Experts to discuss Korea-Japan relations at KOR-ASIA Forum 2021
Ra Jong-yil
Shigeru Ishiba
The Korea Times and its sister paper the Hankook Ilbo will host the KOR-ASIA Forum 2021 at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel in central Seoul, Nov. 25.
Under the theme of "New Korea-Japan Relations: For a Future with Cooperation and Respect," the event will review the current diplomatic dynamics between Korea and Japan and explore a new way forward in relations between the neighboring countries.
Among the speakers at the forum, Gachon University chair professor Ra Jong-yil, who served as former Korean ambassador to Japan and presidential secretary for national security, and Shigeru Ishiba, former Japanese defense minister and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary-general, will deliver special lectures on the future of Korea-Japan relations.
Shin Kak-soo, a former Korean ambassador to Japan and vice foreign minister, and Shinsuke Sugiyama, a former Japanese ambassador to the U.S., will discuss the "recovery of diplomacy." Rep. Kim Han-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and LDP lawmaker Rui Matsukawa will debate the politics of reconciliation.
Japanese movie director Hirokazu Kore-eda who won a Palme d'Or at Cannes; Shim Eun-kyung, the first Korean actress to star in an NHK drama series in Japan as the heroine; and Japanese prizewinning novelist Keiichiro Hirano will engage in a conversations on cultural exchanges between the two countries.
The forum will also feature a lineup of speakers including diplomats, politicians, scholars, journalists and artists, to look at bilateral relations from a broader perspective.
The forum will thoroughly abide by the current required social distancing measures, and will be livestreamed via the Hankook Ilbo's official YouTube channel (
www.youtube.com/user/thehankookilbo
). Further information is also available on the official website of the forum,