20th World Korea Forum at Columbia University
July 1, 2019
Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all the participants from around the world on the occasion of the 2019 World Korea Forum here in New York City, or what we call the capital of the world, at one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions, Columbia University.
The World Korea Forum has continued to evolve for the past 20 years since its very first meeting right here in the United States back in 2000.
The Forum is a valuable platform, on which opinion leaders and representatives from political, business, academic, social, and cultural circles can share their insights and ideas.
It is also a global stage where relevant stakeholders and policymakers can work together to make tangible progress on a variety of critical challenges and tasks facing us.
Especially, the daunting challenges of how to help achieve the denuclearization, permanent peace, and reunification of the Korean Peninsula, which will have huge implications not only for the Korean Peninsula and the Asia Pacific but also for the entire world.
Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen,
The timing, venue, and agenda of the 2019 World Korea Forum are both meaningful and significant.
First and foremost, the Forum aims at revisiting and reflecting on the proud history of Korean Diaspora in the United States, as this year marks the centennial of Korea’s March First Independence Movement and the establishment of the Provisional Government of Korea in Shanghai in 1919.
Throughout American history, immigrants from all over the world have come to this land of opportunity with high hopes of achieving the American dream. Indeed, the history of Korean immigration into this great nation offers an encouraging and inspiring narrative.
The Korean-American diaspora had a humble beginning with a small group of 102 Koreans who first set foot on Hawaii in 1903. Now, the Korean-American community has blossomed to a population of 2.5 million.
With their hard work, devotion, and their can-do spirit, Korean-Americans are a proud and integral part of the American fabric that is so rich and diverse, which makes the United States of America great and unique.
Just three days from now, on July 4th, we will see an amazing celebration of the American Independence Day right here in New York City, America’s most iconic city.
Against such a backdrop, it is meaningful to recall that the March First Independence Movement of Korea, 100 years ago, was a non-violent, nation-wide independence movement, deeply inspired by US President Woodrow Wilson’s principle of self-determination.
This year’s forum will provide an excellent opportunity for all the stakeholders, building on such historical reflections of the past 100 years since Korea’s independence movement, to launch together the coming 100 years with strength, enthusiasm, and determination with a view to creating a better world.
Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen,
This year’s Forum could not be held at a more opportune time as it also offers a window through which to take a look at the tectonic changes taking place on the Korean peninsula.
As you know very well, headlines from around the world yesterday were about President Trump, immediately after his summit with President Moon Jae-in, having his surprise 1-on-1 meeting with Chairman Kim Jung-un of North Korea.
Indeed, life is full of unexpected things.
However, in order to better understand all this, we would have to put this truly historic moment into perspective, especially through looking back at the recent exciting developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula.
First and foremost, following the crisis of unprecedented levels surrounding the Korean Peninsula in 2017, a peace momentum was created on the occasion of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games held in South Korea in February last year.
Dramatic developments have since taken place. Between South and North Korea, President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jung-un held three inter-Korean summits within such a short span of time from April through September last year. This was truly unprecedented!
We have also seen a dramatic change in the relations between the United States and North Korea.
President Trump met with Chairman Kim in Singapore in June of last year, the first-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. President and a North Korean leader. They met again in Hanoi in February this year. Unfortunately, their second rendezvous ended without a deal.
It is against such a backdrop that the Korean government has been working hard to maintain a momentum of dialogue while helping to resume the follow-up negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea as soon as possible.
Ladies, and gentlemen,
Why should we do that? The answer is clear. We must do everything we can to prevent another war on the Korean Peninsula. Many military and security experts share the view that the costs of a second Korean War would be massive: most devastating of all, the potential use of nuclear weapons in combat for the first time since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
At the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2019 Conference in Korea in May of this year, Dr. Graham Allison of Harvard University argued again to the effect that the Korean Peninsula could be one of the possible catalysts for an inevitable clash that is reminiscent of his “Thucydides’ Trap.” According to him, “A risk associated with Thucydides’ Trap is that business-as-usual can also trigger large-scale conflict.”
Thus, it is critically important to make concerted and pro-active efforts to improve the military and security situation on the Korean Peninsula, while realizing that we cannot and should not go back to the past, more precisely, to the dangerous situation in 2017, just one and a half years ago.
Bearing this in mind, President Moon Jae-in laid out his “Peace for the People” vision at the Oslo Forum in Norway on June 13. There, he repeated his readiness to meet with Chairman Kim Jung-un again to jumpstart the denuclearization and peace process on the Korean Peninsula in the aftermath of the Hanoi summit.
Last week on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, President Moon Jae-in met with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, respectively to exchange views on how to facilitate the stalled peace process.
Most importantly, President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, held a successful summit in Seoul yesterday, as they have been working closely to advance the denuclearization and peace process on the Korean Peninsula.
Ladies, and gentlemen,
As you are well aware, the historic moment came after President Trump’s spontaneous invitation to Chairman Kim to shake hands at the Demilitarized Zone, the last relic of the Cold War.
Indeed, it was amazing to witness the history in the making, as President Trump became the first sitting U.S. President to step into North Korea after having become the first sitting U.S. President to meet with the North Korean leader in Singapore last year. Also it was the very first time in history that the leaders of two Koreas and the United States met together at Panmunjeom.
What is the most encouraging out of the 1-on-1 meeting between President Trump and Chairman Kim is that the two leaders agreed to reactivate the stalled peace and denuclearization process in about two weeks.
While we celebrate the good news, we should always be mindful that the process would be a long and hard one. In this regard, I would like to quote what President Kennedy said in the wake of signing the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty before the United Nations on September 20, 1963: (Quote) “Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on.”(Unquote)
Bearing this in mind, our government will continue to work closely with the international community, especially, the U.S. government, to achieve peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
In this connection, your kind understanding and support for this critical process will always be highly appreciated.
Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen,
Given the situation, I think that this year’s Forum offers a good setting as it gives a valuable moment to reflect and a wonderful venue to inspire and be inspired. It also serves as an open-minded forum where prominent intellectuals from all over the world can build bridges and networks to advance a joint vision.
My special thanks and congratulations go to Chairman Lee Changjoo, President Kim Sung-Kon of the Organizing Committee, and other organizers and sponsors for all the preparations to make this event a success.
I wish you all a very fruitful, rewarding, and successful forum. Thank you!