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Future Leaders Forum: Korea-China-Japan 2005

"Although I understand the good intentions of the joint history textbook published by Korea, China and Japan, I can only feel disappointed that Japan, which has made efforts to maintain peace for the past 60 years, is described only as a vicious principal warmonger."
    "If the remains of Class-A war criminals honored at Yasukuni Shrine are moved to some other place, nobody would oppose the Japanese Prime Minister`s shrine visit."
    These points were made during the discussion sessions of the third "Future Leaders Forum: Korea-China-Japan 2005," jointly organized by the Korea Foundation, the All-China Youth Federation, and the Japan Foundation.
    The "Future Leaders Forum: Korea-China-Japan" includes the participation of 15 representatives in their 30s and 40s-five from each of the three countries-from such sectors as the government, legislature, journalism, and academia. During visits of the three countries, the participants engage in discussion, and visit relevant organizations as well as cultural attractions and commercial sites.
    Although currently administered under the International Exchange of Young Leaders category of the Foundation`s Invitation Program, the format is a kind of small-scale discussion forum, unlike the usual program of hosting the visit of young leaders from various regions. Of note, it covers a period of up to 11 days, in comparison to regular bilateral forums that are usually conducted over two days. Under a comprehensive theme of "Trilateral Cooperation toward Building Northeast Asian Regional Cooperation," the participants decide on the specific topics to be discussed in an informal atmosphere.
    The venues of this year`s Future Leaders Forum included Beijing, China, followed by Gifu, Japan and Gwangju, Korea. The participants took part in five discussion sessions, met with China`s Foreign Ministry Asian Affairs Bureau Chief and Korea`s Unification Vice Minister, and attended lectures by Kato Koichi, Professor Moon Chung-in of Yonsei University, and Professor Lee Jae-yeol of Seoul National University. In addition, they visited the Aichi Expo in Japan and Hwaeomsa Temple in Korea.
    Since the discussion sessions are not open to the public and the participants are together for about 11 days, the representatives are free to frankly and candidly exchange their personal viewpoints. Underlying conflict among Korea, Japan, and China cannot, of course, be resolved overnight. At the start of the forum, I felt disappointed and frustrated in seeking to identify common issues among the three countries. It was distressing to see such serious differences of opinion and the gaps among the three countries, which geographically are separated by no more than a one-hour flight.
    Disagreement over historic issues, territorial disputes, and political clashes have contributed to heightened controversy among the three countries this year, along with the participants expressing a clear divergence in their respective stance to such controversies.
    As the forum proceeded and the participants engaged in further discussion, the previous awkwardness and caution was soon replaced by curiosity about getting to know each other on a personal basis. The participants started to understand more about each other`s views and saw the possibility of compromise on various issues. Recognition of difficult problems, although many, is the first step toward the solution of such matters.
    The participants also agreed that there were many matters which required cooperation and that cooperative efforts were feasible in several sectors despite the existence of problem areas and disparate viewpoints. For example, there was general agreement on such issues as a peaceful solution of the North Korean nuclear situation, FTA agreement among Korea, China and Japan, joint development of energy resources, and establishment of an Asian monetary fund. They especially shared a belief that strengthened economic and cultural exchange would contribute much to an easing of political conflict.
    A fundamental goal of the Future Leaders Forum is to a network of future leaders from the three countries. Now that four Future Leaders Forum events have been held, tentative plans for the fifth session call for a kind of reunion in which the previous 60 participants would attend a combined session to help promote an active network of future leaders of Korea, China, and Japan, based on close personal relationships.
    Indeed, it is hoped that the participants of the "Future Leaders Forum: Korea-China-Japan" will be among the leaders of Asia in the near future, and that their forum experiences will serve as a valuable means for realizing trilateral cooperation. It is also hoped that this forum will someday be recognized as a kind of Davos Forum for the next-generation leaders of Korea, China, and Japan, which can contribute to tangible benefits.

Participants of the "3rd Future Leaders Forum: Korea-China-Japan" visit each other's country and develop personal relationships in order to promote the program's theme of "Trilateral Cooperation toward Building a Northeast Asian Regional Community."

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