This work attempts to understand whether it is possible to talk about the emergence of specific recurring linguistic patterns in UN resolutions, used as a political strategy. The paper presents a comparative analysis between a corpus of resolutions related to the Second Gulf War and to the 2011 North Korean nuclear crisis, focussing on ethic adjectives and preambulatory and operative phrases used in these resolutions. It is attempted to show how vague and weak expressions can be used either to (...) lead to intentionally biased interpretations of the law as was supposed in the Iraqi case, or to mitigate international tensions, though maintaining a firm position against international threats, as supposed for North Korea. (shrink)

With its six nuclear tests, North Korea aims to be regarded as a nuclear power by international society. However, such a status has been denied to North Korea, especially after its fourth and fifth nuclear tests in 2016 and the sixth in 2017. North Korea's international isolation has been strengthened with the UN Security Council resolutions, and the tensions in the relations between North and South Korea and between North Korea (...) and the U.S. have been heightened. The problem of North Korea's nuclear weapons is both political and ethical one. There are four political and ethical approaches to nuclear weapons: nuclear maximalism, nuclear minimalism, nuclear reductionism, and anti-nuclearism. A nuclear maximalist approach to North Korean nuclear weapons may cause a second Korean War, and a nuclear minimalist approach to them also has the danger to increase and escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, either a nuclear reductionist approach or an anti-nuclearism approach to the problem of North Korean nuclear weapons is more desirable. Three models of denuclearization can be helpful in achieving the North Korean denuclearization: Ukraine model, South African model, and Libya model. Each model can provide its own lessons and implications. Especially, considering the importance and significance of the Budapest Memorandum in the process of the Ukraine model, an East Asian version of Budapest Memorandum is needed for the successful North Korean denuclearization. (shrink)

유물론과 관념론의 투쟁으로 조선철학을 바라보는 북한의 연구에서 이황 철학은 1960년 이래로 봉건 도덕 윤리를 옹호하기 위해 고안된 관념론이면서도 인식론의 차원에서 대상 세계의 실재함을 어느 정도 인정하는 “객관적 관념론”으로 평가된다. 2010년 간행된『조선철학전사』에서 이황 철학은 “신학적 관념론”이라는 용어를 통해 “극단적인 관념론”으로 그려진다. 이러한 변화의 핵심에는 이황 철학의 인식론이 “신비적 직관[神悟]”을 방법으로 한다는 해석, 그리고 동아시아 관념론을 발전사적으로 바라보며 주희 철학의 관념론적 사유가 이황 철학에 이르러 완결성을 갖추게 되었다는 철학사적 이해가 자리하고 있다. 이 글은 이와 같은 변화가 기존의 철학사 서술과 비교할 때 이황 (...) 철학의 원전과 개념을 보다 충실히 인용하고 구성해 내면서 진행되었다는 점에 주목한다. (shrink)

The U.S. relations to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are since the end of the Cold War revolving around achieving a state of nuclear free Korean peninsula. As non-proliferation is a long term of American foreign policy, relations to North Korea could be categorized primarily under this umbrella. However, the issue of North Korean political system also plays role as it belongs to the other important, more normative category of U.S. foreign policy which is the protection (...) of human rights and spreading of democracy and liberal values. In addition, the North Korean issue influences U.S. relations and interests in broader region of Northeast Asia, its bilateral alliances with South Korea and Japan as well as sensitive and complex relations to People’s Republic of China. As the current administration of president Donald J. Trump published its National security strategy and was fully occupied with the situation on Korean peninsula in its first year, the aim of the paper is to analyse the changes in evolution of U.S. North Korean policy under last three administrations, look at the different strategies adopted in order to achieve the same aim, the denuclearization. The paper does not provide a thorough analysis, neither looks at all documents adopted and presented in the U.S. or within the U.N. It more focuses on the general principles of particular strategies, most significant events in mutual relations as recorded by involved governmental officials and also weaknesses of these strategies as none has achieved desirable result. In conclusion, several options for current administration are drawn, however all of them require significant compromises and could be accompanied with series of setbacks dangerous for regional stability and U.S. position in the region. (shrink)

이 글은 보조국사 지눌과 그의 사상에 대한 북조선의 연구 동향과 그 의미를 살펴보는 것을 목적으로 한다. 이를 위해서 북조선의 지눌 연구를 1960년대부터 현재까지 네 시기로 나누어서 각각의 특징을 살펴보았다. 북조선의 지눌 연구는 계급성과 역사주의 원칙이라는 대전제를 바탕으로 한 통일성을 가장 큰 특징으로 한다. 여기서 통일성이란 북조선의 입장에서 불교는 착취계급의 반동적 사상이며 이것이 모든 지눌 연구에서 그대로 유지되는 것을 가리킨다. 다만 시기에 따라서, 특히 2000년 이후에 지눌의 사상을 제한적으로나마 긍정적인 평가를 하는 미세한 변화를 보이기도 한다.BR 이러한 북조선의 지눌 연구를 남한의 관련 (...) 연구와 거칠게 비교하면 북조선은 기본 연구 원칙에 따라 체계적인 반면 남한은 그러한 원칙, 체계에는 별다른 관심이 없다. 또한 북조선의 지눌 연구가 부정적 평가와 비판에 몰두한다면 남한의 연구는 이해와 긍정, 때로는 선양에 매달린다고 할 수 있다. 이러한 차이가 둘 사이의 대화를 통해서 서로를 보완할 수 있는 지점으로 생각된다. (shrink)

북한이탈주민에 대한 연구는 다양한 분야에서 진행되고 있다. 2016년 3만명에 육박하는 북한이탈주민들의 급격한 증가는 한국사회에 법, 교육, 복지, 직업 등 다양한 분야에서 문제점이 도출되고 있고 한국내(內) 사회통합이라는 사회문제를 대두시키고 있다. 본 논문은 북한이탈주민에 대한 사회통합을 주제로 디아스포라와 다문화 논의를 중심으로 접근을 시도하고 하고자 한다. 기존 접근법은 북한이탈주민의 입장에서 한국의 정부, 지자체, 시민단체가 어떠한 정책을 수립, 시행할 것인가에 대해 집중되어 있었다. 그러나 북한이탈주민은 사회통합의 대상이지만 국제이주라는 측면과 이주국의 이들에 대한 다문화적인 수용이라는 입장은 새로운 시각의 연구주제로 본 논문에서 제시하고자 한다. 디아스포라와 다문화 논의들은 (...) 북한이탈주민들의 사회통합 문제를 접근하고 분석하는 새로운 접근법으로 시도함으로서 기존연구에서 벋어나 보다 객관적인 형태의 사회통합논의를 가능하게 할 수 있다. (shrink)

북한의 변화는 정치와 군사문제 등 일부를 제외하고 경제․사회․문화 분야를 중심으로 과거와는 다른 차원에서 정책변화가 이루어지고 있다. 전체적으로 실리위주의 사회주의 경제정책을 운용하는 과정에서 분야별로 서서히 진행되고 있음을 알 수 있다. 핵문제로 인하여 긴박하게 전개되는 국제정세를 차치하고서 북한으로서는 더 많은 변화가 가능할 수 있는가 하는 것은 김정일의 개혁과 개방에 대한 의지가 중요한 관건임이 이미 지적한 바와 같다. 북한정권의 딜레마는 개혁과 개방의 이중성이다. 그러나 현재 21C 패러다임의 전환 시대에 김정일은 개혁과 개방에 선택에 대한 여지가 있을 수가 없다. 말하자면 개방의 대세를 거역할 수 없는 (...) 시점에 이르렀다는 점이다. 문제는 대내외적 환경이다. 기술, 정보, 자원과 자본 모두가 부족한 현실에서 어떤 형식과 방법으로 최소의 비용으로 변화의 국면을 감당해낼 수 있는가에 달려있다. SWOT분석에 나타나듯이 북한은 지금까지 최악의 환경으로서 WT전략을 취해왔음을 부인할 수 없다. 수령의 절대권력 체제에서 급격한 국제정세의 변화와 자연재해는 더 이상 국민들의 삶을 발전적으로 보장을 하지 못하고 그 원인을 대외적 정치환경에서 즉 핵무기의 개발과 적대적 외교전략이 진행되어 왔었다. 이제 SO전략으로 북한이 현재 가지고 있는 강점과 기회적 요인들을 최대한 수렴하여 ST전략, 즉 개혁과 개방을 통한 경제개발로서 국력을 총체적으로 신장해나감으로써 명실상부한 국권을 회복하여 국제사회의 일원으로 등장하게 될 것이다. 북한의 변화는 향후 한반도에서의 평화공존은 물론 평화적 통일과 나아가 동북아의 평화를 담보하는 것이라고 재론의 필요가 없다. (shrink)

최근 학생들은 남북한 화해 분위기에서나 긴장 국면에서나 모두 통일에 대해 무관심하거나 통일비용을 우려하여 부정적인 경향을 나타내고 있다. 또한 학생들은 학교에서 이루어지고 있는 교과 통일교육이나 통일교육 행사에 흥미를 느끼지 못하고 있다. 효과적인 북한이해 및 통일교육을 위해 학생들의 흥미를 유발할 수 있는 다양한 교수 기법의 개발 및 적용이 절실히 요구된다. 본 연구에서는 학생들의 북한 이해 및 통일에 대한 흥미를 유발할 수 있는 북한 이해 교수․학습 방법을 제안하고자 한다. 이를 위해 첫째, 학생들의 흥미를 유발하고 적극적인 참여를 유도할 수 있는 소재로서 대중문화가 청소년들에게 미치는 (...) 영향을 살펴보고자 한다. 둘째, 북한 사회에서 영화가 차지하는 비중과 영향력에 비추어 북한 사회의 실상을 간접적으로 엿볼 수 있는 소재인 북한 영화의 특징을 살펴보고자 한다. 셋째, 학교 현장에서 직접 적용해 본 북한 영화를 활용한 북한 사회 이해 교수․학습 지도안을 제시하고자 한다. (shrink)

이 논문은 대북 개발지원을 위한 국내 민간단체의 역할과 과제를 찾아보는데 목적이 있다. 대북 개발지원은 북한에 인도주의적 도움을 주기 위한 목적을 넘어 북한의 경제적․사회적 개발과 역량 강화를 통해 북한의 질적 변화를 도모하는 것이다. 민간단체의 대북지원은 그동안 남북관계의 상황 변화에도 불구하고 남북한 교류 방식의 하나로 분명히 역할해 왔다. 민간단체들은 대북 개발지원 사업을 추진하는데 있어 강한 동기 의식과 역량을 갖추고 있으며, 실제 사업내용도 개발지원의 방식으로 상당히 전환하고 있다. 향후 대북 개발지원의 발전을 위해 민간단체들은 다음의 과제를 안고 있다. 첫째, 민간단체들은 개발지원에 대한 국민적 공감대를 (...) 형성하고 확산하기 위해 노력해야 한다. 둘째, 민간단체들은 국가 차원의 대북 개발지원을 위한 통합전략과 종합계획을 정부에 요구해야 한다. 셋째, 민간단체들은 국제사회의 개발지원에 관한 쟁점의 변화에 주목하면서 개발효과성을 제고할 수 있는 사업의 방법과 모델을 다방면에서 발굴해야 한다. 넷째, 민간단체들은 인도적 지원성의 개발지원 혹은 개발지원성의 인도적 지원을 적극적으로 모색해야 한다. 다섯째, 민간단체들은 우리만의 차별화한 개발지원의 콘텐츠를 발굴하기 위해 노력해야 한다. 여섯째, 민간단체들은 다양한 민간단체를 개발지원체계에 연합하도록 하면서 협력을 위한 포괄적 파트너십(Comprehensive and Inclusive Partnership)을 활성화시켜야 한다. 민간단체의 대북 개발지원이 활성화될수록 북한의 빈곤을 감축하고 경제적․사회적 진보를 이루어 북한 사회의 질적 변화를 이루는데 훨씬 수월할 것이다. 그것은 남북관계를 발전시키고 통일에 기여하는 길이 된다. (shrink)

본 논문은 북한 및 남북한 통일에 대한 연구 경향을 살펴보고, 그것을 바탕으로 학회명칭을 개정한 한국윤리학회의 논문집을 분석하면서 윤리교육에서 통일교육의 연구 방향을 모색하였다. 북한 및 남북한 통일에 대한 연구의 변화 과정을 기원과 전개, 인식론의 쟁점, 연구의 대상 및 자료 등을 중심으로 살펴보았다. 북한 연구는 학문적 논의가 확대심화되어 북한학, 통일학으로 정립이 구체화되고 있다. 북한을 인식하는 관점도 균형과 조화를 추구하는 내재비판적 접근을 추구하고 있다. 북한 및 남북한 통일에 대한 연구 대상이나 자료는 그 접근성과 개방성이 한층 높아졌으며, 북한 문학 작품이나 새터민(탈북자) 등이 연구 대상으로 (...) 추가되는 등 다차원화되고 있다. 윤리교육에서 통일교육의 변화 양상을 살펴보기 위해『국민윤리연구』창간호부터 제61집까지 논문집의 1035개 논문 제목을 내용분석 방법으로 분석하였다. 통일교육과 관련된 연구는 초기에는 공산주의(공산권) 이론을 중심으로 이루어졌으나 후반에는 북한 및 남북한 관계에 대한 내용이 주류를 이루고 있다. 최근에는 사회과학적인 북한 연구보다 통일교육적 차원의 연구가 대부분을 이루고 있다. 윤리교육의 관점에서 통일교육이 추구해야 할 방향으로 우선 메타분석적 접근을 제안하였다. 윤리교육에서 통일교육은 사회과학적 논리를 바탕으로 인문과학적 결론을 유도하는 방향에서 연구되어야 한다. 통일교육을 위한 북한 및 통일연구는 다차원적 연구방법을 활용해야 한다. 윤리교육에서의 통일교육은 윤리적 탐구 방법을 활용해야 한다. (shrink)

본 연구는 한명환 (2010)의『조선철학전사』(2)에 나타나는 “원효의 철학 및 사회정치사상” 가운데 ‘화쟁 사상’과 ‘(화쟁) 변증법’을 소개하고, 이를 비판적으로 검토하는 것이다.BR 글의 순서는 다음과 같다. 처음에 “들어가는 말”이 있다. 두 번째로 북의 철학사상 연구 배경으로 ‘병영체제’의 ‘수령주의’와 ‘사회주의’ 체제를 살펴봤다. 세 번째로 “한명환의『조선철학전사』(2)와 ‘원효의 철학 및 사회정치사상’”을 살펴봤다. 이 내용은 북의 기존 연구들이 누적된 결과물이기에, 누적된 연구물들과 이 책 내용을 함께 소개했다. 네 번째로는 “원효 화쟁사상의 본질: 주체적이며 변증법적 사상이지만 지배계급 요구 반영”을, 다섯 번째로 “원효 화쟁의 논리: 발전된 변증법적 사유지만 상대주의적 궤변”을, (...) 여섯 번째로 “해동종철학의 변증법: 화쟁 변증법 특징의 긍정성과 부정성”을, 일곱 번째로 “원효 화쟁 사상에 대한 이해와 평가의 한계”로 글을 맺었다.BR 한명환의 원효 화쟁사상 연구 관점은 두 가지로 요약된다. 첫째, 원효가 해동종철학을 창시했다는 애국주의적 관점이다. 둘째, 원효가 피지배 계급 관점에서 봉건 착취 계급의 진보적 계층을 대변한다는 유물론적 역사관이다. 이는 서구에서 수입된 역사관으로 본 것이다. 둘째 관점의 유물론적 역사관으로 본 원효의 화쟁사상에 대한 평가는 첫째 관점의 민족철학을 구성하는 애국주의적 관점과 내적 모순을 가진다. 한명환은 원효의 ‘해동종철학’의 ‘화쟁사상’과 ‘해동종철학의 (화쟁) 변증법’에 대해 ‘김일성주의’와 ‘사회주의(변증법적 유물론)’ 관점의 연구와 평가를 이어가고 있다. 1994년 북의 헌법에서 ‘마르크스 · 레닌주의’ 지도 이념 명기를 삭제했다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 2010년의『조선철학전사』에서 ‘화쟁사상’과 ‘해동종철학의 (화쟁) 변증법’을 이해하고 평가하는데 있어, 김정일 교시를 적시하고 있다. 뿐만 아니라, ‘주체사상’과 ‘변증법적 유물론’ 관점을 대체할 새로운 대안의 관점을 구성하고 있지 못하고 있다. 앞으로 남과 세계 학계에서 연구되는 유물론과 원효의 화쟁사상 연구를 반영해야 할 것이다. (shrink)

North Korea references gender equality in its socialist constitution, but the de facto social and legal circumstances that women face in the country are far below the de jure status they are purported to enjoy. North Korean women endure extremely low public health standards and pervasive harassment. Yet their growing market power and social influence are underestimated. Women account for the majority of North Korean border crossers, and their informal economic activities are supporting families while modernizing (...) the economy. This essay examines the dangers of exploitation that North Korean women face and highlights the ethical and legal imperatives of supporting their roles in marketizing the economy and liberalizing the society in one of the worst human rights–violating states. Women are North Korea's most deserving recipients of international assistance and the country's most promising partners to the world. (shrink)

South Korean cultivators share features with counterparts in both the global south and north. This combination of traits has produced a diversity of sources that underpin a food sovereignty movement. A case study of t’ojong, or native, seed activism illustrates how local systems of meaning and particular constellations of interests make food sovereignty appealing to a broad coalition of farmers, consumers, part-time cultivators, agricultural scientists, and activists for farmers and for women. The country’s experience demonstrates that responses to market (...) encroachment on food production provide only part of the force driving food sovereignty movements. (shrink)

Ideological and political tensions have impeded paying attention to human rights violations against North Koreans. By describing the substantial connection between human rights and nuclear weapons issues in North Korea, this book urges a wide audience, including human rights activists, scholars, and educators, to show leadership in helping North Korean defectors seek freedom.

This article explores the gendered construction of South Korean citizenship through the lens of North Korean settlers' experiences in South Korea. Drawing on ethnographic research, the author delves into the citizen-making process, critically examining the impact of gendered modernizing projects on North Korean settlers' daily lives. North Korean settlers are expected to get rid of their ethnic markers and transform themselves into modern citizen-subjects of South Korea. The author demonstrates that the overall frame of perception (...) of North Korean settlers is deeply gendered, with modernity as a powerful ethnic marker. The notion of ethnicized citizenship in the context of two Koreas offers a concrete account of how ethnicities are created and employed in stratified structure of citizenship. (shrink)

This paper investigates height and weight differences between the two Koreas by comparing national anthropometric data published by t.

Aesthetics is not a subject usually associated with North Korea in Western scholarship, the usual tropes being autocracy, counterfeiting, drugs, human-rights abuse, famine, nuclear weapons, party-military dictatorship, Stalinism, and totalitarianism. Where the arts are concerned, they are typically seen as crude political propaganda. One British museum specialist writes that North Korean visual art is an "art under control," and one Russian historian insists that North Korean literature is devoid of the "beauty of language."1 As the short (...) turns of phrase and value judgments indicate, there has been no real attempt in English to engage the North Korean aesthetic on descriptive terms.North Korea is not a liberal .. (shrink)

A new traditional economy combines elements of traditional culture, such as Confucianism, with a modern, technologically advanced economy, while a new institutional economy minimizes transactions costs through its institutional structure. South Korea has enhanced its competitive edge by drawing on Confucian elements such as respect for education and the search for family-like harmony in chaebol corporations that can reduce transactions costs (despite problems) in an open system. Despite also emphasizing respect for education, North Korea has drawn on (...) anti-mercantile elements of the Confucian tradition such as the excessive authoritarianism of its command socialism and the hermit-like closure induced by its juche policy of self-reliance. (shrink)

The Republic of Korea (Korea hereinafter) has been widely regarded as one of the most vigorous and analytically interesting third-wave democracies (Diamond and Shin, 2000: 1). During the first decade of democratic rule, Korea has successfully carried out a large number of electoral and other reforms to transform the institutions and procedures of military-authoritarian rule into those of a representative democracy. Unlike many of its counterparts in Latin America and elsewhere, Korea has fully restored civilian rule (...) by extricating the military from power. As is the case in established democracies of North America and Western Europe, free and competitive elections have been regularly held at all the different levels of the government. In the most recent presidential election, held in December 1997, Korea also established itself as a mature electoral democracy by elevating an opposition party to political power. In Korea today, there is general agreement that electoral politics has become the only possible political game in town. (shrink)

SummaryAnthropometric differences between the two Koreas are of considerable public and scientific interest given the unique socio-political status of North Korea and the fact that the nations share the same genetic ancestry. This study provides new biosocial evidence on these differences by analysing mid-upper arm circumference as a human welfare indicator. This is the first study to compare the nutritional status of adults surveyed inside North Korea with South Koreans. The MUAC measurements of 2793 North (...) Korean women obtained through a household survey conducted in 2002 were compared with those of 1428 South Korean women surveyed around 2003. Comparative analysis was conducted by plotting centiles and calculating mean differences in MUAC by age. This paper finds that the MUAC of the South Koreans was on average 2.8 cm greater than that of their North Korean peers, with MUAC gaps ranging from 1.6 cm to 3.9 cm and becoming more pronounced with age. This research confirms previous studies on height and weight in the two Germanies and in the two Koreas that have shown that biosocial performance is worse in socialist economies as compared with free-market regimes. (shrink)

본 논문은 다산 정약용에 대한 북한 학술의 연구 동향과 담론 가능성을 살펴본 것이다. 다산 정약용의 철학과 사상은 남한과 북한의 학술에서 중요한 역할을 하고 있다. 일제강점기 조선학운동의 전개에 따라 발굴된 정약용이란 인물과 그의 저술은 이른바 실학과 근대를 설명하는 데에 적합하였고, 특히 분단 이후 그의 철학, 사회정치사상, 실학파문학은 북한 학술의 핵심이었다고 해도 과언이 아니다. 여기에서 중요한 인물은 면우 곽종석의 제자였던 창해 최익한이다. 정약용이란 인물과 그의 저술에 대한 최익한의 이해가 남한은 물론, 북한에도 상당한 영향력을 행사하고 있기 때문이다. 본 논문에서는 정약용에 대한 북한 학술의 (...) 연구동향을 첫째 마르크스주의와 주체사상, 정약용의 철학과 사회정치사상, 정약용의 문학과 실학파문학으로 구분하여 살펴보았다. 북한 학술은 마르크스주의에 대한 주체적 재해석을 통해 진행되었고, 주석제 신설에 따라 김일성 교시라고 할 수 있는 주체철학에 따른 저술들이 간행되었다. 그 저술 내용 가운데 핵심적인 것이 바로 정약용의 철학과 사회정치사상이다. 그의 실학파문학 또한 정약용의 철학과 사회정치사상 범주에서 인식되었다. 사회의 개혁과 인민의 현실을 사실주의적으로 접근하고 있기 때문이다. 남북 학술의 담론 가능성도 이러한 이해를 전제로 논의될 수 있으며, 이른바 통일 시대를 희망하는 남북 학계는 공동연구를 통해 이른바 ‘한반도학술사’를 정리해낼 수 있을 것이다. (shrink)

Despite the breadth of material covered, Philip J. Ivanhoe's Three Streams: Confucian Reflections on Learning and the Moral Heart-Mind in China, Korea, and Japan traces a central narrative: the reception of and eventual reaction against Song-dynasty Confucianism throughout East Asia. The reception of these discourses speaks to the far-reaching influence of Song-dynasty Confucian philosophy, especially the so-called Cheng-Zhu school associated with the work of Zhu Xi. The reaction against them speaks to a turn against Song-era metaphysical speculation and towards (...) fidelity to the much earlier and supposedly authentic Confucianism of Mengzi. As Ivanhoe remarks, if we grant Alfred North... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Masao Abe: D. T. Suzuki’s Legacies and an “Academic Dharma Lineage” in North AmericaMichiko YusaProfessor Abe is generally regarded as the torch bearer of D. T. Suzuki. But how did that come about? This essay sheds light on the relationship between Suzuki and Abe.Abe’s professor, Hisamatsu Shin’ichi, had come to know Suzuki through his mentor Nishida Kitarō. Suzuki was one of Nishida’s closest friends. It appears that Hisamatsu’s (...) and Suzuki’s cordial relationship became closer after Nishida’s death in 1945. Hisamatsu in turn was the link for Abe to come to know Suzuki. Abe recalls his first encounter with Suzuki, which took place in the winter of 1947, when Suzuki was in bed with a bad cold and Abe was sent by Hisamatsu to make a sick call on his behalf. Abe was then Hisamatsu’s teaching assistant ( joshu). Seeing Suzuki in person for the first time, Abe could not help but feel the unique spiritual presence of this man. At that time, Abe, though a committed follower of Pure Land Buddhism, was deeply troubled with his spiritual quest. Perhaps sensing Abe’s agony, Suzuki gave him a copy of his imperial lecture The Essence of Buddhism, in which he had treated Zen and Pure Land thought as sharing the same Mahayana roots.1Abe’s second visit to Suzuki came in the spring of 1949, when Suzuki was preparing to leave for the United States to spend “the rest of his life in order to bring the message of Zen Buddhism” to the West. At that time Abe was to convey Hisamatsu’s concern that Suzuki ought to remain in Japan and contribute to internationalizing Zen by translating Zen texts into English, for, in Hisamatsu’s mind, there was no one better qualified than Suzuki to carry out that task.2Suzuki was ready to make a bold move, however. Having witnessed Hiroshima-Nagasaki, he was convinced that the message of wisdom and compassion based on the awakening to the “true self” that Zen speaks of was an effective and necessary antidote to the egocentric mindset, which manifested also as national ego-centrism, rampant in the post–World War II world. He was convinced that the message of awakening and compassion would give the humanity a better chance at peace. In fact, by the early 1950s, with the intensification of the Cold War and the turmoil in Korea, there was a palpable fear that World War III might break out any day, and Suzuki certainly shared that ominous sense.3 [End Page 111]Zen Must Adopt New ExpressionsSuzuki left for the United States on June 16, 1949, to attend the Second East-West Philosopher’s Conference and to teach at the University of Hawai‘i in the summer and the fall semesters. Through his interaction with Western and Asian thinkers at the conference as well as with his students at the university, he came to feel strongly that (1) it was important to emphasize compassion (hi) in the face of an excessive Zen emphasis on the koan practice, (2) Zen Buddhists must develop their “logical” expression to articulate Zen teaching in language understandable to Westerners, and, in this connection, (3) it was incumbent on him to introduce the thought of Nishida Kitarō to the West. In Suzuki’s own words, “Contemporary Zen is short of compassion (hi). Therefore, it lacks the momentum to engage society and work from within it. Again, it lacks a logical discourse (riron). This is something Nishida always used to say. In order to make Western thinkers understand Zen teaching, one must have a logical system (ronri).” 4These three points are clearly present and developed in Abe’s works. In his introduction to Zen and Western Thought (1985), Abe wrote that (1) Zen embraces a profound philosophy (echoing Suzuki’s concern for the necessity for logical articulation), (2) the ultimate in Zen and in Buddhism is “absolute Nothingness” or “Emptiness” (echoing Nishida’s philosophy), (3) Buddhism is a radical realism and a compassionate way of life (echoing Suzuki’s concern for compassion), and (4) a new cosmology, not a new humanism, is needed in... (shrink)

North Korea is under strict UN economic sanctions because it violated UN policy in its development of nuclear weapons and long range missiles as well as for its militant rhetoric. South Korea and Japan, as close allies of the USA, are unsure of the future. Is there a way to bring some peace and stability to the Korean peninsula? Some argue that this is a hopeless task as long as the current leadership of North Korea (...) is in power. This article takes a more positive stance and outlines a possible way forward. The study, following the position of the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, assumes that the conflict is at root one over ideology and power. The leadership of North Korea understands itself as “a revolutionary and socialist state” and is determined to continue to control the country through a rigorous and sometimes brutal government oversight of the culture. Although poverty and hunger are widespread, the people have little opportunity to be heard. What if the leaders of North Korea were persuaded that they could gain legitimacy through developing a dynamic economy that brought flourishing to their people and respect by fellow-nations in the global village? The article proposes to start this new adventure by developing enterprise zones in the North that would bring jobs and food to hundreds of thousands of North Koreans. To begin this project, there would need to be dramatic steps toward denuclearization on the part of the North in order to relax the UN economic sanctions. Is it possible? The article outlines a way forward. (shrink)

The burgeoning literature on transborder membership, largely focused on the thickening relationship between emigration states in the South and the postwar labor migrant populations and their descendants in North America or Western Europe, has not paid due attention to the long-term macroregional transformations that shape transborder national membership politics or to the bureaucratic practices of the state that undergird transborder claims-making. By comparing contentious transborder national membership politics in South Korea during the Cold War and Post-Cold War eras, (...) this article seeks to overcome these limitations. In both periods, the membership status of colonial-era ethnic Korean migrants in Japan and northeast China and their descendants was the focus of contestation. The distinctiveness of the case—involving both a sustained period of colonial rule and a period of belated and divided nation-state building interwoven with the Cold War—highlights the crucial importance of three factors: (1) the dynamically evolving macro-regional context, which has shaped transborder national membership politics in the region in distinctive ways; (2) the essentially political, performative, and constitutive nature of transborder nation-building; and (3) the role of state registration and documentation practices in shaping the contours of transborder national membership politics in the long run. By incorporating Korea—and East Asia more broadly—into the comparative study of transborder nation-building, this article also lays the groundwork for future cross-regional comparative historical studies. (shrink)

This study examines the dynamics of cultural politics in reality television shows featuring North Korean resettlers in South Korea. As existing studies focus on the role of media representation reproducing a dominant ideology for the resettlers, this paper focuses on the specific media rituals of NKR2 programs, which can be seen as a product of the neoliberalist localization process of the global media industry. In doing so, this paper demonstrates how NKR2 programs interrupt the current dynamics of emotions (...) in regard to North Korean resettlers in South Korea. We argue that in shaping civic identity as an effect of the NKR2 show, cultural politics of citizenship in South Korea on North Korean resettlers serve the formation of relatively conservative and sexist civic identity. (shrink)

From North Korea's recent attacks on Sony to perpetual news reports of successful hackings and criminal theft, cyber conflict has emerged as a major topic of public concern. Yet even as attacks on military, civilian, and commercial targets have escalated, there is not yet a clear set of ethical guidelines that apply to cyber warfare. Indeed, like terrorism, cyber warfare is commonly believed to be a war without rules. Given the prevalence cyber warfare, developing a practical moral code (...) for this new form of conflict is more important than ever. In Ethics and Cyber Warfare, internationally-respected ethicist George Lucas delves into the confounding realm of cyber conflict. Comparing "state-sponsored hacktivism" to the transformative impact of "irregular warfare" in conventional armed conflict, Lucas offers a critique of legal approaches to governance, and outlines a new approach to ethics and "just war" reasoning. Lucas draws upon the political philosophies of Alasdair MacIntyre, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas to provide a framework for understanding these newly-emerging standards for cyber conflict, and ultimately presents a professional code of ethics for a new generation of "cyber warriors." Lucas concludes with a discussion of whether preemptive self-defense efforts - such as the massive government surveillance programs revealed by Edward Snowden - can ever be justified, addressing controversial topics such as privacy, anonymity, and public trust. Well-reasoned and timely, Ethics and Cyber Warfare is a must-read for anyone with an interest in philosophy, ethics, or cybercrime. (shrink)

This dialogue addresses the global risk that broke out of the North Korean development of nuclear weapons and missiles. It starts from the brutal consequences of the national division for Korea and asks why North Korea has been so preoccupied with nuclear projects as has been found to be the case since the 1990s, and how much and why Kim Jung-un today differs from his father in terms of his future, and where the fundamental limit lies (...) in Moon Jae-In’s as well as Trump’s approaches to Korean denuclearization and peace. The highlight of this dialogue is to explain the intrinsic difficulties for Donald Trump and Kim Jung-un in finding a reasonable solution to their respective demands for denuclearization and regime security, and explore the likely future of the Korean Peninsula from the vantage point of Kim Dae-jung’s Sunshine Policy and metamorphosis. (shrink)

Testimony is a source of knowledge. On many occasions, the explanation of one’s knowing that p is that a speaker, S, told one that p. Our testimonial sources—the referents of ‘S’—can be other individuals, and they can be collectives; that is, in addition to learning from individuals, we learn things from committees, commissions, councils, clubs, teams, research groups, departments, administrations, churches, states and other social groups. North Korea might make a declaration about its missile programme, the church about (...) the ordination of women priests, the council about its deficit, the research group about its findings, and so on. We will look at a few examples in detail shortly, but the starting point is that social groups can be a source of testimony, and we can learn things from such collective testimony. The question this paper pursues is, what explains our learning that p from collective testimony to p? (shrink)