The first Korean forum ‘The Korean Peninsula Forum – Regional dynamics in Northeast Asia and the future of US-South Korea relations’ held on November 12th at the University of Washington was more successful than expected as more than 200 people including the UW faculty members, students, Korean community members, and politicians attended the forum.
This forum was hosted and sponsored by the Center for Korean Studies, the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Seattle, and the Academy of Korean Studies. Mostly, issues related to the Korean Peninsula were handled and discussed in Washington D.C. Mainly, this forum aimed at achieving two goals. One of the goals of this forum was to alert/promote the geopolitical importance of the Korean Peninsula and to discuss the issues related to the Korean Peninsula in the Northwest. The other one was building continuous interest on this issue to the audience so that the Center for Korean Studies can get more recognition and funds from the government and host more forums on broader issues within the Korean Peninsula.
Many of the audiences attended the forum to hear from the keynote speaker Christopher Robert Hill, the former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia who also was the former United States ambassador to the Republic of Korea, who currently is the dean of international studies department at the University of Denver. He was one of the main officials who dealt with East Asia including the Korean Peninsula until 2009 under Bush administration. He is not only widely known in the U.S. but is also familiar to Koreans as well because he was the representative of the U.S. for the six-party talks (ROK, DPRK, U.S., China, Russia, and Japan) to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons issue.
The forum started with opening remarks from the staff members. Christopher Hill delivered his keynote speech on the dynamics of geopolitical issues within the Korean Peninsula and the future of the U.S.-ROK relationship. He stated “the U.S.-ROK alliance will stand still. Good relationships between the ROK & China and two Koreas will enhance the ROK-U.S. relationship.” He mentioned that North Korea should abolish its nuclear weapons and the most effective way would be resuming the six-party talks. He also talked about North Korea’s system under Kim Jung Eun and predicted it will soon stabilize in the near future without any coups.
After Christopher Hill made his keynote speech, he shared comments on the issue with penal professors from the UW and had Q&A session with the audiences. Penal professors included Clark Sorenson, David Bachman, Donald C Hellman, Kenneth B. Pyle, and Yong Chool Ha. Yong Chool Ha, professor at the Center for Korean Studies, stated “since China, Russia, and Japan’s relationship to the Korean peninsula is complicated, three-party talks with the U.S. and two Koreas might be more effective.”
Many VIPs from Korean community attended the forum as well. Duk Ho Moon, Chan Sik Yoon, and Jung Jae Lee from the Consulate General of Republic Korea in Seattle, Ik Whan Lee, Susan Lee, Jae Hoon Kim, Kwang Jae Shin, Yoon Sun Hong, Boo Won Yoon, Jong Sae Kwak, Seung Joo Hong, Kyung Ho Ko, and Kwans Soo Shin, the leaders of Korean community attended the forum to support the forum and share their views on the Korean Peninsula.
by. Jay-Kwon J Park
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