메인메뉴 바로가기본문으로 바로가기
네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

For Insight into the Thoughts and Viewpoints of Korea

According to the Korea Foundation Law, the goal of the establishment of the Korea Foundation is to “promote international awareness and understanding of Korea and contribute to enhancing goodwill and friendship in the global community.” As such, the fundamental mission of the Foundation involves efforts to foster friendly relations with the countries and peoples of the international community, in keeping with today’s era of globalization.



Global Korea Speakers Forum
The relations of good neighbors and fri-ends are based on trust and common beliefs, which are rooted in mutual understanding. In this context, the Korea Foundation implements a variety of international exchange programs, including support for Korean Studies, museums abroad, and personnel ex-changes, to make Korea’s history, cul-ture, thought, and society known to those neighbors of the international community, which might not have a proper understanding of Korea, due to such barriers as language, culture, and geographical distance.
In addition, the Foundation puts forth earnest efforts to help the Korean people understand foreign cultures and values, so that they can be responsible members of the global community.
As part of these efforts, the Foundation established the Korea Foundation Cul-tural Center in 2005 to provide Koreans with more opportunities for direct interaction with foreign cultures.
Global Korea Speakers Forum is another endeavor of the Korea Foundation to foster friendly relations with the international community. Korea needs to be aware of the social concerns of other countries and their views on various global issues. Likewise, foreigners are curious about the thoughts and opinions of Korea and its people.
This past April, the Foundation deve-loped plans to implement a new pro-gram, entitled Global Korea. After a preparation process that included designation of host institutions and selection of speakers and topics, the first Global Korea Speakers Forum was held in Washington, D.C., on September 4, 2007, to discuss the issue of the naming of the East Sea.
Co-hosted by the Society for the East Sea, headed by Seoul National University Professor Lee Ki Suk, the forum opened with a lecture presentation by the society’s Honorary President Kim Jin Hyun, who related a personal anecdote about the forced change of Korean names into Japanese names, when he was a student during the time of Japan’s colonial rule. Through this anecdote, Kim Jin Hyun sought to indicate that the general use of the “Sea of Japan” name was directly related to Japanese colonial rule, which raises a question about the legitimacy of the “Sea of Japan” name. In his conclusion, he emphasized that ”East Sea” was not just a geographical name but a matter of historical legacy and cultural significance to the Korean nation and people.
Kyung Hee University Professor Choo Sung-jae recounted the historical background of how the sea, originally named “East Sea,” came to be known as ”Sea of Japan,” and the recent efforts to use a dual ”East Sea/Sea of Japan” reference, reflecting a gradual shift in international perspectives. His in-depth presentation was wellreceived by the audience.
The Global Korea Speakers Forum had to be moved to a larger meeting room when some 45 people, as compared to an expected 30 participants, attended the session. The participants included representatives from a diverse array of areas, such as the National Geodetic Survey of the U.S. Department of Com-merce and the Association of American Geographers, along with geography professors, East Asia specialists, and social studies teachers, thereby creating an environment for lively and varied discussion. Some participants even suggested the use of a neutral name, aside from East Sea or Sea of Japan.



Second Session on Regional Issues
The second Global Korea Speakers Forum session was presented in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. As compared to the “East Sea” session, which focused on one of Korea’s areas of concern, the second session adopted a regional emphasis, based on a theme of “Nationalism and Internationalism in Korea and Northeast Asia.” Guest speakers of the second forum included Northeast Asian History Foundation President Kim Yongdeok, Yonsei Uni-versity Professor Kim Ho-ki, and Seoul National University Professor Park Tae-gyun. Professors from host institutions also participated in the discussions. This included Professor Hwang Kyung Moon, Director, Korean Studies Institute, USC, and Professor Lee Nam-hee of the history department, UCLA, at the Los Angeles event (October 26), while Professor Kirk Larsen, Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University, participated in the Washington, D.C. event.
About 90 people showed up at a con-ference room of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington Uni-versity, at noon on October 30. After a brown-bag lunch, Northeast Asian History Foundation President and Seoul National University Professor Kim Yongdeok explained about the historical background of Korean nationalism and the development of such nationalism as a national identity, in relation to the Northeast Asian nationalism triggered by history textbook issues.
He contended that Korea’s nationalism emerged and deepened as a reaction to foreign invasions and the challenges of Korea’s modernization, while today it reflects a yearning for national unification.
As for China’s Northeast Asia Project, which seeks to integrate the history of Goguryeo and Balhae into that of China, Kim Yongdeok introduced a concept of ”historical sovereignty,” comparable to principles of territorial sovereignty, along with noting that many Koreans regarded the Northeast Asia Project as an infringement of Korea’s “historical sovereignty,” which therefore led to a sensitive reaction on the part of Korea. He emphasized that Korea should be careful about nationalism in a narrow sense, in today’s age of globalization, although it was evident that Korea’s nationalism had brought about positive results in the past. He also stated that Korea, in the 21st century, should avoid interpreting the world from a limited perspective of nationalism, but instead take on a mediatory role to moderate extreme nationalism in Korea, China, and Japan.
In line with this, the discussants sug- gested possible directions for Korean nationalism in an era of globalization. While observing that Korean society was rapidly developing a multinational character, Professor Kim Ho-ki em-phasized that Korea should enhance its understanding and acceptance of other cultures, and not allow its nationalism to become chauvinistic in nature, but instead move toward an open-minded nationalism.
Professor Kirk Larsen believed that a nation-to-nation approach to the nationalism of Korea, China, and Japan would likely be inefficient, while anticipating that nongovernmental organizations, like the Northeast Asian History Foundation, could play an increasingly important role as a mediator. As the only U.S. discussant, considerable attention was paid to Professor Larsen, who noted that it was urgent to overcome differences in nationalism between North and South Korea, as well as that of Korea, China, and Japan. As for Professor Park Tae-gyun, he advised that Korean society should avoid blind, extremist nationalism, and advance toward post-nationalism.
The forum held at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies was attended by not only professors and graduate students of George Washington University, but also many faculty members of East Asian studies from neighboring institutions, such as Georgetown University, SAIS of Johns Hopkins University, Maryland University, and George Mason University. A State Department official in charge of East Asian affairs was also in attendance, listening intently to the discussions.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal appreciation to the co-host institutions of USC Korean Studies Institute, UCLA Center for Korean Studies, and Asia Society Southern California, as well as the George Washington University Sigur Center for Asian Studies, which contributed much to the successful launch of the Global Korea Speakers Forum.

SEARCH

통합검색

통합검색버튼
통합검색닫기

전체메뉴

전체메뉴 닫기