October 2019 – Center for Korean Studies| University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Inter-Korea Strategy of the Moon Jae-in Government and the Future of the Peninsula

Yonsei University professor Ki-jung Kim Achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula is of utmost importance to the administration of Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in, says Korean policy expert Ki-jung Kim.

Kim, a professor in the Yonsei University Department of Political Science and International Relations, will examine the Moon government's policies in a public seminar titled "Inter-Korea Strategy of the Moon Jae-in Government and the Future of the Peninsula" at the East-West Center on Friday, November 1, 2019.

According to Kim, there are two facets to the relationship between peace and denuclearization: “peace through denuclearization” and “denuclearization through peace.” North Korea-U.S. talks focus primarily on achieving peace through denuclearization. The South Korean government, however, believes both methods are valid and necessary. “Denuclearization through peace” ensures that North Korea does not deviate from the path to denuclearization; it can even accelerate the process.

Ki-Jung Kim is a leading scholar and policy expert on security issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula. He is known as President Moon Jae-in’s “foreign brain,” one of the main architects of the Moon administration’s North Korea Policy. He served as the chairman of the Foreign Policy and National Security Advising Committee of Moon’s 2016 Presidential Transition Team. He was the second deputy director of national security of the Moon Jae-in government. Kim holds a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor’s degree from Yonsei University.

Kim's talk takes place from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. in Room 3121 of John A. Burns Hall at the East-West Center. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Those wishing to attend should RSVP by Thursday, October 31, to (808) 944-7111 or by e-mail to EWCInfo@EastWestCenter.org.

Core University Graduate Scholarship for Spring 2020

The Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is now accepting applications for the spring 2020 Core University Graduate Scholarship. This scholarship is to apply toward tuition and student fees only. UH Mānoa graduate students with a focus on Korean studies are highly encouraged to apply.

Follow this link to download a copy of the scholarship application form. In addition to the completed form, applications must include a two-page essay addressing academic plans and major/focus and how they relate to Korean studies; copies of academic transcripts; and two letters of recommendation (see the application form for details). Only fully completed applications with all supporting documentation will be considered.

Applications and supporting documents must be sent to the address below:

Center for Korean Studies, UHM
Attn: Kortne Oshiro-Chin
1881 East-West Rd., Rm 208
Honolulu, HI 96822

Hand-delivered applications must be received by Wednesday, November 13, 2019, 4:00 p.m., HST. If mailed, applications must be postmarked by November 9, 2019. E-mail applications will not be accepted.

For further information, contact Kortne Oshiro-Chin at kortne@hawaii.edu or telephone (808) 956-2212.

This scholarship is supported by a Core University Program for Korean Studies Grant through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2015-OLU-2250005).

KIMEP University junior research fellowship

Short-Term Research Fellowship in Kazakhstan

The DPRK Strategic Research Center at KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, is seeking a current Ph.D. candidate/recent graduate for a nine-month fellowship assisting the senior research fellows with their scholarly work.

The individual selected for this position as a junior research fellow will keep a part-time working schedule. Remuneration will include a monthly stipend and a 100 percent tuition waiver for all coursework at the university.

The DPRK Strategic Research Center closely follows developments in North Korea and collaborates with policymakers and experts in the Korean conflict. The Center’s mission is to construct policy recommendations for the establishment of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through economic reform and opening.

Dr. Chan Young Bang, the principal investigator, is the president of KIMEP University. He served as the economic advisor to former President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan following the collapse of the USSR. He has also provided counsel to final USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and North Korean Economic Advisor Kim Yong-sun.

KIMEP University is an American-style, internationally accredited, English-speaking academic institution in the Commonwealth of Independent States. It provides a world-class academic experience and a unique international environment to its students and faculty. KIMEP was established in 1992 and has built a strong regional reputation as a provider of higher education. All graduate and undergraduate programs are accredited by at least one recognized international accreditation agency. Academic programs are regularly rated in the top rank of provision by national bodies.

Interested candidates should apply by November 2, 2019. Full particulars regarding the position and application procedures are available at https://hr.kimep.kz/en-US/Home/Vacancy/283.

City University of London human rights seminar

Call for Papers: Korean Human Rights Research Seminar

City University, London, with the support of the Academy of Korean Studies, is organizing a research seminar on the theme of contemporary human rights developments in the Republic of Korea. The seminar will be held at the Northampton Square campus of City University January 16, 2020, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Papers are invited that address Korean human rights issues from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including law, sociology, political science, and anthropology. Papers may address any topic related to human rights promotion and protection on the Korean peninsula. Examples include migrant and refugee rights; recent civil rights jurisprudence at the Korean Constitutional Court; Women’s rights and gender equality in contemporary Korean society; protest and freedom of speech in Korea; and reactions to North Korean human rights violations.

Proposals may be based upon ongoing work and should include an abstract of up to 250 words, along with a short curriculum vitae of the participating author. Submissions from Ph.D. students and early-career researchers are encouraged. Those interested in serving as a commentator for a paper should indicate that in their proposal. Commentators will be asked to prepare around five minutes of comments on one or more of the papers.

Submit paper proposals to Dahee Chung at Dahee.chung@city.ac.uk. The deadline for submissions is October 14, 2019. Decisions will be communicated by e-mail by October 21, 2019. All presenters will receive an honorarium (amount to be determined but probably around £200).

Questions may be directed to Dahee Chung (Dahee.chung@city.ac.uk) or Andrew Wolman (Andrew.wolman.2@city.ac.uk).

K-Arts in Hawai‘i

Faculty and student musicians from the prestigious Korea National University of the Arts will present two concerts of new and traditional music for Korean instruments as part of a week-long residency with the composition program of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Music Department.

The group is highlighted by two of Korea’s best-known composers, Gui Sook Lee and June-Hee Lim. It includes several revered performers, including gayageum player Hae Sook Kim, who is also the general director of the National Gugak Center.

The musicians will be working closely with University of Hawai‘i faculty and students, performing works by faculty composers Takuma Itoh and Donald Womack. The programs will also include the premieres of three new works by UH composition graduate students.

The first of the two concerts will take place Thursday, October 10, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. It will feature the premieres of several new works by K-Arts and UH faculty, along with traditional works for gayageum, haegeum, piri, janggu, and more.

The second concert will be on Saturday, October 12, at 7:30 p.m. The culminating concert of the residency, it will include the premieres of new works by K-Arts and UH graduate students.

The concerts will be presented in Orvis Auditorium at 2411 Dole Street on the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa campus. Tickets are $10 and $14. For further information, telephone (808) 95-MUSIC.

To purchase tickets on line, follow this link.

The two events offer opportunities to hear how the traditions of Korean music are thriving and growing in the twenty-first century.

Duk Hee Lee Murabayashi at October 5, 2019, ceremony

Murabayashi Awarded Order of Civil Merit Moran Medal

Duk Hee Lee Murabayashi in October 2019 Duk Hee Lee Murabayashi, a community associate member of the University of Hawai'i Center for Korean Studies, received the Order of Civil Merit Moran Medal (국민훈장 모란장) from Republic of Korea president Moon Jae-in in a Korean Day ceremony in Seoul on October 5, 2019.

Murabayashi, who is president of the Korean Immigration Research Institute in Hawai'i, was an urban planner working in private consulting and research and for state and city governments in Hawai‘i for more than thirty years. She earned master’s degrees in sociology from UC Berkeley and in urban and regional planning from the University of Southern California.

Duk Hee Lee Murabayashi certificate Since retiring, she has devoted full time to researching Korean immigration history. Her publications, in Korean, include One Hundred Years of Korean Immigration in Hawai‘i (2003), History of Korean Christian Church, Korean Christian Institute and Dongji Hoi (2008), Korean Experience Chronology in the United States (2010), A Centennial History of the Korean National Association (2013), and Syngman Rhee’s Thirty Years in Hawai‘i (2015).

Murabayashi has published numerous papers in both English and Korean on Korean immigrant history in Hawai‘i. She is in frequent demand by Korean and local television documentary makers and as a research consultant. She has been instrumental in building the Center's collection of primary sources on the history of Koreans in the Islands.

A video clip of the presentation ceremony is available at https://www.facebook.com/ckshawaii/videos/703523263445811/.

Month: October 2019