The Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, which the Jeju Peace Institute (JPI) annually organizes and hosts, is an important venue for scholars, political leaders, diplomats, and activists from around the world to discuss current issues regarding peace, prosperity, and multilateralism.
The Jeju Forum Journal intends to bridge one forum to the next. While reviewing the ideas brought forward during that year’s Jeju Forum, the journal navigates the path toward next year’s Forum. At the same time, it aims to provide an independent platform for our readers to understand better the environment and circumstances surrounding East Asia and the world. Specifically, the Jeju Forum Journal publishes manuscripts analyzing events that shaped the world we live in today; events that are expected to have severe repercussions on relations between states; foreign policies of certain states that can affect other states’ actions; and other issues that are widely discussed among the public, scholars, and global leaders today.
For this issue, four distinguished scholars have contributed their essays. The first essay, “US-China Hegemonic Rivalry and South Korea’s Response,” is written by Professor Gong Min-seok (Jeju National University). The second essay, “Future of Regional Cooperation in Northeast Asia and South Korea’s Vision,” is contributed by Dr. Eunmi Choi (Asan Institute for Policy Studies). Each essay examines how South Korea should respond to the shift in international dynamics due to the intensifying US-China competition and why and how South Korea should continue to pursue multilateral cooperation in East Asia despite several obstacles.
The other two essays also cover interesting topics that attract our attention. The third essay contributed by Professor Lee Sanghyun (Myongji University), “United Nations City Initiative on the Tumen River Estuary,” suggests the idea of building “United Nations City” as means to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula. The final essay, “China’s Expansion of Economic Leverage on Africa and Its Implications for South Korea,” written by Professor Jeheung Ryu (Ehwa Womans University), explains how China is increasing its economic influence in Africa, how the Sino-African relations are strengthening, and its implications to South Korea.
The Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity has been a premier regional dialogue platform, shaping the discourse to promote peace and prosperity in the region. We hope that the Jeju Forum Journal will help expand the ideas that have been brought up at the annual forum and stimulate discussions for future forums.