Forum diplomacy blossoms on Jeju

By Suh Chung-ha

A new administration in Korea started its journey on May 10, 2017. The greatest challenge facing the new administration is how to address the pressing diplomatic and security challenges that threaten our existence and prosperity.

The new administration is in dire need of ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula amid rising tensions over North Korea’s persistent provocations and belligerence. Other critical challenges await prompt responses from the new administration, including the improvement of the worsening South Korea-China relationship over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, stable management of the strained South Korea-Japan relationship concerning history issues, and close collaboration and coordination with the United States to solve the North Korean problem.

Furthermore, as Korea is in a leading position in the world, the new administration should be ready to cope with trans-boundary global issues such as the continuous weakening of the liberal international order, the spread of terrorism, and global climate change. It would therefore be most timely and effective to provide a platform for domestic and foreign experts working in these fields to explore solutions to the complex and multi-layered issues of our time. It is in this vein that the 12th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity scheduled to be held between May 31 to June 2 deserves the public’s attention.

Marking its 12th anniversary this year, the Jeju Forum boasts unparalleled value as a comprehensive international platform that encompasses a wide range of topics on the agenda, including diplomacy and security. The Jeju Forum has recently achieved notable growth, in anticipation of attracting more than 500 speakers in 70 sessions and more than 5,000 attendees this year.

The 2017 Jeju Forum is expected to be as successful an event as last year’s forum that drew major media coverage in Korea and internationally, particularly due to the attendance of former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was then considered one of the front-runners in the presidential race. This year’s forum will provide a platform for prominent figures from around the world to engage in deep and fruitful discussions about Asia’s future.

The list of speakers and discussants this year include many renowned specialists on foreign and security affairs as well as eminent political leaders such as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, former Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, and former Mongolian President Punsalmaa Ochirbat. In particular, this year’s Forum will provide a platform for participants from around the world to address looming diplomatic and security challenges and offer options and recommendations for the new administration, given that it will be the first major international event to be held in Korea since the inauguration of the new Korean government on May 10.

This year’s Jeju Forum is also expected to make invaluable contributions to South Korea’s public diplomacy. The Forum, a 1.5 track multilateral dialogue, creates a platform for open, interactive discourse between government officials and private stakeholders, foreign and Korean experts, and experts and citizens. In doing so, the Forum has contributed to expanding knowledge-sharing and understanding among participants and making Korean policies and views on external issues widely understood and supported. Given the dire nature of the national security situation, the Jeju Forum will serve as a catalyst to garner domestic and international support for the Korean government’s strenuous efforts to ensure peace on and around the Korean Peninsula. It will also help raise international recognition of Jeju Island as an island of world peace committed to becoming a hub for international exchange and cooperation.

In recent years, complex diplomacy has gained increasing importance as diverse actors are increasingly encouraged to gather their abilities in the face of the rapidly changing global environment of the 21st century. In this context, many states are stepping up their efforts to build an international epistemic community. A state’s capacity to build and lead an international epistemic community is perceived as a host country’s soft power. Today, many states compete to host small or large international forums. The popularity of the World Economic Forum’s annual Davos meeting and China’s Boao Forum, as well as regional forums such as Japan’s Nikkei Forum and Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, suggest a strong demand for epistemic community building to solve the myriad of problems that threaten peace and prosperity. Korea is poised to make a greater contribution to regional and global dialogue using its soft power influence and role as a hub country. In this process, the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity can lead the way. It is high time to strengthen our collective efforts to produce a world class forum in a bid to project our global influence as well as to contribute to building an intellectual community across the world.

Suh Chung-ha is president of Jeju Peace Institute.