Reunification: Building Permanent Peace in Korea

Conference Summary

Videos of the complete October 10, 2008, conference, Reunification: Building Permanent Peace in Korea, are on our site:

The Historical Roots of U.S.-DPRK Conflict: Opening Remarks and Bruce Cumings: "War is a Stern Teacher"

Panel on U.S. Policy Approaches to a Rapidly Changing Korea

Panel on Korean Unification and Its Challenges

Selig Harrison: "Prospects for Peace"

Hye-Jung Park: Closing Remarks

Thank you to Third World Newsreel for their technical support on these videos.

Paul L. Liem | December 1, 2008

What are the historical roots of the U.S. — D.P.R.K. conflict; how should U.S. policy adapt to a rapidly changing Korea; what are the challenges to Korean unification; and what are the prospects for a permanent peace in Korea? On October 10, 2008, eight eminent Korea scholars and policy analysts met in Berkeley, CA to pose answers to these questions.

The conference, "Reunification: Building Permanent Peace in Korea," was convened by the Korea Policy Institute (KPI) and International Area Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. Coinciding with the U.S. presidential campaign, the conference was intended as a primer on a wide range of issues in U.S. — Korea relations to be addressed by the next administration. The urgency for the U.S. and the D.P.R.K. to normalize relations and for a permanent peace to replace the fragile Korean War truce were common themes throughout the day. more >

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Censoring History: Interview with Bruce Cumings

November 26, 2008

On Oct. 30, 2008, the South Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology demanded that the authors of six textbooks currently used in South Korean high schools delete or revise 55 sections in their texts that the Ministry claimed, "undermine the legitimacy of the South Korean government." South Korea formerly used a single government-issued textbook to teach its high school students a modern history of Korea, but in 2003 the government approved six privately published history textbooks for high school use. These textbooks have drawn heavy criticism from South Korean conservatives, and with last year's presidential election of conservative Lee Myung Bak they are now seeking to influence the content of the textbooks. more >

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Inside North Korea: Interview with Christine Ahn

Gregory Elich | Published September 17, 2008 (Counterpunch)

At a time when speculation and rumors about events in North Korea are especially active, it should be noted how little of what one reads about that nation is grounded in concrete knowledge and experience. Partly this is due to the North Koreans' tight hold on the dissemination of information, but it also results from the preference of Western journalists for dealing in boilerplate generalizations and cartoon images. It is not often that one can get an inside view of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea — the formal name for North Korea], however circumscribed the travel routes. Christine Ahn, one of the foremost activists on Korean and globalization issues, visited North Korea in early July, just days after the demolition of the cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. She shares her experiences in the DPRK with us. more >