By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Prominent scholars from six countries will gather in Seoul for a symposium on territorial issues in East Asia, which will take place Thursday and Friday at the Seoul Plaza Hotel.
The forum, hosted by the Northeast Asian History Foundation, marks the first anniversary of the foundation's Dokdo Research Institute, tasked to develop long-term strategies and measures to counter Japan's repeated claims to the South Korean islets.
The conference will address imperialism and East Asia in the past and present, territorial issues from regional perspectives, interdisciplinary dialogue on the Dokdo issue, and territorial issues in the age of globalization.
The forum will be an opportunity to examine territorial issues in light of the changing international order utilizing the lenses of history, international law, and international politics, the foundation said.
Participants will include John Duncan, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles; Fukuhara Yuji from the University of Shimane; Clive Schofield from the University of Wollongong of Australia; and Anthony Carty from the University of Hong Kong.
``The conference aims to formulate a framework for a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of territorial issues in East Asia,'' said Kim Yong-deok, the foundation's president.
``We hope this forum will serve as a platform for the exploration of viable means of resolving East Asia's territorial issues with the long-term goal of promoting peace and cooperation in the region,'' he added.