[Citizen College Season 6] #2 East Asian Nationalism and International Conflict

On October 20, 2022, the Peace and Democracy Institute and the Seongbuk District Office held the second lecture of the Citizen College Season 6  “Politics in Everyday Life.”  In this lecture Professor Jiyoung Ko from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University discussed the topic of “East Asian Nationalism and International Conflict.”

This lecture dealt with the concept of nationalism, as well as its traits and global political ramifications in Korea, China, and Japan. The distinction between “my people (Self)” and “other people (Others)” is fundamental for the development of nationalism, and nations create their own national identities by contrasting themselves with other nations. First, the nationalism that developed in China viewed Japan as the Other. This nationalism, initially promoted by the Chinese Communist Party, became internalized by the general public over time, resulting in amplifying conflicts with neighboring countries, especially Japan. In Japan after World War II, nationalism was influenced on one side by the political left that drew Japan as a “peaceful nation” and by the right emphsizing becoming a “normal state” on the other. The participants discussed also the unique characteristics of Korean nationalism as well as the primary nationalism-related research that is currenty being conducted by international political scientists.