Joint U.S. Korea Academic Studies
From the Issue
Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies 2012About Joint U.S. Korea Academic Studies
For over twenty years, KEI has sponsored annual major academic symposiums at universities across the country and major academic conferences. Each year, papers are specially commissioned to fit panel topics of current policy relevance to the U.S.-ROK alliance and implications for the Korean peninsula. Following the symposium, KEI edits and publishes those papers in an annual volume entitled “Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies.”
One of the requirements for an East Asian Community, the agreed objective of regionalism, is the formation of social networks that forge trust and a sense of common purpose and identity. China, Japan, and South Korea would appear to have a favorable foundation for such networks. Economic integration keeps booming. The number of tourists traveling between these countries keeps growing. Confucianism provides a common cultural foundation. An annual summit highlights trilateralism as a framework for regionalism. Yet, national identity gaps, distrust over security, and ethnic enclave tensions are interfering with community ties. They are linked to clashing conceptions of China’s centrality and of how its rise impacts regionalism.
- South Korean National Identity Gaps with China and Japan
Gilbert Rozman, Princeton University - Lacking Trust between Nations: South Korea’s Security Relations with Japan and China
Leif-Eric Easley, Ewha University - Inter-group Conflicts in Beijing’s Koreatown
Sharon Yoon, Princeton University