Webinar series organised by UPF Europe and Middle East on the theme "Toward the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula: Prospects for Economic Development and Peace; Ideologies, Worldviews and International Relations".

Save the date: details to come.

The Japan-Korea Undersea tunnel Project was proposed four decades ago by the co-founders of the Universal Peace Federation. Part of the vision of a global highway connecting continents, the Japan-Korea tunnel aims at harmonious bilateral relations across the Korea strait, enhancing the possibility of reunification of the divided peninsula and improving the infrastructure for a future, free economic zone throughout East Asia and beyond. In a region experiencing great tensions, the project deserves attention as a potential factor for peace, stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia. The webinar will address this issue, considering the experience from the Marmaray Tunnel connecting Europe and Asia across the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, and the Eurotunnel connecting France and Great Britain.

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This session brings world experts to deliberate on creating a bridge or tunnel across the Bering Strait between the Chukotka region in Russia and the state of Alaska in the United States. The link would create an intercontinental connection between Eurasia and North America, allowing unprecedented opportunities for business and cultural integration. Since the 19th century, this bold engineering project has increasingly reappeared in experts’ minds, government research and the media, both in America and in Russia, raising growing interest among potential investors and beneficiaries worldwide. Believing that the Bering Strait link is an idea whose time has come, the panelists will elaborate on possible ways to bring us closer to the fulfillment of this most ambitious endeavor.

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The Northeast Asian region includes China, Japan, North and South Korea, and Russia. Moreover, the United States is deeply involved with South Korea and Japan in matters of peace and security. Northeast Asia is a vital link in the global industrial supply chain; but it is also the theater of a rising nuclear threat. Yet, as a region, it lacks security mechanisms; some of its nations still have not signed peace treaties. While Europe has gone beyond the challenges of WWI, WWII and the Cold War and established the European Union, Northeast Asia’s post-war settlements and reconciliation processes have largely stalled. Can Northeast Asia move toward a form of Economic Community? The webinar will address this question, which may prove crucial for the success of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, as well as for Northeast Asia to become a center for prosperity, peace and security in the world.

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International trade is a powerful tool for communication and peacebuilding between peoples and nations. How can it contribute to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula? With North Korea’s nuclear rise seen as a threat by neighboring nations, the UN sanctions currently block the country’s trading capacity. However, at the recent 8th Party Congress, the country’s leadership announced a new focus on economic development. What are the challenges and opportunities for North Korea and its neighbors to reopen international trade? What resources, products and services in North Korea attract international interest? Panelists will offer their perspectives on what steps should be taken, both by North Korea and the rest of the world, to obtain the mutual benefits that international trade potentially offers them.

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70 years ago, the sides facing off in the Korean war included Stalin's USSR, Mao's China and Western Democracies represented by the United Nations. Over the decades many have seen this unsolved conflict as a fundamental clash of ideologies. Today however, what worldviews lie behind the positions of China, Japan, Russia, and the United States? To what extent does the Juche ideology retain a hold over the population of North Korea? How does the struggle between progressive and conservative forces influence reunification policies in South Korea? This session will examine the role that these varying worldviews, ideologies and values may play in determining the policies of all stakeholders in the reunification process on the Peninsula.

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Korean people share a long history. They survived repeated invasions by the Chinese, the Mongol and the Japanese empires. In 1919, the March 1st Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule was a founding milestone for modern Korea. Moreover, the Korean people share a deeply rooted mythology, the legend of King Dangun, who is supposed to have established the Korean nation nearly five millennia ago. Both history and mythology have played their part in shaping an enduring Korean identity. After WWII, however, the political division imposed on Korea eventually settled into a confrontation of radically opposed ideologies, which still contribute to maintaining the conflict between North and South. Can the Korean people’s common history and culture help forge a vision that transcends the ideological conflicts inherited from the Cold War and overcome the division on the Peninsula?

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Peace on the Korean peninsula is now as fragile as during the decades after the Korean War. South Korea is targeted in an ideological crossfire between powerful players due to its unique strategic position in Asia. Even in “peacetime”, a war of conflicting narratives is raging, which are largely conveyed by the media. This raises vitally important questions regarding media ethics and press freedom, which is the prerequisite for mutual trust and understanding between people of different backgrounds. Therefore, the role of the media is equally vital in times of war and peace. Most importantly, the media can be a powerful aid in conflict resolution and peacemaking. This panel, consisting of media professionals from Korea, Europe, and the USA, will throw the spotlight on the role of the media in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

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Peace Road organised by UPF Ireland.

See the attached flyer for details.