Donald Kirk to give lecture on Jeju, Okinawa
.jpg?w=728)
Donald Kirk
By John Redmond
Journalist and author Donald Kirk will present a lecture, “Bases of Discontent: Okinawa and Jeju,” at the second floor Residents’ Lounge, Somerset Palace, March 25.
Kirk draws eye-opening comparisons between militarism and protest on the southern island prefecture of Japan, Okinawa, and Korea’s southern island province, Jeju.
He draws upon reporting and research for his latest book, “Okinawa and Jeju: Bases of Discontent,” showing parallels between Okinawa and Jeju in terms of the protest movements against bases on both of them. He sees the controversies from all sides, on the basis of interviews with officials, analysts, protest leaders and ordinary citizens.
The topic is especially timely in view of mounting tensions in the region as seen in China’s increasingly strong claims to the islands that Japan calls the Senkakus and the Chinese know as Diaoyu.
Adding to regional tensions are China’s claims to the Ieodo rocks southwest of Jeju on which Korea has built a heliport complete with navigational and weather facilities.
Kirk brings to this study a number of years as a journalist and author, reporting and writing from Korea as well as Japan. Previous books include: “Korea Betrayed: Kim Dae-jung and Sunshine,” “Korean Dynasty: Hyundai and Chung Ju-yung” and “Korean Crisis: Unraveling of the Miracle in the IMF Era.”
He has written for numerous newspapers and magazines ranging from the Chicago Tribune to the Christian Science Monitor to the International Herald Tribune to Forbes Asia and forbes.com and also reports for CBS Radio.
He gravitates between homes in Seoul and Washington but spent most of last year in India.
The lecture, organized by the Korean branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), will be from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The cost is 7,000 won for non-members and free for members.