• Title/Summary/Keyword: East Asian Politics

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The Road to Modernity? Politics of Building Bridges and Regional Development in the Case of the Musi Bridge (근대로 향하는 길? 무시 대교(Jembatan Musi)를 통해서 본 도로건설과 지역개발의 상관관계)

  • Yeo, Woonkyung
    • The Southeast Asian review
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.191-221
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    • 2014
  • South Sumatra's capital, Palembang, has long maintained a river-oriented transportation system. With road transportation's increased importance for exploiting natural resources, however, hundreds of roads have been constructed since the Dutch colonial period. This article examines how the construction of roads and bridges affected people's lives and social networks in Palembang, and what social and political significance it has in the context of a region in the postcolonial Indonesia, with a focus on the huge river called the Musi River, which horizontally crosses the city. After independence, there has been strong aspiration to link these two parts by road, and in 1965 the Musi Bridge (then the Sukarno Bridge) over the river was eventually opened. The construction of the bridge apparently initiated socioeconomic transformations and development in the region, including Ulu (the southern river bank)'s rapid urbanization. However, the features of regional development actually were prerequisites for "national" development. The regional development was impossible without financial support from the central government, and the local or regional aspiration for development was often supported only when it fitted with national envision. The Musi Bridge was a model case that fitted with such national envision. While it was the symbol of regional development, it was also celebrated as an exemplary sign of "national" development, by both Sukarno's government and Suharto's New Order regime. By analyzing the discussions and discourses regarding the Musi project since early 1950s, in addition to its social and economic impact after the construction, this article explores the continuities and changes in the roles and significance of the (construction of the) Musi Bridge with the changing political backstops in both regimes. Together with it, this article also aims to reexamine the interplay between "the national" and "the regional" in the prevalent aspiration for the national and regional "development" throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Transnational Labor Migration in Southeast Asia and Regional Governance: In Search of Good Governance (동남아시아의 이주노동과 지역 거버넌스)

  • Choi, Horim
    • The Southeast Asian review
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    • v.20 no.2
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    • pp.135-178
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    • 2010
  • This study is to seek alternatives for regional governance related to transnational labor migration issues in Southeast Asia. This study examined the present situation and trends of labor migration in the region, reviewed involved transnational issues, and identified the current issues of governance to seek alternatives for regional governance. The increase in cross-border labor migration is no doubt a sign of growth and dynamism of the region and greater integration of their economies. But it also poses complex policy and management issues as well as transnational issues over such as unequal economic profits, illegal migration, human rights, and social security issues. In this reality, regional governance is a very important theme and the efforts to manage their migration inherently involve fundamental conflict and tension between related countries and regions. However, politics and governance of transnational migrant workers in Southeast Asia are still pursued at the national level. To resolve these issues, it is urgently required to secure not only collaboration between the parties concerned but also governance at the regional level. Findings of this study are: First, although labor migration has been a relatively long-time transnational issue, the history of addressing the issue at the regional governance is very short and still inceptive. Second, given its size, labor migration in Southeast Asia requires effective regional governance but no breakthrough was possible due to the conflict of interests between origin and destination countries and the conflict of logic between the labor market and the state. Third, the issue of labor migration is an important element for the formation of economic and socio-cultural communities the ASEAN countries have pursued. Fourth, it is urgently needed to seek alternatives for good and effective regional governance as a key to resolving these issues over migrant workers in Southeast Asia.

Embedded Korean in American Oriental Imagination: Kim Sisters' "Their First Album"

  • Lee, Yu Jung
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.24
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    • pp.46-61
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    • 2011
  • This paper considers how Koreans found their positions in the complex, overlapping, disjunctive, and interconnected "Oriental" repertoires in the early Cold War years. When we use the term, Oriental, it should require careful translation from context to context because it may be subject to very different sets of contextual circumstances. Klein views Cold War Orientalism in the complex of various regions including East Asian and Southeast Asian countries; however, when Koreans are contextualized at the center of the discussion the Orientalism produces another discursive meaning. Even though many great researches have been done on Korean immigrations, Korean American literatures, and US-Korea economic, political, and foreign relations, not many discussions about Korean American popular cultures have been discussed in the basis of the Oriental discourse in the United States.For this argument, this paper investigates the performative trajectory of a girl group "Kim Sisters" who began to sing at the US military show stages in South Korea in 1952 during the Korean War. They moved to Las Vegas show stages in 1959 and later appeared in Ed Sullivan Show more than thirty times during the 1960s and 70s. Meanwhile, they not only returned to South Korea often times to perform at the stages for Korean audiences in South Korea but also played at the shows for Korean immigrants in the United States. Korean American immigration to the United States has followed a different route from the majority of Asian American population such as Chinese or Japanese Americans, which means that efforts to compare this particular group to the others may be unnecessary. Rather doing comparative studies, this paper, therefore, focuses on the formation of the intersecting and multiple identities of Korean female entertainers who were forced or forced themselves to be incorporated into the American popular "Oriental" imagination, which I would call "embedded" identities. This embeddedness has been continuously maintained in the configuration of Korean characters in the United States. This will help not only to observe the discursive aspect of Asian American identity politics but also to claim a space for comparatively invisible Korean characters in the United States which has been often times neglected and not brought into a major Asian American or Oriental historical discourse. This paper starts with American scenes at the beginning of the twentieth century to trace Americans Oriental imagination which was observable in the various American cultural landscape and popular music soundscape. It will help us more clearly understand the production and consumption of the Korean "Oriental" performances during the early Cold War period and especially the Korean performance in the American venue, silently overshadowed into the political, social, and cultural framework.

A Study on the Two Big Theories of Music Culture in China's Ancient Times (중국전통시기 양대(兩大) 음악문화 고찰)

  • Lee, Tae Hyoung
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.43
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    • pp.355-376
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    • 2016
  • This study looks into the relationship between Chinese philosophy, with a focus on Confucianism and Taoism, and music. Kong zi's Confucius supported, 'Enjoyment without being licentious and grief without being hurtfully excessive', and 'hatred of the music of Zheng'. These ideas do not emphasize the function of music as an expression of emotions, feelings, or desires, and are instead conclusions based on Confucian ideals such as harmony between classes and the spread of benevolent government. Music must coincide with Justice. The hatred of the music of Zheng was a conclusion founded on the idea of a place for Justice in music. Zhuangzi is the source of the spirit of Chinese art; specifically, Zhuangzi's idea of music in relation to its influence on East Asian history of art is extremely influential. In fact, the concept of yuelun is considered the most original and important concept in the history of the East Asian philosophy of art. The most distinctive features of Zhuangzi's theory of music can be summarized as follows. He attempts to liberate music from the restrictions of form and to let music express authentic human feelings and emotions. He also argues that music should not be subjected to politics, as he thinks that the creative mind of an artist can exist only when music is freed from political influence. Confucianism takes a humanistic perspective, while Taoism takes a more naturalistic one. In sum, Confucianism gives weight to the logical and ethical aspects of music, while Taoism emphasizes the intuitional and naturalistic ones.

US-China Hegemony Competition and Gray-Zone Conflict in the Post-Coronavirus Era: Response strategies of the Korean Navy and Coast Guard (포스트 코로나시대 미중 패권경쟁과 회색지대갈등: 한국 해군·해경의 대응전략)

  • Lee, Shin-wha;Pyo, Kwang-min
    • Maritime Security
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.149-173
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    • 2020
  • While the United States and other Western states are in trouble with COVID-19 crisis, China is continuing its aggressive ocean expansion with its Gray-zone strategy. The Gray-zone strategy, which China uses around the South China Sea, refers to a strategy that promotes a change in international politics by creating an unclear state, neither war or peace. China, which is trying to expand its influence across East Asia, will also try to project a Gray zone strategy on the Korean Peninsula. The possible scenarios are as follows: 1) South Korea is accidentally involved in a dispute in the South China Sea, 2) Military conflicts between South Korea and China is caused by illegal fishing of Chinese boats in Yellow Sea, 3) China tries to interfere with Socotra Rock, 4) Unlikely, but possible in the future that China induce the military conflicts between Korea and Japan on the Dokdo issue. In order to cope with these scenarios, Korea should prepare the following measures from a long-term perspective: the creation of an Asian maritime safety fleet, the integ rated operation of the navy and the coast guard in the framework of the national fleet, and strengthening the conflict control system for China's provocations.

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Indonesia's State Ideology and Its Interpretations across Orders: Based on the Analysis of Citizenship Education (인도네시아의 국가철학과 이에 대한 시대적 해석: 국민윤리 교육을 중심으로)

  • Song, Seung-Won
    • Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.187-214
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    • 2010
  • This article is aimed at understanding the goals of the citizenship educations and changes of political cultures in the Sukarno, Suharto, and the post-Suharto periods in Indonesia. Sukarno's and Suharto's regimes adopted Pancasila, Indonesia's state ideology, as the philosophical basis of education. The citizenship education based on Pancasila was nothing but a political education, which aimed at suppressing the masses and justifying authoritarian rules of the regimes. After the collapse of the Suharto regime, a democratic citizenship education has launched, which emphasized the expanded civic rights and obligations as world citizens and the masses' active participation in politics. However, in this new curriculum, Pancasila is still emphasized as the supporting philosophical pillar of education. The reason is because, through the values of communitarianism represented in the discourse of Pancasila, the state needs to control the possible irresponsible and undemocratic behaviors of local powers and global economy when liberalism is not effectively controlled.

Northeast Asia in Russia's Pivot to the East (СЕВЕРО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ В ПОВОРОТЕ РОССИИ НА ВОСТОК)

  • Kanaev, Evgeny
    • Analyses & Alternatives
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.44-64
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    • 2017
  • Russia's push in the Asia-Pacific region stems from its interests that have the national, regional and global dimensions. In their turn, the aims of this policy are civilizational, geopolitical, economic and prospective, with a long-term outlook. In the course of their achievement, cooperation with Northeast Asia's countries will play one of the key roles owing to the factors of geographic proximity, Northeast Asia's economic potential, risk hedging and a growing influence Northeast Asia exerts upon the global development. A new cooperation paradigm between Russia and the states of Northeast Asia should be based upon establishing and cementing self-reproducing ties. This is the central aim of Russian initiatives in relations, with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Mongolia and China. However, numerous obstacles ranging from Russia's absence in the regional free trade agreements and supply-production chains of value-added production to the permanent international instability generated by Pyongyang's missile-nuclear developments hamper the practical implementation of this task. Realizing the necessity to give an additional impetus to this new cooperative paradigm, Russia has to develop directions with an apparent consolidating effect. The most promising may be the establishment of a permanent security forum based upon Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism chaired by the Russian Federation. The urgency of this measure and its expected support stem from the necessity to strengthen security in Northeast Asia, a task neither the US-led hub-and-spoke system nor ASE-AN-led multilateral dialogue venues have been able to resolve. The issues addressed at the security forum must include the unification of approaches to North Korean nuclear issue and producing a document specifying actions of the claimants on the disputed maritime territories in the "direct contact" situations. At the expert level, Russia has elaborated on the idea to establish such a forum outlining the spectrum of the key directions of cooperation. With the urgency in the establishment of this dialogue venue, its agenda has to be coordinated with the agendas of the existing security systems presented by the US alliances and the ASE-AN-led multilateral negotiations. The practical implementation of this initiative will strengthen security in Northeast Asia as its challenges will be resolved in the pre-emptive way based on coordinated approaches. Therefore, Russia as the Eurasian state will be one of the role players in the advent of the Asian century.

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Political Geography of Ulsan Oil Refinery (울산공업단지의 서막, 정유공장 건설의 정치지리)

  • Gimm, Dong-Wan;Kim, Min-Ho
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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    • v.49 no.2
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    • pp.139-159
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    • 2014
  • This study problematizes the dominance of developmental state theory and its negative influences in the field of Korean studies, in particular, dealing with the industrialization during the developmental era, 1960s~70s. As is generally known, the theory has been in a position of unchallenged authority on the industrialization experience of East Asian countries, including South Korea. However, at the same time, it has also misled us into overlooking strategic relations that had articulated the state forms at multiple scales. This study aims to reconstruct the historical contexts by the theorizing prompted by recent work on state space. I shed light on the multiscalar strategic relations that had shaped the Ulsan refinery plant as a representative state space of the South Korean industrialization during two decades after liberation. Specifically, the study illustrates the features and roles of Cold War networks and multiscalar agnets such as Nam Goong-Yeon. By identifying the plant as a result of sequential articulations between Ulsan and other scales, this study concludes by suggesting to reframing the strategic relational spaces, beyond the view of methodological nationalism, in the perspective of multiscalar approach.

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The Study of Establishing the Multi-pass Eurasian Railroads (유라시아 철도의 다중경로 구축에 관한 연구)

  • Hahm, Beom-Hee;Huh, Nam-Kyun;Hurr, Hee-Young
    • Korean Business Review
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.137-170
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    • 2008
  • This study is presenting the logistics strategy in the international logistics markets which makes competition and corporation among north-east Asian countries to establishing the multi-pass Eurasian railroads. The countries located in north-east area of Eurasia like China, Japan, Russia and Korea are paying higher costs and disutility to the transportations and communications due to repeated conflicts and confrontations causes from the politic problems. They are being used surface transportation for most of all logistics between Europe and Asia except special merchandises because of characteristic of cargo to be air, the Silk Road remains vestige only which was main logistic passage to this area since BC. So far the Trans-Siberian Railway is being used by Russia mostly as north of Eurasian transport because of difficulties of service. The Trans-China Railway built in 1992 is not accomplishing as a international logistic passages. It is expected to take a long lead time because of characteristic of resource development and poor logistic infrastructure to the countries like Uzbekistan, double landlocked country, Mongolia and Azerbaijan, the countries do not be adjacent to the sea, even they have great economic jump-up plans through the development of their own resources. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) start to sail officially in 2001 is constructed with China, Russia, Tadzhikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as regular members of 6 countries and Mongolia, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran as observers 5 countries. It is started as a military alliance to protect terror, but now, it is expended to cooperate with the traffic, transportation, trade and share of energies. The Russia is doing their best to activate TSR as a government target to developnorth area equivalently, and economic develop of far-east Siberia. And also it is agreed provisionally to improve and repair of rail road between Nahjin and Hassan to connect TSR and TKR( Trans-Korea Railroad) by Russia, North Korea and South Korea with Russian's aggressive efforts. The development plan of this area is over lapped with GTI(Greater Tumen Initiative) promoted by UNDP, and is a cooperated project by 5 countries of South Korea, Mongolia, China, Russia and North Korea, subject to review the appropriation of energy, tour, environment, rail road connection between Mongolia and China and establishing a ferry route to north-east Asia. It is Japanese situation to pay attention to Russia and China even they have been supplying large-scope of infrastructure in Mongol area without any charges, target to get East Asia Main Rail Road to connect Mongolia and Zalubino of Russia. In case of the program for the Denuclearization of North Korea is not creeping, it will be accelerated to connect the TKR and TSR, TKR and TCR by somehow attending United States, including developing program promoted by UN ESCAP. As the result, Korean peninsular will continue the central role of competition and cooperation as in the past, now and future of north-east Asia, as of geographical-economics and geographical-politics whether it is requested or not wanted by neighbor countries.

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Sympathy in Unrest: Beyond Jonjae's Philosophy (불온한 공감 - 존재의 사유, 너머 -)

  • Kim, Kyoung-ho
    • The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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    • no.52
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    • pp.9-35
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    • 2017
  • This article is to study the life and philosophy of Jonjae Gidaeseung, who was at strife with his days and did not negotiate with himself, with focus on two concepts of buron(不穩, unrest) and 'sympathy'. It is the fact that to study the traditional philosopher is likely to be enlightening. In order to prevent the risk, we need to define first the concept of unrest as including anxiety to critical resistance. Also, I would like to propose the concept of sympathy in order to grasp the function of his mind which judges whether his feelings and actions are valid from an emotional horizon of unrest. Methodologically this article is to adopt a transversal and correlative thinking by combining an east Asian Confucian traditional concept unrest with a modern one space. It is because this research is to show a significant meaning when we study highlighted and hidden layers of our life and politics in 'now-here' and the 'between space' even though this transversal and correlative study shows the horizon of his life. This article is to investigate how a case is structured by occurrences and divergences and reinterpret a meaning from an emotional horizon. This process is done centering on two terms Guchatuan(pursuing ease ignobly), and Suwolbingho(moon reflected in the water and ice in a bottle), which is the source of Bingwoldang. The two terms were used by Jonjae himself. The latter shows an opposite meaning from the first and is accordingly a way by which we can look into his life and days. My research of Jonjae's life and politics from the emotional-philosophical level is original in that it reveals emotional traces beyond his philosophical ideas which previous studies did not show. In this article, I showed that Gobong was ambitious and resolute, and definite in his judgment and therefore was not good at controlling his uprightness. Also he was too straightforward to purify a language. His unrest characters made him conflict with old ministers and high ranking officials and therefore they avoided him even thought he was excellent in writing and learning and talented. He was oriented toward living by goodness and right Ways, which is summed up as Gisesa(vague movement, situational advantage, and death).