James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies
Perry World House
Co-organized by the North East Asian Peace Center
With security tensions running high in Northeast Asia, exploring possibilities for peaceful frameworks of engagement is urgent in both theory and practice. This international conference seeks to examine existing structures as well as emerging ones. It aims to broaden the discussion into actionable ideas in an effort to think creatively about how best to free a region mired in the perilous politics of memory wars. Topics will revolve around a frank assessment of the architecture of the American led 1952 Allied peace settlement with Japan (the San Francisco Treaty) in order to examine its transformation through the Cold War era until today. The role of civic engagement throughout gives critical voice to this initial framework’s shortcomings and offers ideas about peaceful strategies for moving forward.
Our co-organizer, North East Asia Peace Center, is concerned with peace-related issues such as denuclearization, disarmament, and history of memory. Founded in 1977 by late Je Jeong-gu (1944-1999), who was a member of South Korea's National Assembly, an anti-poverty activist, and a recipient of 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the center provides a forum for the region's activists, journalists, policy leaders, and scholars. Throughout each year, the center organizers conferences, lectures, and workshops, as well as producing publications on relevant topics.
Just as did the Columbia conference, this year’s conference at Penn will host participants from at least four countries, namely China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Friday, December 1 will feature 2 keynote speakers and 2 panels (each with 5 presenters and 2 discussants). Then on Saturday, a closed-door morning session open only to the participants will discuss, “What next?”
Register Here: https://sftreatyupenn.eventbrite.com
Conference Agenda
Breakfast and Registration
8:30-9:00am
Opening Session
9:00-9:45am
Welcome Remarks: Steven J. Fluharty
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
Keynote Speech: Kim Young-Ho
Director, North East Asia Peace Center
Moderator: Eugene Y. Park
Director, James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Panel 1: History
9:45am-12:00pm
Moderator: Koichi Nakano
Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University
"The Treaty of San Francisco from the Perspective of International Peace Movements in Early Twentieth-Century America"
Yi Tae-Jin
Professor Emeritus of Korean History, Seoul National University
"The San Francisco Peace Treaty and Territorial Issues: Information Packages on Territorial Issues from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Their Impact"
Jung Byung-Joon
Professor of History, Ewha Womans University
"Analysis on Why the San Francisco Peace Treaty Changed the Allies’ Disposal of East Asian Territories"
Hu Dekun
Dean, China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies and Institute for International Studies,
Wuhan University
"Now or Never: Peaceful Possibility in Northeast Asia"
Alexis Dudden
Professor of History, University of Connecticut
Discussant: Frederick R. Dickinson
Co-Director, Joseph H. Lauder Institute for Management and International Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Discussant: Yang Chan
Lecturer, Chiina Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies and Institute for International Studies.
Discussant: Jacques deLisle
Director, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Panel 2: International Law and Relations
1:45-4:15pm
Moderator: Alexis Dudden
Professor of History, University of Connecticut
"The US-North Korean Crisis and Japan’s Responsibility"
Haruki Wada
Professor Emeritus of History, University of Tokyo
"Sovereignty: Building Block or Stumbling Block in Resolving Northeast Asian Security Disputes?"
John Feffer
Director, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute for Policies Studies
"The Comfort Women Saga: Politics of Memory and a Need for Transnational Reframing"
Se-Woong Koo
Co-Founder, publisher, and author, Korea Exposé
"Tasks for Adopting 'Civil Society Charter' towards Peace and Human Rights in East Asia for Overcoming the San Francisco Peace Treaty System"
Lee Jang-Hie
Judge, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Hague
"Can the New Civil Society Activism Stop Japan’s Shift to the Right?"
Koichi Nakano
Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University
Discussant: Avery Goldstein
Director, Center for the Study of Contemporary China, University of Pennsylvania
Discussant: Lee Jong-Guk
Research Fellow, Northeast Asian History Foundation
Reception
4:30-6:30pm
Participants:
Victor D. Cha, Georgetown University
Jacques deLisle, University of Pennsylvania
Frederick R. Dickinson, University of Pennsylvania
Alexis Dudden, University of Connecticut
John Feffer, Institute for Policy Studies
Avery Goldstein, University of Pennsylvania
Hu Dekun, Wuhan University
Jung Byung-Joon, Ewha Womans University
Kim Young-Ho, North East Asian Peace Center
Se-Woong Koo, Korea Exposé
Lee Jang-Hie, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Hague
Lee Jong-Guk, Northeast Asian History Foundation
Koichi Nakano, Sophia University
Eugene Y. Park, University of Pennsylvania
Haruki Wada, University of Tokyo
Chan Yang, Wahun University
YI Tae-Jin, Seoul National University