NONKILLING KOREA: Six Culture Exploratory Seminar

REPORT (International Conference), Chung-Si Ahn, Oct. 1, 2010
NonKilling Korea: Six Culture Exploratory Seminar
Co-organized by
Global Center for Nonkilling, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Seoul National University Asia Center, Seoul, Korea
Aug 17th ? 20th
Seoul National University Hoam Convention Center (dates/venue)
(Sponsors: Korea Foundation, SNU Asia Center)

An international Conference on the subject of “Nonkilling Korea: Six Culture Exploratory Seminar” was held at Seoul National University, August 18-19, 2010. It was a small seminar, but the theme and subjects of which was unique and, in fact, the first of its kind in world history.
The Seminar was co-organized by the Asia Center, Seoul National University (www.snu.ac.kr), and the nonprofit Center for Global Nonkilling in Honolulu, Hawaii (www.nonkilling.org). It was sponsored by the Korea Foundation; the Asia Center, Seoul National University; the Center for Global Nonkilling; and the Hiroshima Center for Nonviolence and Peace.
The purpose of the Seminar was to begin to explore and share nonkilling capabilities of the six cultures that have been related to killing in Korea over the past century: Korean (North and South), American, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian cultures.
Seminar participants included professors Kang Jang-seok, Kookmin University; Woe Soon Ahn, Hanseo University; Dahua Tang, Peking University; Janice Hsiu-chi Wang, Tamkang University; Robert Ren-rang Chyou, National Chengchi University; Mitsuo Okamoto, Hiroshima Shudo University; Tamayo Okamoto, Hiroshima Prefectural College of Health Sciences; William V. Smirnov, Russian Academy of Sciences; Tatiana Yakushkina, St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts; and Michael Nagler and Ms. Stephanie Van Hook, Metta Center for Nonviolence, Berkeley, California.
Some important findings of the seminar are:
1) Common nonkilling/nonviolent values were discovered in all of the six societies, while the gap between nonkilling/nonviolent ethical values and violent realities was noted in all six societies.
2) Although nonkilling/nonviolence is a subculture and varies in its levels of development in each society, there are signs of its nonviolent globalization through nonviolent civil society actions.
3) There is evidence that a nonkilling perspective is beginning to enter academic disciplines; e.g., over 300 scholars in 200 universities in 50 countries have joined 20 nonkilling disciplinary research committees.
Among recommendations are:
1) To continue nonkilling scholarly comparative exploration among the six cultures.
2) To introduce nonkilling/nonviolent knowledge in education.
3) To encourage nonkilling cultural creativity and communication among the six cultures as a contribution to nonkilling/nonviolent global cultural evolution.
4) To encourage a nonkilling/nonviolent perspective through development of meditative and spiritual practices.

It is hoped that the example of the Seminar will encourage new nonkilling discoveries and cooperation among the six cultures. This will promote progress toward the measurable goal of a killing-free Korea in which no Koreans kill each other or other people. and no Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Russians or other people kill Koreans.
Furthermore, it is hoped that the Nonkilling Korea Seminar will encourage similar nonkilling cultural discoveries in other countries and regions toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world.
Participants expressed deep appreciation for the financial contribution of the Korea Foundation and the Asia Center, and warm hospitality and effective support of the Asia Center and Hoam Convention Center of Seoul National University, and Seminar assistants Ms. Han-Na Cho and Mr. Jaeseok Myung .
The seminar procedure and papers/authors presented for discussions during the seminar are listed in a separate file in the Asia Center home pages. The outputs of the seminar will later be revised and put together for publication in both on-line and off-line book forms.
PS:
*The Seminar grew out of the book Nonkilling Global Political Science (2002; 3rd ed. 2009) by Glenn D. Paige; Korean translation by Prof. Chung Yoon-jae as Bisalsaeng jeongchihak (Baeksan seodang, 2007). The book is available in Russian among 22 translations, and is forthcoming in Japanese, translated by Prof. Mitsuo Okamoto, and in Chinese by Profs. Dahua Tang and Janice Hsiu-chi Wang. The Russian translation is by Galena A. Startseva, titled Obschestvo bez ubijstva: vosmozhno lie to? [A Society without Killing: Is it Possible?]. This book has already gone beyond political science to influence many other academic disciplines; e.g., Joam Evans Pim, ed., Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm (2009). All are available free online at www.nonkilling.org.

Wednesday, 18 August
Venue: Water Lily Room, Hoam Faculty House, Seoul National University

Opening
9:00 ? 9:30am Welcome by host SNU Asia Center Director Prof. Hyun-Chin Lim
Introductory remarks by Seminar Co-Chairs, Prof. Glenn D. Paige
& Prof. Chung-Si Ahn

Session 1: Nonkilling in South Korean Culture
9:30 ? 9:50am Prof. Kang Jangseok, Kookmin University
9:50 ? 10:10am Prof. Woe Soon Ahn, Hanseo University

Session 2: Nonkilling in North Korean Culture
10:45 ? 11:05am To be arranged
11:05 ? 11:25am Prof. Emeritus Glenn D. Paige, University of Hawai‘i
11:45 ? 12:15pm Comparison of Nonkilling in South and North Korean Cultures

Session 3: Nonkilling in Chinese Culture
2:00 ? 2:20pm Assoc. Prof. Dahua Tang, Peking University
2:20 ? 2:40pm Assoc. Prof. Janice Hsiu-chi Wang, Tamkang University

Session 4: Nonkilling in Japanese Culture
3:15 ? 3:55pm Prof. Emeritus Mitsuo Okamoto Hiroshima Shudo University
& Prof. Tamayo Okamoto, Hiroshima Prefectural College of
Health Sciences
4:15 ? 4:45pm Comparison of Nonkilling in Chinese and Japanese Cultures

Session 5: Nonkilling in Russian Culture
9:00 ? 9:20am Prof. William V. Smirnov, Head, Russian Academy of Sciences
9:20 ? 9:40am Assoc. Prof. Tatiana Yakushkina, St. Petersburg University of Culture
and Arts

Session 6: Nonkilling in American Culture
10:15 ? 10:55am Prof. Emeritus Michael N. Nagler, University of California, Berkeley
& Ms. Stephanie Van Hook, Portland State University
11:15 ? 11:45am Comparison of Nonkilling in Russian and American Culture

Session 7: Six Culture Nonkilling Comparisons
1:30-2:30pm Discussion: Commonalities and Differences

Session 8: Suggestions for Further Nonkilling Exploration
2:45-3:45pm Discussion
3:45 ? 4:30pm Publication and Translation Arrangements