From ： Global Times
Written by ： Ro Jae-hun, president of East Asia Culture Center
The Korean, Chinese, and Japanese peoples’ perceptions of one another are highly complex. They share thousands of years of historical turmoil and turbulence as the closest neighbors and are mutually affected by the scars left on Northeast Asia amid complicated international dynamics. The three countries have worked hard to drive mutual progress within the region despite many difficulties, but negative perceptions of one another have continued to intensify, especially over the last several years with face-to-face contact restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I believe the restriction on personal exchanges has been the main culprit for this undesirable turn. A minor misunderstanding can develop into a deep distrust without the opportunity to meet in person and resolve conflicts. With borders closed due to the pandemic, digital media and social networks advanced unverified and groundless nationalist content. Biased and distorted news and information spread based on algorithm technologies that instigate confirmation bias, and such fake information even led to conflicts on digital platforms, mainly among young users from the three countries. I had frequently visited China and Japan prior to the outbreak of the pandemic to examine each country’s social atmosphere firsthand, and this is why revisiting China and Japan after the pandemic astounded me even more.
Multifaceted efforts are being made to restore Korea-Japan and Korea-China relations. However, such efforts appear insufficient to reverse the negative sentiments of the peoples of the three countries toward one another. Trilateral amity and harmony still seem far off.
What is required at this point is a shift in perspective. The current trilateral relations may not necessarily equal the sum of the accumulated impacts of the bilateral (Korea-China, Korea-Japan, and China-Japan) relations. Rather, we should focus on fostering a sustainable community among the three countries through the pursuit of mutual values and goals within the multilateral framework of the East Asian region. In short, the trilateral relations should be redefined by recognizing and respecting each individual country’s traits stemming from the commonly shared foundation: East Asia.
I am certain that the prevailing negative perceptions of one another among the peoples of the three countries can be addressed through a shared focus on building an East Asian community. Animosity and misunderstanding, especially among youth, are resulting in distorted information and nationalist pride. Simply put, they incite a sense of superiority over the other peoples. However, this same sense of superiority can exert a positive impact when effectively diverted into pride in the entire East Asian community encompassing all three nations. We should concentrate on promoting pride in our background as a part of Asia and joining forces to push the boundaries of Asia’s influence on the global stage centered on diversification.
A Korean visionary advocated this idea as far back as 110 years ago. That visionary was Korean independence activist and pan-Asianist Ahn Jung-geun. Ahn argued for harmony and cooperation among the three countries in his paper entitled “Peace in the East,” which he wrote while imprisoned in Lushun Prison in China. He proposed the formation of a peace council, an economic union based on the use of a common currency, and the operation of joint military forces for the ultimate aim of peace in the East. It is all the more awe-inspiring to think that this forward-looking, pioneering pan-Asian vision was proposed more than a century ago. It clearly points to the direction we should take, which is the advancement of an East Asian community.
The first step toward the pursuit of mutual values by the three countries beyond bilateral needs is cultural cooperation. As evidenced by the ever-expanding Korean Wave, the influence of the East over the global cultural milieu, previously dominated by the West, continues to grow. The renaissance of Asian culture has been ushered in to the mainstream. Cultural cooperation is essential to foster pan-Asian culture and transcend the limitations of individual countries. Pan-Asian culture, deeply rooted in the Asian values of amity and respect for differences while promoting the universal values of humanity, will open up a new chapter through the convergence of the old and new, West and East, and content and technologies. This movement can be defined as Asian futurism.
The three nations’ collaboration to jointly create and nurture new waves of Asian culture is already being witnessed across various industries. A wide spectrum of content is being produced through joint investments and joint ventures, and many players are engaging in cross-border activities. We must strive to build an environment that facilitates such collaboration and mutually advance the establishment of policies and industrial platforms for the protection of IP rights, etc.
We must also seek ways to promote cooperation among the youth of the three countries and reinforce their pride as Asians. Unfortunately, the digital communication platforms that they currently use are failing to serve this purpose. Rather, such platforms are found to have aggravated negative confirmation bias. We must come up with non-biased digital platforms, such as a trilateral metaverse, to help the youth of the three nations envision their future together.
When a European philosopher first proposed the idea of European integration in the early 20th century, those who lived through both World Wars flatly dismissed the notion as impossible. However, Europe succeeded in establishing a supranational political and economic union. The creation of a union of Korea, China, and Japan may sound far-fetched now, but I strongly believe that this dream will come true.