of knowledge, information, technological systems, and human resources. International exchange should thus be aimed at establishing a system that makes efforts to advance matters of common interest, such as sharing views on history and environmental problems, and promoting material conditions, including energy conservation and food supply, to enhance the quality of human life.
The Korea Foundation now needs to develop further to enable the Korean people to broaden their worldview and pursue universal values. It is necessary for them to have the wisdom to understand their neighbor's problems as common problems of humankind, and to develop the capability to jointly come up with solutions for such problems as a world citizen. Therefore, the government and society should pay more attention to and take more interest in cultural exchange programs. In short, the power of a country is determined by the ability to invest in its cultural sector.

International exchange should not be short-sighted, self-publicity activities for immediate goals and benefits, but instead involve far-sighted, collaborative cultural exchange activities for the distribution and sharing of universal human values. It is also a means of providing people with an opportunity to experience other cultures and engage in dialogue and communication with different cultures. International exchange should thus be aimed at establishing a system that makes efforts to advance matters of common interest, such as sharing views on history and environmental problems, and promoting material conditions, including energy conservation and food supply, to enhance the quality of human life.

SEARCH

통합검색

통합검색버튼
통합검색닫기

전체메뉴

전체메뉴 닫기