PRESENT SEMINAR ON THE REBALANCE WITHIN ASIA: KOREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS September 16, 2014, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Followed by Reception 7:00 - 8:00 pm cid:[email protected] What is the United States to do when its key East Asian allies aren’t speaking to each other? South Korea and Japan, both free, democratic, economically prosperous countries that share longstanding defense partnerships with the United States, are natural allies who badly need one another, especially in light of the ever-present threat from North Korea. Yet, relations between Seoul and Tokyo range somewhere between aloof and outright spiteful on account of historical grievances. At the same time, relations between South Korea and China appear to be improving since a July Park-Xi summit meeting, with the two countries moving toward the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement. Is the new-found love between Seoul and Beijing an issue-by-issue relationship of convenience or a regional game-changer? What is the impact of these developments on the much-touted, highly-critical, yet still unclear U.S. rebalance to Asia? Join us in a discussion with senior Korean officials and scholars about issues in South Korea’s relations with its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific and the larger impact for the U.S. rebalance. The event will be followed by reception. Seminar Program Tuesday, September 16 6:00-7:00 p.m. 5th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center Dr. Jin Park is a Wilson Center Global Fellow, Chair Professor at Hankook University of Foreign Studies, and executive President of Asia Future Institute. Dr. Park served in the Korean National Assembly from 2002 to 2012, representing the Jong-ro district in central Seoul. Dr. Park served as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Trade & Unification Committee. Prior to being elected to the National Assembly, Dr. Park held many positions in the government, including Political Affairs Secretary to the President from 1996 to 1998 and Press Secretary to the President from 1993 to 1996. He received his bachelor’s degree in Law from Seoul National University, his MPA from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and his D.Phil. in Political Science from Oxford University in 1994. He also earned an LL.M. from the New York University School of Law in 2000. Dr. Jihwan Hwang is an associate professor of International Relations at University of Seoul. Professor Hwang also taught at Seoul National University and Myongji University in Seoul. His research interests include East Asian international relations and security studies, focusing on the North Korean nuclear issue. His main concern is how to explain North Korea’s foreign policy in terms of international relations theories. He published numerous articles, and his publications include “International Relations Theory and the North Korean Nuclear Crisis,” “Offensive Realism, Weaker States, and Windows of Opportunity: The Soviet Union and North Korea in Comparative Perspective,” “The Second Nuclear Crisis and U.S. Foreign Policy,” “Rethinking the East Asian Balance of Power,” and “The Two Koreas after U.S. Unipolarity: In Search of a New North Korea Policy.” Professor Hwang graduated from Seoul National University in South Korea and received his Ph.D. in political science from University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Hyun-Wook Kim is associate professor and director-general at the department of American Studies, Korean National Diplomatic Academy. His research areas include the US-ROK alliance, US-DPRK relations and Northeast Asian security. He has published many articles in journals like Australian Journal of International Affairs, IFANS Review, Journal of East Asian Affairs, Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, etc. In 2014, he was a visiting scholar at UC San Diego. He has finished his PhD and MA in political science from Brown University, and worked at the University of Southern California as a postdoctoral fellow. He received his B.A. from Yonsei University. Dr. James F. Person, Deputy Director of the Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program and Coordinator of the North Korea International Documentation Project will moderate the discussion. To RSVP for this event, please click here.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:13:04 +0000
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