뉴스레터

The Exchange Program for Regional Integration in East Asia and Europe (EPRIE) kicked off its 10-day schedule on September 19, 2013 in Wonju, Korea. The twenty participants, half from Asian (Japan, Korea) and half from Europe (Germany, France, Poland), spent a meaningful time travelling between Korea and Japan, discussing social, historical, and political issues facing their countries and presenting political and/or civil society-level solutions.

It is remarkable that the countries of the participants, whether in Asia or Europe, were neighbors within each continent who inflicted pain and suffering on each other through conflict and division at one time or another in history.

Relations between these countries, and relations between their peoples influenced by such relations, were clearly illustrated by the way in which the twenty participants reacted to, and interpreted, the common agenda during the 10-day program.

The participants from Korea and Japan, two countries whose relations are difficult to improve due to military tensions in East Asia surrounding North and South Korea, their history in the past, and territorial disputes, seem to have entered the path of reconciliation and coexistence relatively successfully for the pursuit of common interests and value since the World Wars. They were more divided in opinion than the participants from Germany, France, and Poland, members of the EU, and they ended some of the sessions without reaching any conclusion.

This was an absolutely necessary process in long-term perspectives. However close we may be to our friends and colleagues from the other country, it is not easy to start an dialogue about sensitive diplomatic issues between the two countries, unless provided with such an official venue to do so. If we decided, as citizens of a given country, to face the existing challenges and seek to normalize relations with neighboring countries and coexist in peace, we need to make efforts to understand the others at non-governmental levels without relying on summit-level political diplomacy and the media. And all of this begins with dialogue and listening. Even within this small youth group, I could see how opportunities to ask questions and give answers had been rare, and this made the exchange opportunity all the more precious.

Although the open discussion of issues at individual levels is still limited, regional cooperation at civil-society levels for sensitive and important diplomatic issues like resolving the 'comfort women' issue has already made remarkable progress. Kim Seon-sil, who co-represents the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, says that the greatest supporter of solidarity activities is not any government but Japan's civil-society organizations.

There are also other various groups conducting transnational solidarity activities at non-governmental levels, such as the Northeast Asian History Foundation which is working with Chinese and Japanese civil-society organizations to make common history textbooks, the Asia Peace & History Education Network for establishing an East Asian Peace Community, the Asian Peace and History Institute, and the Korea-Japan-China Association of History Teachers.

The problem is both of the two governments are failing to catch up with such efforts of civil society. Although simple comparison with Europe may be meaningless due to the structural and historical background differences, it is worthwhile for the two governments to note how Europe attempted to create opportunities for reconciliation and cooperation through private-public partnership in order to seek common interests (economy) and value (reconstructing humanitarianism). I realized once again that to ensure continuing diplomacy from a broad point of view for peace and coexistence, it is necessary for the civil society of both countries to serve as watchdogs of government without being swayed by political tricks that use nationalism and security ideology.

I hope that there will be more opportunities for like-minded participants from neighboring countries to get together to remind themselves of their responsibility as members of civil society and network with one another. I regret that the voices of China and North Korea were not present in our discussion of peace and harmony in East Asia. As this exchange program will be also held in Europe, I hope that there will be opportunities to interact with youths from those countries.