Event Summaries – Page 5 – GW Institute for Korean Studies

“The Survival of the Chosŏn Dynasty in the Imjin War (1592-98) and the Issue of Governance.”

December 7, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, Soh Jaipil Lecture SeriesLeave a Comment

On November 20th, 2020, the GW Institute for Korean Studies hosted “The Survival of the Chosŏn Dynasty in the Imjin War (1592-90) and the Issue of Governance” as part of their Soh Jaipil Lecture series. Joined by Dr. Nam-Lin Hur, Professor at the University of British Columbia, and moderated by GWIKS Director, Dr. Jisoo Kim, the lecture embarked on a historical journey, to trace back the events leading to the Japanese withdrawal from Chosŏn through a new perspective. In interpreting how the events unfolded leading to the Chosŏn Dynasty’s survival, Hur focuses on three key factors: Governance, Diplomacy, and Military. He argues, “Hideoyoshi’s (Japan) failure in achieving his original war goals had to do with, among a few major factors, Chosŏn Korea’s military operations of defense in 1592 – operations that capitalized on the military economies of small scale which was built into the governance of its military system.”

Reflecting back on Hideoyoshi’s goals, we find turning points that build upon one another to eventually push the Japanese out of Korea with each goal shattered. The primary goal was the subjugation of Korea under Japanese rule, which was undermined by different styles of governance and the uprising of Korean forces. When Hideoyoshi’s forces, the Daimyos, took Hansong, the capital at the time, they were under the assumption that by taking, the entire country submits under the conquerer’s control. His original grand strategy was by taking control of Hansong, and thereby the peninsula, the nation would be reorganized under the Japanese structure of Kaiso. In reviews of diplomatic letters and exchanges between Hideoyoshi, his forces, he made it clear that King Seonjo, the ruler of the Dynasty would become subject under him to rule over the new territory and was not to be killed.

However, the Kaizo belief was not commonplace under the Chosŏn Dynasty, and what the Japanese quickly learned is that they would have to assert governance in the neighboring provinces and countries in order to maintain their control. This alongside further the challenges by Korean forces, who despite acting in treason, took up arms against the Japanese to defend themselves. Traditionally, Koreans were not allowed to form any sort of military that was not under the King’s administration, though this instance was tolerated by King Seonjo within reason, allowing people to do so in small, local militias. This would cause the daimyos to become spread thin across the peninsula, weakening their overall capabilities. Ambush and strategic blocking against Japanese forces made it difficult to advance up towards China. At this point Hideoyoshi has ordered them to go north, assuming that the peninsula had already been subjugated and what they were dealing with was merely a handful of domestic rebellions. In reality, the uprisings made it difficult to retain access to resources to keep the Japanese going, which further thinned their military capabilities as deserting and pillaging became common. Compounded by the eventual entrance of the Chinese into the war, in the end, the Japanese had no choice but to withdraw.

Korea’s defense capitalized on the lack of proper governance, provisions of weapons, and guerillas undermined the Japanese forces that were spread thin, deserters, and lack of coordination and communications that overall, undermined the superior capabilities of the Japanese. Local based military operations on a small scale also made a huge difference, as the Chosŏn Dynasty did not have many soldiers and was not able to operate its military system. However, Chosŏn Korea’s Security System was devised by the local army and navy, central army, and majorly, diplomacy that all took advantage of their situation and resources to defend themselves. The outcome proved in 1592 that Japan had no way to subjugate or govern Korea as Hideoyoshi’s military goals were shattered by a military campaign ruined by Chosŏn’s determination to survive.

North Korea Economic Forum Panel Discussion “The Pandemic’s Impact on North Korea: Leadership Dynamics, Markets and Public Health” Summary

November 23, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, North Korea Economic ForumLeave a Comment

On November 16th, 2020, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) hosted the North Korea Economic Forum Panel Discussion on “The Pandemic’s Impact on North Korea: Leadership Dynamics, Markets and Public Health.” Three experts from Korea and three experts the US joined to discuss the pandemic’s impact on North Korea’s domestic politics, public health and economics. Moderated by Celeste Arrington, Korea Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, one professional from each Korea and the US touched on the three main topics: leadership dynamics, markets, and public health.

The discussion began with Mr. Ken Gause, Director of Adversary Analytics Program of CNA Corporation, sharing his analysis on Kim Jung-eun’s leadership and the pandemic’s impact on the political power dynamics. Kim’s leadership has been unique in style compared to his father, Kim Jung-il. The difference is visible within the inner power circle: he is more comfortable delegating authority, increasing role of women, and reviving former decision-making structures while keeping the final decision-making power to himself. Nevertheless, the admission of the failure of the five-year plan and apology for the shooting of the South Korean presents the difference in leadership style compared to his predecessors. Under the circumstances that we respect his standards, there is hope that Kim’s unique power calculus and leadership will provide more opportunities to engage with North Korea.

Adding on to Mr. Gause’s analysis, Dr. Eunjung Lim, Associate Professor of the International Studies Division at Kongju National University, talked the stability in Kim’s leadership. This year North Korea suffered the pandemic and a devastating typhoon in the summer. On a personal level, there were multiple conspiracies on Kim’s health, his sister, etc. Nevertheless, at the 75^th Anniversary of ruling Worker’s Party celebration the spectacular parade showcased the pride of North Korea and their leader Kim Jung-eun. Ms. Lim argues that this proves the stability of Kim’s leadership. Moreover, his authority to implement loyalty cleanse and possession of nuclear power helps him maintain the stability in his leadership. Closing her talk, Dr. Lim mentioned that she hopes the Moon administration and the Korea’s president-elect in 2022 will be able to work with Washington in finding a strategy to build positive relationship with North Korea.

Shifting to the next topic, Dr. William Brown, Principal of the Northeast Asia Economics and Intelligence Advisory, began his presentation on North Korean economy. North Korea whether they have pandemic or not has been under great strain. In addition to Kim’s failure on the five year development plan, issues of weak labor production, trade, extreme monetary policy that negatively impacts the government, and the pandemic lockdown are no good to the North Korea’s economy. If, however, the government makes reforms and opens the markets, North Korea will be able to benefit from the mass engagement from foreign investors.

Dr. Eul-Chul Lim, Director of ICNK Center at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, began his talk by providing four factors that he applies when analyzing North Korea’s economy: trade volume between China and North Korea, foreign exchange rate, price and inflation rate, and defector’s experience. Due to the pandemic the tourism industry and the manufacturing industry have been hit hard. Moreover, smuggling which has significant contribution on North Korea’s trade has also halted because of COVID-19. Ironically, the fx-rate and the price for food such as rice have not fluctuated in great amount due to active engagement of the government. In other words, North Korea’s economy is upholding its stability in certain fields be forcing downward stability in its market.

Dr. Jiho Cha, Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester, then talked on how these political and economic impact of the pandemic has transformed North Korea’s public health sector. North Korea who does not have the best medical supplies, has been able to uphold its resiliency against the pandemic by declaring lock down and supporting the community doctors to take extensive measures on examine people its people. These measures, unfortunately, could also be a vulnerability to North Korea by stimulating informal health markets to expand, creating market instability, and destructing the food security.

Dr. Kee Park, Director of Korea Health Policy Project at the Harvard Medical School also agreed that we the pandemic and the lock down policies have created various issues on North Korea such as disruption on the supply chain for medical supplies and unequal access to medical service. Dr. Park claimed that this pandemic should role out a as an opportunity for reset in North Korean. This reset needs to be a comprehensive approach, including a sanction relief, stable multi-lateral approach, and unprecedented level of medical, political, and economic assistance will be required.

While the question of whether North Korea has COVID-19 cases or not remains unanswered, we can all agree that the pandemic has had massive influence North Korea. The US, China, and South Korea, each struggle with their own domestic issues, and yet, we should not give up on our hope in that the these countries and North Korea would engage in finding a common goal to resolve the prolonging issues that we have today.

GWIKS Interview Series with Joon Hyung Kim (CCAS MA ’90 & PhD ’97) Summary

November 20, 2020August 5, 2021Event SummariesLeave a Comment

On November 19, 2020, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) co-sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations, hosted a GWIKS Interview Series with GW alumnus, Joon Hyung Kim (CCAS MA ’90 & PhD ’97), Chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. Dr. Kim was a member of Moon Jae In’s presidential election camp, where he advised on and formulated major foreign policies. After Moon was elected, he joined the Government Transition Committee, and became a member of the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning (Security and Foreign Policy Sub-committee). In addition, he has also served the Advisory Committees to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Unification, and the National Security Council. During the event, Dr. Kim was able to share his personal experience and his analysis on international politics.

Moderated by Yonho Kim, Associate Director of GWIKS, the session began with Dr. Kim giving a brief introduction on the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA). Established in 1963, KNDA is an affiliated agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). The academy’s two major focus is on educating and training new diplomats and conducting research.

Moving on to the next topic, Dr. Kim talked about his experience at George Washington University. He chose GW because the name of the school and the location, heart of politics, was intriguing. Dr. Kim felt like he would be able to meet prominent figures if he studied in Washington, DC. While the campus was different from expectations, having no walls, he found his years at GW rewarding. After graduation, Dr. Kim was able to pursue both his goals as a professor and a scholar. He encouraged the students to not worry too much, but study hard and do what they enjoy.

Shifting the interview to the pandemic issue, Dr. Kim talked about his book The World after COVID-19 and US Elections (2020). He argued how the pandemic has increased the demand for pursuit on ‘return of the state.’ When globalization was spreading, the quote was ‘retreat of the state, but the pandemic has proved the necessity of public institution. Dr. Kim claimed that centralized or state-centric countries are more functional to manage these public health issues. However, he mentioned the significance of the dynamic balance between the state and civil society and how Korea is a showcase of the success of the balance.

Furthermore, Dr. Kim touched on the diplomatic issues of Korea focusing on the US and China. While the Cold War weakened Dr. Kim believes it is still there. The continuous contention between the US and China is challenging to Korea who needs to maintain an alliance with the US and a trade partnership with China. Korea needs globalization not tension between the geopolitical powers. Before ending the session, Dr. Kim answered a variety of questions which issues ranged from Korea’s former and incumbent presidents’ foreign policies, KNDA and training Korean diplomats, expectations on incoming Biden administration, Korea’s perception on North Korea’s nuclear issues, and more.

The 28th Annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities: “From Enmity to Empathy: African American and Korean American Communities since the 1992 Los Angeles Riots”

November 17, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, Hahn Moo-sook Colloquium in the Korean HumanitiesLeave a Comment

On November 6th, 2020, the GW Institute of Korean Studies hosted the 28th Annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities, with this year’s discussion topic, “From Enmity to Empathy: African American and Korean American Communities since the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.” In a time where the call for civil justice and unity is being vocalized louder than ever, GWIKs comes together with academics and experts from both the African American and Korean American communities to talk about relations and cultural exchange between both communities stemming from the infamous 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

After a brief welcome and introduction by GWIKs Director, Jisoo Kim, opening remarks were given by Caroline Laguerre-Brown, who serves as the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement here at GW. Reflecting on hearing about the Los Angeles Riots as a young woman growing up in New York, Laguerre-Brown describes her personal experiences witnessing African American and Korean American relations in her home state, noting it to be like a tinder that could alight at any moment. In a time where current events have allowed voices unheard to be expressed for the promotion of diversity and inclusion stronger than ever, Laguerre-Brown emphasizes how Academic is the perfect space to have these complex conversations in order to create spaces that embrace diversity for all from all walks of life.

To diving into the historical backdrop of the event and examine how African American and Korean American relations have evolved since, Dr. Kyeyoung Park, Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Dr. Edward Change, Professor and Founding Director of the Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) took the audience through the events of the 1992 riots and what has changed since. Prior to the riots themselves, African American and Korean American tensions had gradually been building since the 1980s which Dr. Park attributes to the underlying racial hierarchy in American push by white culture and white nationalism.

The riots themselves broke out as a response to the murder of black ninth-grader Latasha Harlins by shopkeeper Soon Ja Du, but the underpinnings that many seem to ignore is the degree to which the mainstream media emphasized the clashing and competition against both minority groups. The competition in LA, primarily aligned with the socioeconomic inequality in the area, had both African Americans and Korean Americans feeling discriminated against and disrespected by one another. The by-product of this civil unrest to follow from the riots did however pushed Korean Americans to become more politically involved in their community and in American politics as a whole, a moment that is now known as Saigu (), or what Dr. Chang refers to as the “rebirth of Korean American Identity.”

Since the 1992 riots, efforts had been made to unify both communities and foster a welcoming space of diversity. In order to improve relations, Korean Americans made efforts to engage with and work together with the African Americans to break down those social barriers. While economic disparities are still an issue between both communities, we see both sides coming together in racial empathy and solidarity, especially now during the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). In considering what we can do for the future to learn from this, Dr. Chang emphasized the need for multicultural education and diverse leadership in politics and nonprofit organizations to continue to facilitate peaceful and unified relations between minority communities.

One the definitive examples of cultural exchange and embracement of diversity between African Americans and Koreans is through Arts. Dr. Crystal Anderson, Affiliate Professor in Korea Studies at George Mason University, walked us through how K-Pop and Korean R&B has taken cues and influence from soul, gangster rap, hip-hop, and Black R&B. Now more than ever, both communities are taking notes and listening each other through the creation music, now popularized by a worldwide audience from a diverse number of places around the world. Dr. Aku Kadogo, Chair Department of Theatre and Performing Arts from Spelman College, walked us through her experience working in theatre in South Korea with one of her colleagues and coming back to America with them in a cultural exchange of the performing art, combining the best of both experiences to create a short film that captures the heart and soul of two worlds.

In closing out of this journey, we are reminded that while there are still challenges ahead of us in these times of uncertainty, coming together in understanding lessens that uncertainty. Diversity is something that should be embraced, and we stronger together than apart.

Korea Policy Forum on “The U.S. Presidential Election and Korea: Journalists’ Views” Summary

November 12, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, Korea Policy ForumLeave a Comment

On November 10, 2020, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) and the East Asia National Resource Center co-sponsored the Korea Policy Forum on “The U.S. Presidential Election and Korea: Journalists’ Views.” Moderated by Yonho Kim, Associate Director of GWIKS, American and South Korean journalists discussed the domestic reactions to the results of the election and prospects for inter-Korean and U.S.-Korea relations.

Currently, we are in the midst of a transition where the Trump administration is denying the election results, and President-elect Biden and his team are trying to proceed with an unofficial transition. Capitol Hill also waits on Georgia for their Congressional election results. Depending on the two runoffs the results will determine which party will lead the Senate. If the Republican Party takes the lead in the Senate, the Biden administration will be the first since George H.W. Bush to become the president without a unified government. Seung Min Kim, the White House Correspondent for The Washington Post stated that this is an unprecedented situation and we have to wait till January to get a clear overview of who will lead the government and how it will affect the policies and the press.

Following Correspondent Kim’s comments, Anthony Kuhn, the Seoul Correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) stated that the results of the US election are important as it is linked to ally stability, reliability, and the will to collaborate to deal with international challenges. In Seoul, there has been an extraordinary focus on how the election results will impact the inter-Korea and the US-North Korea relations. According to a survey by Realmeter, the majority of South Koreans do not expect a significant change. However, many South Koreans hold a more positive view of the new administration’s relationships with Japan and China.

Heejoon Kim, the Newsroom Director of the Department of Inter-Korean Unification, Foreign Affairs & National Security of YTN, talked about the Koreans’ response to President-elect Biden and issues which the US and South Korea have to resolve together. These issues include North Korea relations and US-China conflicts. Needless to say, the Trump administration has drastically shifted the US-Korea alliance. It is unsure whether the Biden administration will follow the tracks of Obama’s Korea policy or Clinton’s strategy. Director Kim argued that due to this uncertainty, the Moon administration was quick to send South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kyung-hwa Kang to meet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to share South Korea’s stance and strategy in foreign relations.

Lastly, Insun Kang the Deputy Managing Editor of The Chosun Ilbo, shared her experience as a journalist who covered issues from the Trump administration. Looking back on the past four years, she claimed that the pressure was more intense than expected. While she is relieved that there is a new leader heading to the White House, she argues that it will be difficult for the new president to bring back the tradition and standards that existed four years ago in Asia relations. Amid hope and expectations on the Biden administration, concerns also prevail on the new relationship between the US and South Korea.

After the four speakers’ brief presentation, they dived deeper into various issues by answering questions that were asked among themselves and by the audience. The first topic discussed was on North Korea and how its leader has shown no response to the election result. Moreover, some raised concerns of how the Biden administration may retract the North Korea policy that existed before the Trump administration, reforming the US-North Korean and inter-Korea relationships in a less amiable manner than it is now. Moving forward, the panelists also talked about the White House and its media politics. For the past four years, the Trump administration had demonized certain media outlets and journalists while also using social media such as Twitter to share policy issues before a formal briefing. While the ramification of media demonization may linger around for a while it is expected the new administration to manage the press and policy briefings different from the Trump administration. Other issues that were discussed were the political and cultural illiteracy of US politicians, the factors that influence South Korea’s perspective on US politics, the US-China relations, and the US-South Korea alliance.

The 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part II Session II): “Cutting Edge: Researching a Hard Target.”

November 9, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, North Korea Economic ForumLeave a Comment

On October 13, 2020, the GW Institute of Korean Studies and the KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDIS) cohosted the 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part II). Session II, Moderated by John Park, Director of Korea Project at Harvard Kennedy, was joined by a panel of academic and field experts including Neil Watts, Former Member of UN Panel of Experts for North Korea; Andrea Mihailescu, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council; and David Asher, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, continue the discussion of the first session regarding challenges posed to methodologies commonly used to research and analyze North Korea.

Mr. Neil Watts was the first to start off the second session with a discussion elaborating on the techniques implemented by UN panel of experts to monitor North Korea’s maritime practices, and what hurdles limit the amount of information they can deduct from available sources. Satellite imagery, a technique highlighted in the previous session, can be vital to directly identifying ship activity and what they are transporting, be it exports, imports, and in some cases, weaponry. The panel of experts also relies heavily on outsider information produces by neighboring states, given their location in New York limiting the amount of access they have to the peninsula. The uncertainty that arises from this reliance is many of the countries we gain information from, China, in particular, is not entirely reliable, given that the complicit actors are often engaging with illegal activity with North Korea and obfuscate their activity when reporting.

Picking up from this challenge, Andrea Mihailescu who has working fifteen years in the United States Department of State discussed how North Korea maintains itself and its activities through the use of its illicit finance networks. These avenues of trade and stealing of information, both through smuggling, illegal trade, and now more popularly, cyber hacking are prominent ways in which North Korea is able to make money to fund much of their lavish propaganda and posturing contrary to outsider perspective of the country being impoverished. Much of the information we know on North Korean data trading and money laundering have become open sources and are researched through open source, but some of the pitfalls that come with rectifying this issue are that United Nations is only so limited in what they can do to stop it. Sanctions have already been placed on North Korea in the past and still are, which as we have seen, has not crippled the nation completely and in some ways has only amplified its necessity to engage in further illegal activity.

David Asher, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, continued the conversation by drawing attention to what we know about North Korea through unclassified data-driven analysis. Utilizing open source and what information we have at our disposal we can make conclusions that actors such as China and Russia are directly or indirectly helping North Korea with illicit financing of activities, leadership, and even WMD proliferation through the use of under the table support or through the use of multilevel companies and nexuses of businesses that go under the radar with their activity. Mr. Asher suggests that in dealing with this issue, we must begin with proper sanctions on North Korea as well as their primary financial networks (China and Russia) that will make it vulnerable and prone to cooperation since they will be unable to access those networks to overlook the sanctions lightly.

Closing the conferences with a panel discussion on the presentations, a common theme spoken amongst the panelist is that North Korea has been able to outmaneuver disciplinary action and continues engaging in illicit activity due to this historical network of complicated actors that helped build the infrastructure for them to weather the storm of sanctions and repercussions. In considering future research of North Korea, again there was an emphasis on utilizing open source researching to continue to identify and mitigate gaps in information and paying closer to these outside actors that are complicit and allow North Korea to continue to be elusive and active.

Soh Jaipil Lecture Series, “Cold War Cosmopolitanism: Period Style in 1950s Korean Cinema”

November 6, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, Soh Jaipil Lecture SeriesLeave a Comment

On October 30, 2020, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) hosted a Soh Jaipil Lecture Series with Christina Klein, the Associate Professor of English and Director of American Studies at Boston College on the “Cold War Cosmopolitanism: Period Style in 1950s Korean Cinema.” Moderated by Professor Immanuel Kim, the Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies at the George Washington University, Prof. Klein started her lecture by introducing the movie Madame Freedom, directed by Han Hyung-mo from the 1950s. She states this modern Korean movie that had just come out three years after the Korean War caught her interest, which made her dive into Han Hyung-mo’s movies and eventually publish a book on it this year.

Prof. Klein went on introducing Director Han with his background and characteristics of his movies. Han was from a Christian family and had lived in Manchuria before he started to work in the emerging Korean film industry. He was a smart director who was able to create movies that were acceptable to a wide range of audiences both the conservative and the progressive. One of the most interesting characteristics of Han’s movies is the role of women. They are influenced by modernity, thus, challenging the traditional gender norms, being dressed in admirable fashion, and sometimes being presented as professional career holders. Expanding the variety of women’s roles, he also created movies such as My sister is a Hussy in which the main character is a judo practitioner and she beats men, and A Jealousy which portrays lesbians and their hardship in life.

According to Prof. Klien, Han’s movie style can be best understood through the concept of Cold War Cosmopolitanism. She explains how the new foreign political energy along with the idea of ‘Free World and Free Asia’ was spreading during the Cold War. Han is believed to have been affected by the ideology along with the material practice of the cultural production of the Cold War institutions. This was quite obvious as he received support from the Asia Foundation, a CIA-funded film foundation, which provided filming equipment and other filming essentials. Moreover, through the foundation’s support Han was able to collaborate with Hong Kong producers and even join European film festivals. Thus, in Han’s movies, one is able to find western elements, and yet, applied in a genuinely Korean style.

Following her presentation, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions, inquiring about how much the US aid had affected the Korean film industry, details of certain films, the link between the Cold War, South Korea and Russia, and more. Answering these questions, Prof. Klein used the Bu-dae-ji-gae (부대찌개), a Korean stew which was made by using US produced meat, as a metaphor and emphasized while Han had adopted western culture, fashion, ideology, filming techniques, etc. into his film, he had applied them in his own Korean manner which makes his films genuinely authentic and Korean.

Korea Policy Forum, “U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Relations in the Post-Abe Era.” Summary

November 5, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, Korea Policy ForumLeave a Comment

On October 28, 2020, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) and the East Asia National Resource Center co-sponsored the Korea Policy Forum on “U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Relations in the Post-Abe Era”. Moderated by Yonho Kim, Associate Director of GWIKS, the main session began with Celeste Arrington, Associate Professor of the George Washington University giving a presentation that reviewed controversial issues, such as Comfort Women and GSOMIA, with which Japan and South Korea continue to struggle.

After the presentation, Emma Chanlett-Avery, the Asian Affairs Specialist from the Congressional Research Service provided her analysis on how Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is more focused on domestic issues rather than foreign politics. However, she stated that Prime Minister Suga has pledged to follow his predecessor Abe in foreign politics and, thus, we can expect very little change in Japan’s international politics. In terms of the trilateral relations, Ms. Chanlett-Avery mentioned that unlike the Obama administration, the Trump administration had been less involved in Korea-Japan relations. Some had even criticized the Trump administration for not making enough measures before the trade dispute between Korea and Japan expanded to the issue of GSOMIA withdrawal.

Yong-Chool Ha, the Professor at the University of Washington also commented on Celeste’s presentation and argued that bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral cooperation is necessary. In order to overcome the contentious relationship, the two countries need to take efforts to eliminate common barriers and find a mutual understanding. Mr. Ha said both countries need to adopt changes at the international and domestic levels. In addition, he argued how critical it is for the US and Japan to understand South Korea’s democratic advancement and the values that had developed along with democratic maturity.

Following Mr. Ha’s comments, James Schoff, the Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, talked about the benefits of trilateral collaboration. Firstly, with Asia transforming and creating new norms, trilateral cooperation is crucial for South Korea, Japan, and the US. The three countries need to come together to resist China’s coercion. Secondly, while the US cannot take sides, he claimed that the US can facilitate communication and help South Korea and Japan rebuild trust in one another. Lastly, Mr. Schoff stated that trilateral relations could be a safe haven to settle issues that were difficult to resolve in a bilateral relationship.

After listening to the panelists’ comments, the Moderator started to ask questions that were submitted by the audience. Questions focused on various issues, including GSOMIA, North Korea, China, the Biden administration, and the issue of liquidation of Japanese assets in South Korea. While the panelists saw the controversies between South Korea and Japan as subject to continue, they all agreed that South Korea, Japan, and the US must continue to cooperate to loosen the tension and reach a mutual agreement.

The 2nd Annual North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference(Part II Session I): “Traditional Methodology: Researching a Hard Target.”

November 4, 2020August 5, 2021Event Summaries, North Korea Economic ForumLeave a Comment

On October 12, 2020, the GW Institute of Korean Studies and the KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDIS) cohosted the 2nd North Korea Economic Forum Annual Conference (Part II). Session I, Moderated by C4ADS fellow, William Newcomb, was joined by a panel of academic and field experts including Sandra Fahy, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Sophia University; Stephen Haggard, Krause Distinguished Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy at UCSD; Liuya Zhang, PhD Candidate, Ohio State University; and Jenny Town, Stimson Center fellow and Deputy Director of 38 North.

Elaborating on a number of traditional methodologies utilized in researching North Korea, each panelist explores the trials of uncertainty within each of their particular methods when trying to present accurate and meaningful information on North Korea. Beginning with a discussion of personal interviewing techniques, Ms. Fahy who has conducted extensive research on the 1994 Famine, spoke on the challenges of the credibility of information due to a concept described as testimonial injustice, where certain recounts or knowledge may be dismissed or considered lesser than others due to the perceptions and skepticisms of the superior group categorizing and presenting the information.

Stephen Haggard, with the assistance of Liuya Zhang discussed data collection techniques used to measure North Korea’s economic status through the use of international humanitarian aid and statistics taken from multilateral institutions such as the UN. The data provided by the sources however are often estimates, due to the scarcity of credible sources in North Korea. Even more so, the reliability of data from multilateral institutions has become a challenge due to accessibility. Economic statistics on North Korea have become scarce since 2014, when new sanctions were imposed on North Korea, limiting just China being the main international actor exporting data on North Korean exports and imports. The problem has resulted in a hierarchy of reliability and validity of data, making it difficult for researchers to again, provide accurate modeling towards such a hard target.

These uncertainties and limitations would continue to dip into the two further methodologies explored in the discussion, addressing the use of satellite imagery, presented by Ms. Jenny Town, who elaborated on how satellite technology, while useful in capturing snapshots of activity on the peninsula, can be outmaneuvered through the advance of technology such as tracking the location of these satellites, and also be prone to error, as the imagery of these satellites are not always precise or clear.

The challenges were brought forward in an open discussion between the panelist and the discussion board of Barbra Demick, Janice B. Milford D. Gerton Fellow; Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at AEI; and Melissa Hanham, Deputy Director of Open Nuclear Network. Here, both sides acknowledge that an extension of the problem lies in the gaps of accessibility to information gathering shared between sources in addition to errors made in the past as well as currently due to neglection of other avenues of activity taken by North Korea to outmaneuver outside sources and take other illicit means to maintain its economy. In exploring solutions to these issues at hand, the common theme proposed amongst the experts was a collaborative effort amongst all sources to provide coherent, confident estimates of data that are credible over time through cross-checking, and to explore other areas often overlooked in researching North Korea.

GWIKS Interview Series with Wendy Cutler (ESIA BA ’79)

October 30, 2020August 5, 2021Event SummariesLeave a Comment

On October 26, 2020, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) launched its new interview series which invites prominent GW alumni working in the policy field. The new series encourages alumni to share their experiences at GW and provide career advice to students. For the first event of the series, GWIKS invited Wendy Cutler (ESIA BA ’79), the Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), and a former U.S. trade negotiator.

Moderated by Yonho Kim, Associate Director of GWIKS, the talk began with Ms. Cutler sharing how she came to GW planning to study Political Science but switched to International Relations. During her undergraduate years at GW, Ms. Cutler studied the Soviet Union and later worked with the US and Russian scientists at the U.S. Department of Interior. Recognizing the limits of focusing mainly on the Soviet Union, she headed to Georgetown University to study Economics and Trade. After graduation, she went back to the government as the Presidential Management Fellow and stayed there for more than 30 years.

Throughout her career in international trade, Ms. Cutler noticed that it is mostly men who are on the other side of the negotiation table. Therefore, via a women’s empowerment program she provides advice and opportunities for women to work in the trade field.

Diving more deeper into her professional experience, students submitted questions on how to gain opportunities in the field and what to study while in school. Ms. Cutler underscored the importance of finding a specialty but also keeping an open mind and engaging in various areas of studies in order to broaden one’s perspective. She also advised the audience to develop patience and listening skills and, if possible, to take a negotiation class which will be helpful in minimizing trial and error at the negotiating table. Furthermore, she mentioned that students utilize their opportunity in DC and network as much as possible.

In addition, during the interview, Ms. Cutler shared her views on trade issues. Answering one of the submitted questions, Ms. Cutler talked about China’s significance in world politics and how this stimulates other countries to preserve more ties with China. Therefore, she asserted that the US takes a multi-faceted approach by working with other allies. Moreover, she mentioned how the current US administration has changed the dynamics in international trade and that the US needs to rebuild trust and prove their commitment within the international community.

Lastly, the event ended with Ms. Cutler sharing her hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic ends soon and international travel restarts again.