[Citizen College Season 8] Lecture3. Reconciliation Thoughts and Politics

How does reconciliation relate to politics? While most people agree that reconciliation is necessary for the continuation of political communities, it has not received much attention in the academic and real-politics spheres. Dr. Hak-Jae Kim (PDI, Korea University) provides a comprehensive overview of reconciliation from the perspective of political science, explaining the concept of reconciliation in two main theoretical and practical dimensions.

First, at the theoretical level, reconciliation can be defined as ‘rebuilding relationships’. Reconciliation consists of truth-telling, apology and forgiveness, and compensation, and it can be categorized into different levels and approaches. While the concept of reconciliation is largely influenced by the Western Christian perspective, the meaning of reconciliation in the East Asian context is different from the Western concept.

On the practical level, reconciliation can be manifested in reality through the reconciliation-oriented actions of politicians. Lincoln of the United States, Mandela of South Africa, and Kim Dae-jung of South Korea are all representative politicians who practiced politics of inclusion and reconciliation by taking a stand against political retaliations.

During the lecture, the audience was able to enjoy music related to the issue of reconciliation in Korea’s modern political history (Children’s Day Song, Nostalgic Mount Geumgang, etc.).

Date and Time : 9th, May, 2024. 14:00 ~ 16:00 pm

Venue : room 201, Political Science and Economics Building

Speaker: Hak-Jae Kim (Peace&Democracy Institute, Korea Univerity)