1987年にエール大学で中国学学士号を取得、1992年に東京大学で比較文化学修士号、1997年にはハーバード大学で東アジア言語文化学博士号を取得。1997年より2005年までイリノイ大学（University of Illinois)において東アジア文学の助教授、他にもハーバード大学、ジョージワシントン大学、韓国外交安保研究院で講義を行う。
《人生は速度ではなく方向だ：ハーバード大学 博士の韓国漂流記》（人生은 速度 아니라 方向 이다: 하버드 博士의 韓國漂流記）
（２１世紀部 ﾌﾞｯｸｽ、 ソウル、２０１６年）
《韓国人しかしらない違う大韓民国：ハーバード博士がみた韓国の可能性》（한국인만 모르는 다른 대한민국: 하버드대 박사가 본 한국의 가능성）
（２１世紀 ﾌﾞｯｸｽ、ソウル、2013年）
Selected Publications of the Asia Institute
（Asia Institute Press、ソウル、2013年）
《世界の碩学が勧告のみ例を話す》（세계의 석학들 한국의미래를 말하다）
茶山ブックス、ソウル、２０１３年）
The Visible Mundane: Vernacular Chinese and the Emergence of a Literary Discourse on Popular Narrative in Edo Japan （目に見える世俗：中国白話小説の伝播と江戸時代の「通俗」に対する討論の成立）
（ソウル大学出版社、ソウル、２０１１年）
The Novels of Park Jiwon: Translations of Overlooked Worlds （朴趾源の小説：見過ごした世の中の翻訳）
（ソウル大学出版社、ソウル、２０１１年）
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The Asia Institute
INTRODUCTION
OUR GOAL
THE ASIA INSTITUTE COVERS ASIA NOT ONLY IN ITS SEMINARS AND REPORTS, BUT ENGAGES AT A MUCH MORE DEEPER LEVEL BY CONSTANT DISCUSSION WITH STAKEHOLDERS AT ALL LEVELS ACROSS ASIA ABOUT THE CRITICAL ISSUES OF OUR TIME: THE ENVIRONMENT, THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON SOCIETY, THE FUTURE THAT OUR YOUTH FACE AND THE CHANGING NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. THE ASIA INSTITUTE IS INDEED A TRULY PAN-ASIAN THINK TANK.
THE ASIA INSTITUTE CONSIDERS MAINTAINING A BALANCED PERSPECTIVE ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AS ITS HIGHEST PRIORITY WHILE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CONCERNS OF THE ENTIRE REGION AND THE INTERESTS OF ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS WHICH SPANS ACROSS GENDER, CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS. THESE INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO TECHNICAL EXPERTS, POLICY MAKERS, LOCAL AND REGIONAL COMMUNITIES AND EVEN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
WE PROVIDE AN OBJECTIVE SPACE WHEREIN A SIGNIFICANT DISCUSSION ON CURRENT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS CARRIED OUT. THE ‘OBJECTIVE SPACE’ ACTS AS AN OPEN PLATFORM THAT ALLOWS ANY AND EVERY ONE TO PARTICIPATE.
THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INTEGRATION IN ASIA IS INCREASING AT A REMARKABLE PACE IN TERMS OF TRADE, TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCE. ASIA IS NO LONGER SIMPLY A HUB FOR MANUFACTURING, BUT ALSO A CULTURAL, INTELLECTUAL AND A STRATEGIC CENTER FOR THE WORLD. HOWEVER, DESPITE ASIA’S INCREASING ROLE IN ON THE GEOPOLITICAL STAGE, A SERIOUS GAP REMAINS BETWEEN THE STRIKING SPEED OF INTEGRATION IN TERMS OF LOGISTICS, ENERGY AND FINANCE AND THE MUCH RETARDED GROWTH OF INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITIES AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE THAT ADDRESS LONG-TERM COMMON PRIORITIES.
THE ASIA INSTITUTE IS DEDICATED TO INCREASING THE IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE CITIZENS OF ASIA ON THE IMPORTANT ISSUES OF OUR AGE SO THAT IT PARALLELS THE LEVEL OF PROMINENCE AND ATTENTION OF TRADE AND FINANCE. THERE IS A DESPERATE NEED FOR OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS AND RIGOROUS DEBATE THAT GOES BEYOND NATIONAL BORDERS AND INCLUDES ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN ASIA.
OUR PRINCIPLES
THE ASIA INSTITUTE FOCUSES ON THESE FOUR INTERRELATED ISSUES WHICH IMPACT THE ENTIRE WORLD. WE SEEK TO INTERPRET THEIR SIGNIFICANCE AND PLAN FOR A GLOBAL RESPONSE THROUGH A COLLABORATIVE DIALOG THAT INVOLVES A BROAD RANGE OF EXPERTS IN MANY COUNTRIES.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR SOCIETY, AND OUR ECONOMY, BY THE UNPRECEDENTED RATE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE.
ALTHOUGH THE BRICK AND MORTAR BUILDINGS AROUND US ARE UNCHANGED AND THE BORDERS OF COUNTRIES REMAIN ESSENTIALLY THE SAME, OUR WORLD HAS BEEN AND UTTERLY TRANSFORMED BY TECHNOLOGY. COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY BRINGS TOGETHER LIKES WITH LIKES ACROSS THE GLOBE IN UNPREDICTABLE COMBINATIONS. THE VERY PROCESS OF DETERMINING TRUTH FROM FICTION IS MADE ULTIMATELY MORE PROBLEMATIC AS TECHNOLOGY CHANGES HOW WE KNOW AND WHAT WE KNOW, OR DO NOT KNOW.
SO ALSO 3D PRINTING MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO CREATE VIRTUALLY ANYTHING WITHOUT ANY NEED FOR MANUFACTURING. RESPONDING TO THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE ON SOCIETY WILL BE THE MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR OUR AGE, MADE MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE THE MANY TRANSFORMATIONS ARE INVISIBLE FOR MOST PEOPLE.
THE IMPACT OF THE NEW SOCIOECONOMIC SYSTEMS ON OUR CLIMATE AT THE LOCAL, REGIONAL AND GLOBAL LEVELS.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS BY FAR THE GREATEST SECURITY THREAT THAT WE FACE TODAY. ALTHOUGH IT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A PROFOUND DANGER FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS, OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND OUR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS ARE INCAPABLE OF FORMULATING AND IMPLEMENTING A RESPONSE. WE MUST UNDERSTAND HOW OUR CURRENT GLOBAL ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL REGIME CONTRIBUTES TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND FORMULATE CONCRETE STEPS FOR ADAPTATION TO, AND MITIGATION OF, CLIMATE CHANGE ON A GLOBAL SCALE.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BY TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, SPECIFICALLY CHANGES IN DIPLOMACY, SECURITY, EDUCATION, FINANCE AND TRADE.
ALTHOUGH WE USE THE SAME TERMS TO DESCRIBE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THAT WE EMPLOYED 100 YEARS AGO, THE NATURE OF DIPLOMACY, SECURITY AND TRADE HAVE BEEN ALTERED BEYOND RECOGNITION BY TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE. IMAGES, TEXTS AND VIDEOS CAN BE TRANSPORTED AROUND THE WORLD INSTANTANEOUSLY, AFFECTING A TRUE “DEATH OF DISTANCE,” AND INCREASINGLY THEY CAN BE FABRICATED JUST AS EASILY.
PEOPLE AND GOODS ARE TRANSPORTED WITH GREAT EASE AS WELL OVER VAST DISTANCES, AND GLOBALIZATION HAS CREATED ENORMOUS DISPLACED POPULATIONS. SO ALSO GOODS CAN BE PROCESSED AND SHIPPED AROUND THE WORLD IN AN ENTIRELY AUTOMATED MANNER—PART OF THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. WE MUST ENTIRELY RETHINK THE CONCEPT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN LIGHT OF THESE TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGES, MOVING BEYOND A VAGUE ANXIETY ABOUT GLOBALIZATION AND RATHER IDENTIFYING THE DISTINCT IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGIES ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.
THE RISE OF ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM AND THE DECLINE OF THE APPLICATION OF RIGOROUS SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES TO ANALYSIS AND PROBLEM SOLVING, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.
THE WORLD FACES A TERRIBLE WAVE OF ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM, FROM CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL TO RACIST ESSENTIALISM, WHICH UNDERMINES OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND TO THE PRESSING ISSUES OF OUR AGE AND ENCOURAGES A SELF-INDULGENT ATTITUDE BORN OF IGNORANCE AND INDIFFERENCE. THIS DEVELOPMENT IS A PRODUCT OF THE DEBASEMENT OF EDUCATION INTO A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT AND THE RESULTING DECLINE IN THE INTELLECTUAL RIGOR IN THE MEDIA AND OTHER FORMS OF EXPRESSION. THIS NEW CULTURE IS INHERENTLY ANTI-SCIENCE, EVEN AS IT EMBRACES GLITZY TECHNOLOGIES.
WE MUST AVOID EMOTIONAL RESPONSES DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGICAL BELLS AND WHISTLES, RATHER APPLYING A RATIONAL SCIENTIFIC APPROACH IN POLICY, IN TECHNOLOGY AND IN STRATEGY. WE MUST AVOID THE ANTI-SCIENCE, “BREAD AND CIRCUSES” APPROACH TO POLITICAL DISCOURSE THAT WE SEE SPREADING AROUND THE WORLD. ABOVE ALL, INTELLECTUALS MUST HAVE A STRONG SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS ESSENTIAL FIGURES IN SOCIETY.
The problems we face today, from the environmental crisis to the increasing divide between the rich and poor, can only be solved by primarily initiating a profound contemplation within ourselves so as to cooperate for building more novel and sustainable solutions. Only when we have addressed the spiritual hunger and psychological insecurities that lead to unrestrained consumption, or ruthless conflict, can we begin find meaningful long-term answers. As Albert Einstein once remarked, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Our research and our endeavors take into account the underlying contradictions within ourselves that have brought about the crisis of this day.
Our Fukushima Initiative, for example, has built a global platform that brings together different forms of expertise from around the world so as to find a solution to the dangerous challenges posed by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In the process we have created new approaches to collaboration in policy, technology, analysis and implementation. This discussion has also touched on the philosophical and spiritual challenges for us and future generations posed by rapid and disruptive technological change.
Finally, the Asia Institute is engaged in a dialog with stakeholders from across Asia concerning the future of Asia itself. We always have been debating on how Asia can move beyond traditional geopolitical rivalries and envision an Asia as a peaceful totality in which current integration provides new horizons. We have written concrete proposals for a security architecture built around the response to climate change; for a “constitution of information” to respond to the current crisis we faced as a result of the rapid change in the technology for communication and massive scale surveillance and for new systems to promote international collaboration; and P2P (peer to peer) cooperation throughout Asia and around the world that would encourage free interaction of the stakeholders to jointly produce knowledge and other forms of goods/services primarily for its ‘use value’ instead of its ‘market value’ to temper the ever widening economic gap and promote empowerment at the grass roots level. We have been in debates and discussions on how to incorporate the perspectives of experts from the Middle East or Southeast Asia to the debate on the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. We have also discussed on how ecologists, artists and philosophers can contribute meaningfully in the debate about trade, finance and other forms of integration.
Circles and Squares 