It was my great honor to be invited by the Korea Foundation to participate in its inaugural KF Global Seminar (March 24-28, 2011). The Foundation certainly should be praised for its vision to launch such a timely and important seminar. Given the current stalemate of the Six-Party Talks and the ongoing tension on the Korean Peninsula, it has become imperative for veteran policy analysts and practitioners as well as scholars from countries involved in the multilateral negotiation on the North Korean nuclear issue (minus the DPRK, unfortunately) to brainstorm on the strategies and institutional mechanisms for nuclear nonproliferation and regional stability.

Fruitful Proceedings

Three days of intense panel discussions and working group deliberations produced a number of thoughtful and potentially workable recommendations that policymakers in the five countries ought to consider in their future decision-making and consultation efforts with concerned parties. Moreover, the seminar provided an ideal opportunity for networking among participants as most of us had become friends by the time we bid farewell to one another. The seminar was an immense success, exemplifying the Foundation’s foresight and its commitment to promote communication among scholars, specialists, and policy practitioners.

More specifically, the seminar did a commendable job in the following areas: - The participants represented a broad range of perspectives. There were senior and junior scholars, veteran policymakers, think-tank professionals, and journalists, who came from the five countries that have important stakes in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Representing diverse backgrounds and experiences, they contributed to animated and productive discussions in the panel and working group sessions.

- Though funded and hosted by the Korea Foundation, the seminar did not have any agenda, whether explicit or implicit, to unilaterally advocate the views of the Republic of Korea. It was dedicated to free and open dialogue among all participants on the basis of a set of rules. This is certainly a practice that should be learned by other organizations around the world.

- Last but not least, the Foundation and its staff should be praised for their superb efforts in handling the logistics. From visa applications to airport pickup, from hotels to meals, the Foundation staff, time and again, impressed me with their professionalism. There was not a single complaint that I – or any other participant – had with the logistics. My only regret was that at the farewell dinner, I did not get a chance to personally thank the staff who made our stay such a pleasant experience.

Suggestions for Future Seminars

In spite of all these memorable achievements, in planning future sessions, the Foundation would be well-advised to consider the following suggestions, which include my own views as well as those of other participants, which I gleaned from my conversations with them.

- The schedule was too tight, allowing little time for participants to take a breath of fresh air. Not a few participants said the non-stop sessions were too intense. With such a high intensity, the results might be less than perfect. In the afternoon sessions, some participants seemed too tired to actively engage in discussion.

- It would be desirable to separate participants into two groups: policy practitioners and scholars. Given their experiences in government, the first group may focus more on policy issues. The second group, in the meantime, may deliberate academic aspects – particularly collaborative research projects – on the seminar theme. This arrangement could help avoid a situation where recommendations by academics are brushed aside by policy practitioners as “implausible” or “unviable.” Simply put, scholars will be able to concentrate on academic exploitation of the given subject, while policymakers deal with more practical issues.

- Personally, I hope the seminar will be held at a venue near a city so that the participants can come in contact with local residents at supermarkets, bookstores, and so on.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Foundation for holding such an important seminar to discuss a very timely subject. I would be more than happy to visit Korea again to make more friends and to explore more about this amazing country.

Tao Xie Associate Professor Beijing Foreign Studies University