On September 27, 2019, GWIKS co-sponsored the film screening of “Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue (Shusenjo hereinafter).” Co-sponsored by Sigur Center for Asian Studies, Institute for Korean Studies, the Global Women’s Institute, and Memory and Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific, the film screening event featured “Shusenjo” which delves deep into the most contentious debates and uncovers the hidden intentions of the supporters and detractors of comfort women, followed by Q&A session with Miki Dezaki, director of “Shusenjo.” During the Q&A session, Miki Dezaki shared his experiences during making the film and after release of the film, and his view on dealing comfort women issue. Dezaki commented on why he became interested in making the film on comfort women issue, how he approached to interviewees, and how he could use his Japanese-American identity when making the film.
Category: Event Summaries
Korea Policy Forum on “Energy Cooperation between Korea and the U.S.: Opportunities and Challenges.” Summary
On February 14, 2020, GWIKS and East Asia National Resource Center co-sponsored the Korea Policy Forum on “Energy Cooperation between Korea and the U.S.: Opportunities and Challenges.” Moderated by Yonho Kim, Associate Director of the GW Institute for Korea, Dr. Jae-Seung Lee reviewed the core agenda in energy security between the U.S. and Korea and addressed key opportunities and challenges of U.S.-ROK energy cooperation. Followed by Dr. Lee’s talk, Professor Thomas Nicholas Russo commented on Dr. Lee’s presentation as discussant.
Dr. Lee started his talk highlighting that energy security has long been a key policy agenda for Korea and the United States (U.S.). Unlike the past where Middle East was the major oil supplier, a shale energy revolution in the U.S. since the late 2000s has brought the new architecture of energy partnership. He explained that Korea has begun to diversify oil imports in recent years, increasing the U.S. crude oil import. He demonstrated that the share of Iranian crude oil imports dropped to 5.2% in 2018 compared to 13.2% in 2017, while the share of the U.S. crude oil import increased to 5.4% in 2018 compared to 1.2% in 2017. Moreover, since early 2018, the U.S. became the largest crude oil producer in the world. Korea became the second-largest importer of the U.S. crude oil in 2018, followed by Canada.
Dr. Lee sent on and discussed the trend of Korea’s natural gas import and U.S. natural gas export. He showed that an increasing trend in natural gas import has been observed in Korea and that Korea has been trying to diversify the importing countries which resulted in Korea’s LNG import from 23 countries in 2018 compared to 11 countries in 2008. Meanwhile, the U.S. became the 4th largest exporter in the global LNG market in 2018 with Korea being the largest importer of U.S. LNG and saw the increase of the share of LNG in the U.S. total natural gas exports.
Thirdly, Dr. Lee discussed the trend in petroleum industries in Korea and the U.S. Being the 3rd largest U.S. propane importer in 2018, Korea also exported petrochemical products in 2018 which led Korea to compete with the U.S. He said that as both Korea and the U.S. have expanded their refinery and petrochemical industries, these sectors need to find a mutually complementary business portfolio while avoiding unnecessary competition.
However, in other sectors including oil and gas, Dr. Lee emphasized that Korea and the U.S can cooperate to diversify the energy import and to build a reliable partnership respectively. The U.S. crude oil and LNG are available options for Korea’s import diversification strategy as Korea decreases dependence on Middle Eastern oil and gas. Considering other Northeast Asian countries with China being in trade conflicts and Japan reducing LNG imports as it re-operates nuclear power, Korea is a good option for the U.S. as it can expect the continued growth of the U.S. crude oil and LNG imports. Yet, Dr. Lee left a caveat that the cost competitiveness and quality should remain positive, especially considering the Asia premium versus Alliance premium.
Following the discussion of traditional energy, Dr. Lee discussed the alternative energies, including renewables and nuclear energy. He showed the increasing trend of renewable energy generation in both countries as the concerns about climate change increases and said that renewable energy and low carbon projects are receiving enormous attention in both countries for a smooth energy transition. He picked automobile and IT industries for facilitating cooperation in the energy sector since two industries are closely related. Regarding nuclear energy, he explained that despite the decreasing trend of nuclear generation in Korea due to Moon’s plan for ‘phase-out,’ Korea will still relay on current projects for the next few decades. On the other hand, nuclear energy is regarded as a key element of national security and there is a mix of restrictions and hope in the U.S. He highlighted that alliance matters in Korea-U.S. nuclear energy.
In addition, Dr. Lee introduced the Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy in Asia (Asia EDGE), an initiative of the U.S. government to secure energy and develop energy markets in the Indo-Pacific region, and New Southern Policy of Korea which aims to diversify the trading routes and reduce external risks, seeking cooperation with ASEAN countries and India along with the U.S. and Canada. He saw opportunities in expanding technologies with regard to renewable and energy infrastructure business in Southeast and South Asia. However, some of the challenges included difficulties in changing the conceptual approach into the concrete agenda and projects and in guaranteeing mutual benefits and prosperities.
Lastly, he ended with a few suggestions that need further consideration, such as dealing with geopolitical risks, institutionalizing and coordinating the ROK-U.S. energy security dialogue, and strengthening energy cooperation within the ROK-U.S. alliance.
Korea Policy Forum “Korean Politics 2020-Korean Security Issues and Challenges” Summary
On January 29, 2020, GW Institute for Korean Studies and East Asia National Resource Center co-sponsored the Korea Policy Forum on “Korean Politics 2020-Korean Security Issues and Challenges.” Moderated by Jisoo M. Kim, Director of Institute for Korean Studies, Young-Jun Kim, Professor at Korea National Defense University and Sang-Hyun Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the Sejong Institute gave talks on the prospects of a new domestic political geography in South Korea and its potential impact on Seoul’s foreign and security policy.
Firstly, Professor Young-Jun Kim gave a talk on “2020 Korea Politics and Korea Security Issues and Challenges.” Based on the previous elections in Korea, including the 2016 general election and the 2017 presidential election, he discussed the issues that might affect the result of the 2020 general election that will happen in April 2020. He started his talk by showing the poll that shows the support rate for each part in 2016 before the election. Prof. Kim introduced the major security issues that mattered in the 2016 election, including North Korea’s 4th nuclear weapons test, close of the Kaesung industrial complex, and filibuster to block the anti-terrorism bill. He explained that although Saenuri Party, the ruling party at the time, seemed to win the election according to the poll, it was actually the Democratic Party of Korea that won the election which was a failure for the ruling party. Then, he moved on to the 2017 presidential election and demonstrated that national security issues did not really influence the election, but instead, the impeachment and Choi Sun-Sil scandal were the most important factors in the 2017 election. He showed the recent survey that predicts the victory of the Democratic Party of Korea but also pointed out that the 2016 election result shows that the survey prediction is not always correct. Lastly, he introduced some security issues that South Korea faces, including denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the ROK-US alliance, the ROK-Japanese relations, and defense policy issues. At the same time, he left a caveat that domestic issues play more important roles in the general election.
Followed by Prof. Kim’s talk, Dr. Sang-Hyun Lee gave his talk on “Korean Peninsula in 2020: Security Challenges and Prospects.” Dr. Lee started his talk, pointing out the unusual four-day party plenum that announced important decisions instead of announcing the supreme leader’s New Year’s speech. He posed a question about whether Kim Jung-Un is on the ‘new way’ or going back to the ‘old way.’ He said that Kim declared that self-reliance and economic construction all-out efforts will be his new way- in fact, returning to the ‘byeongjin line,’ but Kim is considered to have returned to the ‘old way.’ While Moon’s government has launched the peace initiative with New Korean peninsula regime and triple peace initiatives and has pained the rosy picture, Dr. Lee demonstrated that the reality is harsh and cold as the success of the New Korean peninsula regime and triple peace initiatives depend on progress in improving inter-Korean relations and denuclearization, both of which are now stalled. In addition, he discussed the weakening of denuclearization/WMD-related regimes and of norms and rule-based governance. Lastly, he introduced some of the future challenges that the Korean peninsula face, including elections and politics in South Korea and the United States and challenges for South Korean government, such as worsening inter-Korean relations, differences in the policy priorities, the U.S.-China strategic competition, and the U.S.-ROK policy coordination.
‘Baby Miles’”: Reproductive Rights, Labor, and Ethics in the Transnational Korean Reproductive Technology Industry
On January 22, 2020, GWIKS held a Soh Jaipil Lecture Series with Dr. Sunhye Kim, Assistant Research Professor of International Affairs and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Korean Studies at GW, on “‘Baby Miles’”: Reproductive Rights, Labor, and Ethics in the Transnational Korean Reproductive Technology Industry.” Moderated by Professor Jisoo M. Kim, Director of the Institute for Korean Studies at GW, Dr.Kim started her lecture by introducing the term ‘baby miles,’ which means the total miles that over which a baby is given birth during the journey in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Industry. Referring to ‘food miles,’ distance food is transported from the time of its making until it reaches the consumer, the term ‘baby miles’ was originated in 1978 when the test-tube baby was given birth, she explained. For example, she showed how it took 64,728 miles between South Korea and Ukraine to have a baby from the initial stage of recruiting a gestational surrogate to the final stage of picking up a baby. She then presented a few examples of markets in the ART industry, including the sperm market, gestational surrogacy market, egg market, and medical tourism agencies.
Dr. Kim went on to describe research methods of her multi-sited ethnographic project to examine the transnational circuits of the assisted reproductive technology (ART) industry in South Korea to demonstrate how the concepts of reproductive rights and labor have been contested, negotiated, and reconstructed by various actors—including infertile couples, gamete donors, gestational surrogates, state agents, and medical professionals—across national boundaries. She showed the history of reproductive technology in Korea and how reproductive technology was considered as moral concerns of human cloning, rather than social problems. It was only after 2005 that South Korea changed from anti-natalist policy pro-natalist policy as the delayed marriage became the social problem, and viewed infertility issue as a family issue rather than an individual woman’s fault and ART as a hope technology rather than dangerous technology.
In addition, Dr. Kim emphasized that the reasons why Korean intended parents choose to have a baby through the ART are not only because of the cost and regulation, but also the confidentiality. She then discussed the preference of Korean intended parents who prefer Korean donors to donors from other East Asian countries, to ones from Southeast Asian countries and to ones from the western countries, based on her interviews with an intended mother, a broker, and an IVF doctor.
Lastly, Dr. Kim moved on to the discussion of reproductive labor. She suggested that a surrogate is a reproductive labor as a gestational carrier and an intended mother is a reproductive labor as an eggs producer because they have to work closely in the process. Also, she talked about the division of paid mothers, gestational surrogates, and unpaid mothers, intended mothers, and introduced the ‘local baby’ movement which bans on transnational surrogacy for foreigners.
2019 GWIKS Korean Literature Essay Contest Award Ceremony
On October 25, the Institute for Korean Studies hosted an award ceremony for the 2019 GWIKS Korean Literature Essay Contest Award Ceremony. Participants and faculty were invited to celebrate the exceptional work of students and to share their thoughts on the book.
Prof. Immauel Kim, Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies at the George Washington University, started by giving an introductory remarks. He explained that this year’s book, “Recitation” by Bae Suah, was selected because the committee wanted to have students to have new reading experience as the book did not follow the conventional narrative.
The award ceremony took place at the end with Prof. Kim announcing the winners and presenting the award certificates and prizes. The third place winners, Skye Blanks and Kevin Omans, each received a Samsung Galaxy Tab S4; second place winner Jake Iannacone received a Samsung Galaxy S 10; and first place winner Patrick Hubbard received a Samsung Notebook 9. Other participants were presented $30 Amazon gift cards as honorable mention.
2018 Korean Studies Workshop
The 2018 GWIKS Signature Conference took place on May 10, 2018.
Korean Studies has experienced a dramatic growth in academia during the last two decades, and, along with that, there has been some discussion of what exactly Korean studies is. In the United States, seventy-eight tenure-track faculty positions have been endowed and about twenty Institutes or Centers for Korean Studies have been founded. This year alone, a few more endowed positions were announced and these tenure-track jobs were advertised as cross-disciplinary Korean Studies positions, which is relatively uncommon to find in other fields. For instance, there are not many job searches in “Chinese Studies” or “Vietnamese Studies.” Although it is almost impossible to define and may not even be necessary to define “Korean Studies,” we need to be aware of what is expected in the field. What changes have we seen in recent years? Where is the field headed? What roles do specific disciplines play within the field of Korean Studies or Korea-related studies? How can we balance area studies and disciplinary norms when pursuing Korean Studies? How should Institutes or Centers for Korean Studies best contribute to the field? By bringing scholars of different disciplines together, we discussed current issues relevant to Korean Studies and the future directions of the field.
We had three aims in organizing this workshop: 1) to provide an opportunity for scholars in the DC metropolitan area to get together and network across disciplines; 2) to discuss the state of the field of Korean Studies or Korea-related studies; and 3) to organize this workshop for another two to three years to conduct intensive discussions on the topic and possibly be able to produce publishable papers in the future.
Roundtable Discussion Speakers:
Andrew Yeo (Catholic University/Political Science)
Jin Park (American University/Religion)
Young-Key Kim-Renaud (GW/Linguistics)
Stephanie Kim (Georgetown/Education)
George Kallander (Syracuse/History)
Nayoung A. Kwon (Duke/Literature)
Charlotte Horlyck (University of London/Art History)
Korea Policy Forum “How Institutions Matter in Pandemic Responses: The South Korean Case”
On April 15th, 2021, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) hosted the Korea Policy Forum “How Institutions Matter in Pandemic Responses: The South Korean Case”. The forum’s speaker was Dr. June Park, an East Asia Voices Initiative (EAVI) Fellow of the East Asia National Resource Center at the Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washington University and the discussant was Dr. Celeste Arrington, Korea Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs of George Washington University. The discussion was moderated by Professor Yonho Kim, Associate Research Professor of Practice and the Associate Director of the GW Institute for Korean Studies. The forum focuses on Dr. Park’s contribution to the forthcoming book Coronavirus Politics’ chapter on the South Korean pandemic governance on COVID-19 encompassing South Korea’s public health (3Ts: Testing, Tracing, Treatment) and social policies.
Dr. Park begins her discussion by providing background information on what happened in 2015 (Failure in MERS) and changes in policies that were made post-MERS pandemic. She also stated that without further upgrades in the pandemic governance procedures, the incumbents will be forced out of power in the next year’s Presidential Elections. Dr. Park’s presentation was followed by Dr. Arrington’s discussion on the topic. Following the discussions, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions, including election and COVID-19 management, what role autonomy or close collaboration between state and business play in explaining positive outcomes to South Korea’s response to COVID, and the interaction between populist politics and health institutions.
North Korea Economic Forum “How North Korea is Managing its Economic Crisis”
On April 13th, 2021, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) Studies hosted the North Korea Economic Forum “How North Korea is Managing its Economic Crisis”. Moderated by Professor Yonho Kim, Associate Research Professor of Practice and the Associate Director of GW Institute for Korean Studies, the forum had four expert speakers including Bradley Babson, former Chair of the DPRK Economic Forum at the U.S.-Korea Institute, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and presently serves on the World Economic Forum Council on the Korean Peninsula; Eul-Chul Lim, Associate Professor and the Director of the ICNK Center at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES), Kyungnam University; Min Chao Choy, data correspondent for NK News and NK Pro; and Rachel Minyoung Lee, Nonresident Fellow with 38 North at the Stimson Center and former North Korea analyst at Open Source Enterprise. The forum begins with Min Chao Choy’s discussion on Economic Indicators. She discusses the timeline of trades that occurred in North Korea and how the economy has not recovered since the August 2020 lockdown. The next speaker, Rachel, discusses noticeable damages to the state’s economic management and projects. Afterwards, Bradley Babson focuses his discussion on the fiscal and financial impacts faced by North Korea. Finally, Eul-Chul shares his perspective on Kim Jong-un’s extreme measures and precautions during the pandemic.
Following the discussions, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions, including how state-owned enterprises have integrated into the informal economy for inputs and outputs, if the collapse of the imports and exports are due to the pandemic or lack of foreign exchange, impacts of suspending the pandemic restrictions in North Korea, and if the imported machinery from China is allowing factories in North Korea to run well.
Book Talk & Panel Discussion: Rights Claiming in South Korea
On April 6th, 2021, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) and Sigur Center for Asian Studies hosted the Book Talk & Panel Discussion: Rights Claiming in South Korea. Moderated by Professor Jisoo Kim, Director of GWIKS, the panel features co-editors, Celeste Arrington, Korean Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at GW, Patricia Goedde, Professor at Sungkyunkwan University, School of Law and fellow chapter contributor Erin Aeran Chung, Associate Professor of East Asian Politics in the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. The panel begins by summarizing the book’s approach. They further talk about how different groups interpret and mobilize rights, what factors and reforms affect the perceived efficacy of different channels, what sources of support claimants have, the societal backlash against rights claims, how culturally ingrained hierarchies challenge notions of equality in human rights, etc. Discussants Paul Chang, Associate Professor of Sociology at Harvard University and Hae Yeon Choo, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto discuss the edited volume’s findings and contributions to our understanding of rights-based activism in contemporary South Korea.
Following the presentations, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions about the contestation around rights, including another chapter in the freedom of press or rights of journalists, etc. The Q&A session was very insightful, and also included suggestions for potential future research topics such as the impact of the pandemic on contestation over rights and issues faced by women in South Korea including the “Me Too” movement.
Book Talk Series on Chosŏn Korea, The Diary of 1636 and the Manchu Invasions of Korea
On March 29th, 2021, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) hosted another Book Talk Series on Chosŏn Korea, featuring The Diary of 1636 and the Manchu Invasions of Korea. In this presentation, George Kallander, Associate Professor of History at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University introduces his new book The Diary of 1636: The Second Manchu Invasion of Korea (Columbia University Press, 2020). The presentation and discussion was moderated by Professor Jisoo Kim, Director of GWIKS. Professor Kallander started the presentation by giving a brief introduction to the contents of his book. The first half of his presentation discusses the Manchu Korean struggles during the first half of the 17th century. Next, he focuses on the writer Na Man’gap and offers insights into his experiences and reasons for composing the diary, and finally he concludes by offering his comments about what we can learn from these struggles during the Manchu Wars.
Following Professor Kallander’s presentation, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions such as Na Man’gap’s view on the concept of loyalty and fidelity with reference to women, how did geography enter Chosŏn’s preference of the Ming over the Qing dynasties, geopolitical circumstances of the Ming transition, the speaker’s views on the role of Manchu invasion, factional strife and relationship with the Ming, how the narratives of the Korean invasion challenge current understandings of Korean identity, Chosŏn’s military preparedness after the 1627 crisis, and more.
