The “Outlook Korea” conference hosted by the Elliott School of International Affairs Friday highlighted the economic and political events that have destabilized the Korean peninsula during the past year.
GW professors were joined on a panel by representatives from the Embassy of Korea and the Korean Economic Institute of America to discuss the current crises’ effect on the future of North and South Korea.
Members of the Korean Economic Institute of America, who expressed interest in GW because of its active Asian studies department, initiated the event to address student and community concerns about deteriorating Korean economic and nuclear safety conditions, said ESIA Dean Harry Harding.
Harding addressed issues of “adjustment and recovery” in Korea amid “changes of political power and democratization.”
Gordon Flake, associate director for the Atlantic Council of the United States Program on Conflict Resolution, spoke about the growing problems of starvation, and the lack of reform despite International Monetary Fund aid to the region.
Flake expressed fears that the “free fall” of the Korean economy was leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.
The second panel included GW Professor of Korean studies, Young-Key Kim-Renaud, and Yu Myung-hwan, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Korea.
United States-Korea relations dominated this discussion, drawing special interest from members of GW’s Korean American Student Association, who said GW’s Korean population is about 600.
“The conference was a success,” said KASA President Joe Gim. “It was a great move by the Elliott School to bring Korean studies to campus and show an interest in Korean culture.”
Gim said GW does not have enough Korean studies courses available, but the conference was a step in the right direction.
The latter half of the conference dealt specifically with security relations on the Korean peninsula.
Don Oberdorfer, of John Hopkins University, and Col. William Drennan, program officer in the United States Institute of Peace, discussed the dangers ahead for Korea and the entire Asian Pacific region if the threat of nuclear arms is not controlled.
Kristin Lord, ESIA director of professional education, said she was pleased with the “adjustment and recovery” in Korea amid “changes of political power and democratization.”
“We feel Korea is a very important topic of study,” she said.
Lord said she was pleased with the conference attendance and estimates that more than 60 people attended throughout the evening, which she said was higher than expected.
Friday’s conference was one of many similar ESIA-hosted conferences scheduled throughout the year, which will focus on other countries and regions of interest.
Both Korean-American students and ESIA students attended the conference. The event was sponsored by a grant from the Korea Foundation with additional support from the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the Pacific Asian Studies Society.
