North Korea: What Next?

North Korea: What Next?

Vyjayanti RaghavanAssociate Professor, Korean language and culture studies, JNU email: jayantiraghavan@yahoo.co.in

Kim Jong-il died, unfortunately, just a few months before the centenary celebrations of his father, the late ‘Supreme Leader’ and ‘Founder Father’ Kim Il-Sung, were to take place. The whole nation was gearing up to making North Korea a ‘strong and prosperous nation’ by the centennial year 2012. There were no clear answers as to how they proposed to do this, at least not to the outside world. North Korea had also publicly declared its desire to become a fully functional nuclear weapons state by 2012. Was it this sort of pressure that resulted in Kim Jong-il’s fatal myocardial infarction, as speculated? Unlikely, North Korean leaders - only two so far – have not really had to deliver on their promises to their people. Indeed, they have always been able to magically turn even dung into flowers for the North Korean people by merely shifting the angle of focus. However, this has begun to gradually change in the last few years, with globalization leading to a trickling in of information about their well-to-do southern half brethren. As a result, people started becoming savvy by reading between the lines in the information doled out to them about the world outside. Kim Jong-il, therefore, might have felt the pressure of having to deliver on some count or the other, whether it was on the nuclear front or on the economic front. His hold on his people was not as total as his father’s and he would not have been able to fool the people all the time. This raises the question of the credibility of the designated heir apparent, Kim Jong-eun. Will he be able to hold the country together? No one knows anything about him. In fact it is his father’s death that has catapulted him into some prominence. The topmost question on many peoples’ minds when the news of Kim Jong-il’s death broke was this: will the people of North Korea use this opportunity to rise against the establishment as people elsewhere in the world have done recently, fighting for justice? This thought might have been triggered by the fact that of late, the people of North Korea have been engaging in exercising their will in a small way through some amount of non-state directed buying and selling of goods. The answer came via the outpouring of the people in their praise of the heir apparent. Many other issues too have to be settled now. For instance, what happens to the six party talks? Whom will the negotiators henceforth represent during talks? If the military continues to wield power, who will be their frontman? Kim Jong-eun may be a four-star general in the Korean People’s Army (KPA) but he is not even a member of the National Defense Commission (NDC) of which Kim Jong-il was chairman and which is the main organization that takes important decisions regarding the ‘military first’ regime. Also, what is the future of the nuclear weapons and missiles programme in North Korea? Kim Jong-eun is too young and inexperienced. He has not been built up sufficiently yet to have been indoctrinated into the psyche of the people, nor has he himself had enough time to take over the nuclear weapons programme. His father Kim Jong-il had been handed over the weapons programme by his father Kim Il-sung to raise his standing in the eyes of his countrymen long before he died, and Kim Jong-il inherited the power of the state. Kim Jong-eun has had no such luck. The first few weeks after the funeral on 28 December will be crucial. Kim Jong-il’s 65 year old brother-in-law Jang Song-T’aek was the vice-chairman of the NDC and the second-in-command before Kim Jong-il died. Now it remains to be seen whether Kim Jong-eun is inducted into the NDC, and if so at what level. In any case, internally, it is this uncle who will be the crucial kingpin, as Uncle Jang could play Shakuni and either become his mentor or take charge completely. Externally, the fact that North Korea possesses nuclear weapons creates an imperative on China to ensure stability. So as long as Kim Jong-eun manages to retain China’s support he should be alright, for the time being.

                                   Cosmopolitan view a key to success

 

 

Many perceive globalization as a fairly modern trend, but an expert of 6th-century Korean history said it is not a new concept, a foreign expert on the 6th century Korean history.

In fact, it has existed ever since the Silla dynasty.

“The Silla dynasty’s cosmopolitan world view had led to the reunification of the three dynasties ― Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla ― and the world approaches of the Silla dynasty much resemble the modern Korea’s world view ―- which made both successful,” Pankaj Mohan, Silla expert and professor at the Academy of Korean Studies, told The Korea Herald.

The Indian professor, who has devoted two-thirds of his life to Korean studies and Korean history, said his research about Korea was inspired by a poem by an Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The enlightening passage he read goes like this: “In the golden age of Asia/Korea was one of its lamp-bearers/and that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again for the illumination in the East.”

Pankaj Mojan says “I just want to make Korea accessible in many ways to the outer world.” (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)

Since then, he has focused on Korea’s influence on other Asian countries and discovered intriguing similarities between the 6th-century Silla dynasty and modern Korea’s development.

“Silla scholars studied the outer world, where they got their guiding principles that gave them both originality and creativity. Likewise, in contemporary society, Korea is also prosperous, because they are out in the world learning foreign ideas and creativity while keeping their traditional values at the same time.”

“Silla, too, became one of the most advanced and formidable powers in the Korean peninsula because of such traits. A country can become strong by opening the door to the world ― by learning from the experience of other cultures and countries.”

As an example, he cited the Silla settlement in the Shandong area of China - much like Koreatowns in other countries these days, “A large number of Silla people settled in Shandong area and had their own temples too,” he said.

When he began Korean studies back in 1976 in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, his parents were skeptical about learning the Korean language as a way to build a career. “My parents thought that if I studied English literature or other languages such as French or German, I would have better job prospects.”

“But I was encouraged to study this field after meeting with a very good master, Seo Kyung-soo, from Dongguk University, who had established Korean history for the first time in New Delhi.”

Through Seo, he had developed a firm belief that Korea would prosper, just as Tagore foresaw in his poem.

“The lamp has been lit up,” he said.

“I was convinced at that time that Korea is the country of the future. Small as it may be, it is a dynamic economy with lot of potential.”

He also found the study of the Korean history insufficient. “It was like a well kept secret, not properly explored, I wanted to be the frontier.”

Many scholars in the west tend to study Chinese or Japanese history rather than Korean history, he said but pointed out that by understanding Korea, one can understand China and Japan with clarity. “Korea’s influence and transformation have greatly affected their histories.”

“I want to highlight the role of Korea in introducing the Buddhist culture to Japan and the ways in which the Koreans adopted the Chinese culture to their situation.”

In recognition of his contribution to the development of Korean studies at home and abroad, Seoul City recently gave him honorary citizenship.

“When you see a well, you should think about people who worked hard to dig that well. Likewise, the honorary citizenship makes me think about ancestors of Seoul, those past leaders who worked hard to make the capital a beautiful city. I feel a great responsibility to do something to add to its dynamism and to make Korea and Seoul better understood to the outside world.”

Currently, Mohan is a faculty head at the academy and also a professor at Sydney University in Australia. He is on a three-year leave from the university, which he is spending in Korea.

By Hwang Jurie (jurie777@heraldcorp.com)

Lab for Globalization of Korean Studies

Vyjayanti Raghavan (Associate Professor Korean Language, Literature & Culture Studies, JNU, New Delhi).

The Strategic Initiative for Korean Studies (SIKS) has itself been an innovative idea for initiating research in Korean studies.
It is committed to and has pioneered many excellent academic works around the globe in the field of Korean studies.
The recently launched Lab for Globalization of Korean studies is also one such innovative initiative which as the name suggests will be a lab for conducting research under the able guidance and direction of a Lab master who will bring together researchers of this area of study and also decide the topic of research.
The world has become far more interdependent now than ever before and it is only right that researchers of the same area of study are linked together for more productive, efficient and less duplication of research work.
In an era when Korea itself has gone global it is only right that Korean studies too become global to keep in tune with the growing interest in the area.
More than anything else, the funding of such globalization of Korean studies will ensure collective participation of researchers who may until now have had an interest but not had the funds to conduct meaningful research on Korea.
This initiative is innovative in that it will help simplify the procedure for conducting research by doing away with bureaucratic procedures and reams of paper work which have largely been responsible for procedural delays and for killing all incentive and motivation for research work.
It is innovative in that it no longer provides just an opportunity and financial aid for conducting research about Korea but will also initiate change in the subject matter to be studied and through that bring about a concurrent change in the global perception of Korean studies.
And which organization is better placed than the Academy of Korean Studies to provide such new models for innovation and experimentation?

Source: KSPS(Korean Studies promotion Service)
 

UN4U Asia-Pacific Photo Contest 2012

UN is holding photo contest for Asia-Pacific region from August 27 to September 21. Submit photographs illustrating the values of UN for a chance to win Nikon camera.

UN is holding a photo contest to raise awareness of the core values of UN: freedom from want, freedom from fear, dignity, solidarity, justice, protection, human rights, security, empowerment, sustainability, progress, equality, and peace.
Submit a photo depicting the values of UN in your neighborhood, city, country, or the Asia-Pacific region with a short description of how the photo illustrates the value of UN.
Submission Date: August 27 ~ September 21, 2012Eligibility: be 18 years old or older by September 21, 2012 and be a resident of any Asia-Pacific countryPhotographs must have been taken in Asia-Pacific within one year of the competition closing date.

SubmissionSubmit the official entry form and up to 3 photographs at the competition websitePhotographs must be in high resolution digital format- JPG format- Up to 6MB- At least 300 dpi, minimum 8MP- No digital manipulation or alteration other than color correction and regular post production
Description of each photo should include title, date, and location of photo taken, and explanation of how the photo relates to the values of UN in 600 characters.

JudgeThe entries will be judged on the following categories: relevance, creativity, technical quality, composition, and caption.The photo receiving the most “likes” on the contest’s Facebook page between September 24 and October 12 will be receive the Viewer’s Choice Award.Announcement will be made on the website by October 1, 2012.

Prize1 Grand Prize: Nikon D70002 Runner Up Prizes: Nikon Coolpix P3101 Viewer’s Choice Award: Lowepro camera bag

Best of luck!

TOPIK - An Introduction

TOPIK, or Test of Proficiency in Korean is a Korean language test offered four times annually to foreigners in Korea and twice annually to people studying Korean in other countries. TOPIK is administered by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (Hangul: 한국교육과정평가원 Hanja: 韓國敎育課程評價院).The test was first administered in 1997 and taken by 2274 people. Initially the test was held only once a year.In 2009, 180,000 people took the test.^[2] The Korean government introduced a law in 2007 that required Chinese workers of Korean descent who have no relatives in Korea to take the test so they could be entered in a lottery for visas.The test is divided into four parts: vocabulary & grammar, writing, listening, and reading. There is currently no oral section. Two versions of the test are offered: standard (S)-TOPIK and the business (B)-TOPIK. There are three different levels of S-TOPIK: beginner (초급), intermediate (중급), and advanced (고급). Depending on the average score and minimum marks in each section it is possible to obtain grades 1-2 in beginner, 3-4 in intermediate and 5-6 in advanced S-TOPIK. In B-TOPIK the scores in each section (out of 100) are added together to give a score out of 400. In addition to Korea, TOPIK is available in the following countries: Japan, Taiwan, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Paraguay, Argentina, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Czech Republic, Egypt, Belarus, Russia, Brazil and Cambodia.

For more info: visit -  www.topik.go.kr

source: Google wiki

unification of Korean peninsula.

If want to have fun, make new friends, meet interesting people while making a small contribution for the unification of Korean peninsula.

GPYC Korea Invites You To Join The Unified Korea Campaign

Submitted by himaligirl on Fri, 2012-08-03 15:40

Want to do something different this time? Come join us from August 13th -15th and contribute in unified Korea Campaign. Students who will join us for 3days will go rafting on the 16th at Cheorwon, Gangwondo and take a trip to warzone! Students who do not have enough time can also apply to join for the 15th of August, but cannot join the rafting trip. Accomodation will not be provided.

Themes For Each Day

• August 13: A day with North Koreans
• August 14: A day with young children  
• August15: GPYC with International Students

What Will You Do?

You will join Korean students and other international students in a campaign to collect signatures for a unified Korean Peninsula, hold pickets and wear costumes to grab attention and raise awareness for  Unified Korea. You will help to run the photo zone, video shows and help in the fundraising booth and side events like face painting, balloon arts and collect wishes for unification of Korean Peninsula.

How To Apply?

click here!

What Is GPYC?

GPYC stands for Global Peace Youth Corps and is active in Korea, the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mongolia. For more information visit: www.gpyckorea.org.

Why International Students?

We want international students to have an oppurtunity to join Korean students and youths from other nations to contribute to raise awareness for the unification process.