Variations of ‘East Asia’ Discourse and Reflections on Epistemological Inquiry (2022.06)

• Author : Doo-Jin Kim,  In hye Heo
• Publication : THE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
• Publisher : The East Asian Association Of International Studies (Eaais)
• Volume : 25(2)
• Date : Abstract: The article aims to reconsider some of the epistemological discourses about “East Asia” that have been prevalent in the Korean academic world since 1990. The origins of the discourse seem to bring much contentious variation, coupled with interdisciplinary study without clarifying theoretical rigorousness. Compared to the modern West, modern East Asia historically has tended to reflect the attribute of transnational nationalism, while they have not recognize the “we-ness” with neighboring states. The development of East Asia discourse comes to capture four academic orientations raised so far in Korean intellectual milieu. The critical examination of Western ideas on ‘international society’ could pave the way for the imagination of the international society of East Asia. In view of the controversial dissonance in East Asia, the recurring narration (épistémè) of East Asian International Society as ‘imagined community’ (by Benedict Anderson) is likely to complement the ‘practice’ (praxis) of East Asia in the long-term.

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