Events
East Asia Institute (EAI) held the 45th Smart Talk Forum with Professor Bruce Jacobs from Monash University on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 to get a better understanding of Koreans’ perception of China and China policy. Participants freely discussed South Korea’s position on Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), South Korea-Japan relations, and the role of China in the unification of the Korean peninsula.
First, the question of why South Korea did not join the TPP negotiations at the initial stage was raised. Participants agreed that there were not only economic, but also political and strategic motivations in considering the Korean government’s position when the Korean government was invited to join the TPP in December 2010. They emphasized that the act of joining the TPP has a political implication of aligning with the U.S.-centered global order and that South Korea must be even more cautious on any matter involving China due to strategic reasons surrounding North Korea. Second, participants compared South Korea’s and Taiwan’s cases to discuss possibilities of improving South Korea-Japan relations. While both South Korea and Taiwan have similarly painful history of Japanese colonialism, Koreans and Taiwanese have different perception towards Japan. Participants surmised that a reason for this difference in perception could be that Japanese rule in Korea was more brutal and repressive than in Taiwan. Third, rather opposing opinions were exchanged on the expected role of China in the unification process of the Korean peninsula. While most of participants agreed that China is indeed an important player and its cooperation is needed on issues involving the Korean peninsula, some emphasized that one should be wary of overestimating the role and importance of China and even argued that China’s positions or actions should not be taken at face value.
Topic
“Korean Foreign Policy: A Roundtable”
Moderator
Chaesung Chun, EAI; Seoul National University
Discussants
Bruce Jacobs, Monash University
Dong Sun Lee, Korea University
Jae Jeok Park, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Young-kwan Song, Korea Development Institute
