Civic Education

[Citizen College Season 7] #4 Democracy in Asia: Why Democracy in Southeast Asia Will Worsen?

Shin, Jae Hyeok 2023.05.26

On May 17, 2023, the Seongbuk Adult Education School, PDI, and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University held the fourth lecture of the Citizen College Season 7  “Politics in Everyday Life” in Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University.  In this lecture Professor Shin, Jae Hyeok from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University presented on the topic of “Democracy in Asia: Why Democracy in Southeast Asia Will Worsen?”. The lecture, titled “Democracy in Asia: Why Democracy in Southeast Asia Will Worsen?”, deals with the current status, causes and prospects of widespread democratic regression in Southeast Asia. The collapse of democracy is observed in countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. In these countries, the military (Myanmar, Thailand) or the ruling party (Cambodia) has historically enormous influence in the name of maintaining domestic order, and no political force has yet emerged to check them. The military⋯

[Citizen College Season 7] #3 The U.S.-China Confilct and Korea

Seung Joon Paik 2023.05.13

On May 10, 2023, the Seongbuk Adult Education School, PDI, and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University held the third lecture of the Citizen College Season 7  “Politics in Everyday Life” in Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University.  In this lecture Dr. Seung Joon Paik, Senior Researcher at PDI, talked about “U.S.-China Confilct and Korea”. The lecture, titled “The U.S.-China Conflict and Korea”, deals with strategic competition between the U.S. and China, cross-strait conflicts, the U.S., the U.S.-China conflict and Korea from the history of U.S.-China relations. After the post-Cold War, the United States engaged in China to incorporate China into the U.S.-led world order, but the rise of China and the relative decline of the United States entered a phase of strategic competition of strategic competition. China has emerged as the world’s second-largest economy, modernizing its military power and implementing policies to expand its external influence, including one-on-one.⋯

[Citizen College Season 7] #2 Political Polarization and Electoral Reform

Woo Chang Kang 2023.05.03

On May 3, 2023, the Seongbuk Adult Education School, PDI, and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University held the second lecture of the Citizen College Season 7  “Politics in Everyday Life” in Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University. In this lecture Professor Woo Chang Kang from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University presented on the topic of “Political Polarization and Electoral Reform”. The lecture, titled “Political Polarization and Electoral Reform”, deals with political conflicts that are deeper than the level of conflict in Korean society and how to reform the electoral system and the electoral system that affect them. In Korean society, polarization and conflict are more acute at the political and political elite level than at the degree of polarization of voters, and extreme camp logic, compromise, and cooperation are prevalent. This phenomenon was greatly influenced by the presidential and parliamentary election system⋯

[Citizen College Season 7] #1 The War in Ukraine and the Change of International Politics

Lee Dong Sun 2023.04.26

On April 26, 2023, the Seongbuk Adult Education School, PDI, and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University held the first lecture of the Citizen College Season 7  “Politics in Everyday Life” in Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University.  In this lecture Professor Lee Dong Sun from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University presented on the topic of “The War in Ukraine and the Change of International Politics”. The lecture, titled “The War in Ukraine and the Change of International Politics”, deals with the causes and developments of the war and its impact on international politics and the Korean Peninsula. Russia feared losing its power status in the face of an expected decline in national power after a short-term rebound, and the expansion of the U.S.-led NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) made Russia afraid of losing a buffer zone. Russia invaded Ukraine with the goal⋯

Cambodia National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations(NIDIR) Capacity Building Education

2022.12.22

Education Organization: Asia Research Institute, Korea University Education Co-operating Organization: Korea University Peace & Democracy Institute Education Object : Cambodia National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations(NIDIR) – Prak Nguon Hong (Cambodia Vice Minister of Diplomacy) – Hoy Phireak (Cambodia Vice Minister of Tourism) – Tean Samnang (Director of NIDIR) Peace & Democracy Institute conducted 14 days of training at the “National Institute of Diplomatic and International Relations (NIDIR) Capacity Building Teacher Capacity Education’ with the Asia Research Institute from November 27 (Sunday) to December 10, 2022.  

[Citizen College Season 6] #8 Politics and Political Science Understood through Fiction

2022.12.05

On December 1, 2022, the Peace and Democracy Institute and the Seongbuk District Office held the eight final lecture of the Citizen College Season 6  “Politics in Everyday Life.”  In this lecture Dr.  Gyu Jeong Lee, Senior Researcher at PDI, talked about “Politics and Political Science Understood through Fiction.” This lecture dealt with the understanding of politics through representative Korean novels and novelists. The novel Our Twisted Hero written by Mun-yol Yi  in 1987, vividly describes how “authority” is born – a subject of much interest in political science for a long time. Authoritarianism is a form of politics characterized by strong central government and limited political freedoms. Max Weber classifies authority into three types: traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational. When transitioning from a feudal society to a modern society, authority changes from traditional authority to legal-rational authority. Based on this framework, the participants discussed Korean politics seen through the lense⋯

[Citizen College Season 6] #7 The Constitutional Court and Political Philosophy

2022.11.24

On November 24, 2022, the Peace and Democracy Institute and the Seongbuk District Office held the seventh lecture of the Citizen College Season 6  “Politics in Everyday Life.”  In this lecture Dr.  Hyang Mi Oh, Research Professor at PDI, presented on the topic of “The Constitutional Court and Political Philosophy.” In this lecture, Dr. Oh focused on the  historical and ideological background of the Constitutional Court and the characteristics and meaning of the Korean Constitutional Court system. Constitutional adjudication is a system that judges whether state power violates the constitution. In the United States, there is no provision for judicial review in the Constitution, but there is a judicial review system allowing institutionalization through precedents. In Germany, through the history of the collapse of democracy in the 20th century, Constitutional adjudication has developed into a constitutional court system to protect democracy, the constitution, and guarantee basic rights. Korea has experienced⋯

[Citizen College Season 6] #6 Candlelight Politics

2022.11.18

On November 17, 2022, the Peace and Democracy Institute and the Seongbuk District Office held the sixth lecture of the Citizen College Season 6  “Politics in Everyday Life.”  In this lecture Dr.  Hyun-Jin Cha, Research Professor at PDI, presented on the topic of “Candlelight Politics.” This lecture dealt with Korea’s candlelight vigils, their main participants, and lasting impacts. Large-scale candlelight vigils occurred in Korea in 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2016, and the participation rate has continuously increased. In addition, there have been changes in the gender, age group, education level, frequency of participation in voting and tendency of voting choice of participants in the vigils. At this time, there are both claims that candlelight vigils play a positive role in democracy, and conversely, that the role of political parties should be emphasized rather than candlelight vigils under a democratic system. Statistical analysis showed that participation in candlelight vigils increases people’s⋯

[Citizen College Season 6] #5 Is Public Opinion Polarized in Korea?

2022.11.17

On November 10, 2022, the Peace and Democracy Institute and the Seongbuk District Office held the fifth lecture of the Citizen College Season 6  “Politics in Everyday Life.”  In this lecture Professor Woo Chang Kang from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University presented a study titled “Is Public Opinion Polarized in Korea?” This lecture dealt with the ideological and emotional polarization that has recently emerged in Korean society and its main characteristics. Political polarization in South Korea is evident in the extreme distrust and hostility shown by candidates and supporters from the two major political parties in South Korea toward rival parties in the 2021 South Korean presidential election. It is easy to find opinions that emotional polarization, in which people show strong attachment to in-groups and strongly reject out-groups, is getting worse in Korean society. It makes policymaking difficult and weakens support for democratic⋯

[Citizen College Season 6] #4 The Past and Present of Southeast Asia

2022.11.07

On November 3, 2022, the Peace and Democracy Institute and the Seongbuk District Office held the fourth lecture of the Citizen College Season 6  “Politics in Everyday Life.”  In this lecture Professor Jae Hyeok Shin from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University presented on the topic of “The Past and Present of Southeast Asia.” Professor Shin talked about the history of Southeast Asia and its changing status. In the past, Southeast Asia developed its own civilizations for thousands of years under the influence of countries such as China and India. This experience provided the spiritual and institutional foundations for the formation of modern nation-states in the region. The Pacific War and several wars with European powers resulted in Southeast Asian countries gaining independence. Southeast Asia has developed continuously since the establishment of ASEAN in 1967, becoming the world’s fastest-growing region today. It is the world’s⋯