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Monthly Archives: April 2012

Asia Institute Seminar: “Storytelling, Social Networks & Social Change” with Annabel Park

Leave a comment Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 27, 2012

Asia Institute Seminar

Annabel Park

Blogger and Activist

Founder of the Coffee Party

“Storytelling, Social Networks & Social Change”

Annabel Park, Korean American blogger and political activist, tells the inside story of how social change can be effected by stories in cyberspace.

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Asia Institute

“The Seoul Nuclear Security Summit: New Thinking in Northeast Asia?” (article)

Leave a comment Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 22, 2012

A thoughtful article by Asia Institute’s senior associate Markku Heiskanen on the recent Seoul Nuclear Security Summit with Brookings Institution’s James Goodby.

MARCH 28, 2012

“The Seoul Nuclear Security Summit: New Thinking in Northeast Asia?”

James E. Goodby, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies

Markku Heiskanen, Senior Associate and Program Director, The Asia Institute

The Nautilus Institute

The primary motive for convening the 2010 nuclear security summit was to address the unprecedented threat of nuclear materials in the hands of terrorists. This remains the main task of the summit, but two other security problems will be on the minds of participants: the Fukushima catastrophe of 2011 and the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran. Read more of this post

Articles, Asia Institute, International Relations, Technology and Society, Today in Korea

The concept of “Seonbi” as a universal value (Korea Economic News in Korean)

Leave a comment Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 21, 2012

In this article I argue that the Korean concept of “seonbi” could be a global norm equal to “samurai,” “ninja” and “knight” and serve as a model for the entire world. The concept of “seonbi” an ideal for the integration of learning and action, proper behavior and moral commitment is quite appealing, but has not been seriously introduced globally.

Korea Economic News

April 21, 2012

한국경제신문

2012년4월21일

`선비`를 한국의 상징으로 키우자

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Articles, Culture, 한국어, Today in Korea

“Korea’s advantages in Gaming Can Determine the Future of Surgery” (article in Korea IT Times)

1 Comment Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 16, 2012

KOREA IT TIMES

Korea’s advantages in Gaming Can Determine the Future of Surgery

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Emanuel Pastreich

SEOUL, KOREA — Korea’s remarkable strengths in display technology, IT and especially gaming offers a unique opportunity to play a key role in a field not traditionally considered a Korean strength: surgery. The convergence of technologies today promises to radically transform surgery over the next ten years, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation, in a word, whereas surgery today resembles flying a biplane with much dependence on visual confirmation and physical strength, surgery of the future will be akin to operating a 747, employing an array of tools to visualize the invisible internal aspects of the body in 3-dimensions and to do be able to do so on a 24 hour basis before and after a surgical procedure. Read more of this post

Articles, Asia Institute, Technology and Society

Beijing’s future appearance?

6 Comments Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 16, 2012

Beijing is one of my favorite cities. I recently visited as part of the Future Forest effort to fight desertification through the planting of trees. I picked up a fascinating booklet at that time that describes plans for extensive new real estate developments. Let us start by looking at traditional Beijing and its narrow alleys known as “hutong.” These hutong roads are rapidly disappearing as part of contemporary progress.

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Arts, Culture, Environment, Today in China

Asia Institute Seminar about Contemporary Korea (April 15, 2012)

1 Comment Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 15, 2012

April 15, 2012

We held the first of a new series of focused seminars on eight challenges facing Korea today with a discussion of Korea’s current social and economic conditions. The program, run in cooperation with Tasan Books and GCS, will continue over the next six months. Read more of this post

Asia Institute, Education, Today in Korea

“I can’t believe how stupid American voters are!”

10 Comments Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 14, 2012

I cannot count the number of times that I have heard friends, people from a background similar to my own, remark to themselves, after an election, or just in an idle moment, “I can’t believe how stupid American voters are!” The assumption behind such comments is that ordinary Americans stupidly vote for the demagogues who lie to them so blatantly and that such pathetic behavior is shocking. Also implied by the comment is that we, we cultivated and educated Americans, can see so clearly through the falsehoods and we are much superior to such people.

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Culture, Essays

Out of the frying pan, into the fire “Escape from Camp 14”

Leave a comment Posted by Emanuel Pastreich on April 14, 2012

The Korea Times featured this article about the North Korea escapee Shin Dong-hyuk and his harrowing struggle for freedom with a focus on the recently published book Escape from Camp 14 which describes that experience. The book was written by the American journalist Blaine Harden. Read more of this post

International Relations, North Korea, Today in Korea blaine harden, escape from camp 14, north korea