뉴스레터

The 6th Jeju Forum took place on May 27-29, and as many as 1,500 people participated in the three-day forum. Although it is smaller compared to internationally renowned gatherings, such as Davos Forum or Boao Forum, it is of significant size among the international conferences held in Korea. Considering that the number of participants in the 5th Jeju Forum two years ago stood at around 500, the forum has made significant quantitative growth due to extensive topics for discussion, changes in format, more invitations to participants.

The Northeast Asian History Foundation took part in the forum as a sponsor, and organized two separate sessions: 1) "Reconciliation of Historical Conflicts and Cooperation in East Asia" in which the Foundation's President, Chung Jaejeong, served as a moderator; 2) "Great Tumen Initiative and Peace in East Asia" which was moderated by Professor Lee Suhoon of Kyungnam University.

Reconciliation of Historical Conflicts and Promoting Cooperation in East Asia

It is our inevitable task to overcome historical conflicts in order for East Asia to open the era of peace and cooperation. The first session was moderated by the Foundation's President, Chung Jaejeong, and scholars and diplomats from different countries participated as panelists.

President Chung is a scholar of Korean history who has led the Korea-Japan joint initiative of creating history textbooks and participated in Korea-Japan Joint commission for Historical. Peter Duus is Professor Emeritus of History at Stanford University, and he is an expert in imperial Japan and has carried out extensive research in comparative analysis of Korean, Chinese and Japanese textbooks. Ambassador Ong, Keng Yong is a former diplomat of Singapore, and currently serves as Director of the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore. Ambassador Shin Jungseung was former Korean Ambassador to China and currently works as Director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. Sven Saaler is professor of Japanese history at Sophia University in Japan.

Professor Peter Duus shared his experience in comparing the history textbooks of Korea, China and Japan. He stated that the textbooks stress the importance of patriotism and nationalism, and that it seemed almost impossible for the three countries to revise them or mutually accept each other's textbooks. In this regard, he claimed that it would take a considerable amount of time to narrow the gaps among the three countries with regard to textbooks. He also mentioned that is why the US does not want to intervene with historical disputes in East Asia.

Professor Saaler explained post-war situation in Europe. According to him, Germany had to reflect on and apologize to neighboring countries for its wrongdoings in the past because it strived to improve its trade balance by increasing exports and participating in the international community in an attempt to restore the country after the war. However, the situation in post-war Japan was quite different from this. He said that the need for Japan's self-reflection and apology was forgotten with the beginning of the Cold War and US-Japan relations.

While scholars from the US and Europe pointed out the difficulties in achieving reconciliation of historical disputes in East Asia, Ambassadors Shin and Ong emphasized that common cultural experience such as the Korean wave can remind us of regional identity and enhance regional cooperation.

Great Tumen Initiative and conflicting interests

The second session was held under the title, "Great Tumen Initiative and Peace in East Asia", and Professor Lee Suhoon of Kyungnam University served as a moderator for the session. Participants expected that the success of the Great Tumen Initiative would enhance economic cooperation and promote peace in the region, and bring North Korea to the international community. While the first session pursued regional cooperation in terms of shared cultural background, the second session focused on achieving peace and reconciliation by improving cooperation among neighboring countries surrounding North Korea and China.

First of all, Zhu Shu (Officer in Charge, Tumen Secretariat, UNDP) explained the history of the Great Tumen Initiative and its relationship with economic cooperation in Northeast Asia as well as providing updates on the project. The Great Tumen Initiative began in 1995 by UNDP in an effort to develop the Tumen River area, and China, Mongolia, Russia and South Korea participates in the program. There had been little progress in the initiative, and staring from 2005, the program expanded its reach to Northeast China (consisting of the three provinces of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang), inner Mongolia, Najin-Seonbong Free Trade Zone in North Korea, eastern Mongolia, eastern port cities of South Korea, and Yeonhaeju (Promorsky Kray or Maritime Territory) in Russia. However, North Korea's withdrawal in 2009 led to difficulties in pushing ahead with the initiative, for the most important part of this program is promoting development in Najin-Seonbong Free Trade Zone. After UNDP lost its leadership, there is no country that plays a leading role in the initiative, and it resulted in lack of investment.

In addition, it became clear through discussions that countries have different views on this issue. Professor James Meernik of University of North Texas expressed concerns that if North Korea maintains the current regime, economic prosperity could strengthen North Korean military forces. He added that North Korea would depend more on trade with China, and there is possibility that China would become lenient toward North Korea. Professor Hidetoshi Taga of Waseda University explained that Japan did not participate in the initiative due to lack of "normal" diplomatic ties with North Korea, and added that neither the Diplomatic Party nor the Liberal Democratic Party shows interest in this issue. He also claimed that this issue is handled by the central government, and local governments are not in a position to consider investing in the initiative. Lastly, the Foundation's Research Fellow, Hong Myeongi, emphasized that not only Korea but also other countries should approach this issue from a political perspective instead of economic logic, and the Great Tumen Initiative can lead to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

It was the first time that the Jeju Forum focused on 70-minute discussion sessions, instead of 2.5-hour sessions with paper presentations and panel discussion. The new format was more interesting and compact, but due to limited time allocated for each session, participants could not fully share their thoughts and views. More efforts are required to ensure the success of the Jeju Forum next year.