Tuesday: The Royal Asiatic Society in Seoul is giving a lecture titled “History and Justice - Approaches to the Dokdo Islets Issue” with Professor Kim Yong-deok.
The dispute between Korea and Japan concerning the Dokdo islets (Takeshima to Japan) is especially difficult for outsiders to understand. The highly emotional, nationalistic rhetoric often used by both sides provides no objective basis for an informed opinion.
Among scholars of history and law in Japan and Korea, there has long been controversy surrounding their differing ways of seeing the history of Dokdo yet all agree that accurate history must be based on historical facts.
Professor Kim is a respected Korean scholar of Japanese history and of the history of relations between Japan and Korea. He has long advocated a reasoned dialogue in place of impassioned rhetoric, and believes the most persuasive way to convince the international community will be to invoke foreign sources, including Japanese documents, to support Korea’s claim over Dokdo.
At this lecture he will explain the Korean position in the dispute by referring to Japanese and other foreign sources.
Kim has been the president of the Northeast Asian History Foundation in Seoul since 2006 and has published a number of books and articles on relations between Japan and Korea.
The lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the second floor lounge of Somerset Palace, central Seoul.
Attendance is free for members and 5,000 won for nonmembers.
Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 6, or Jonggak Station, line No. 1, exit 2
For more information, call (02) 763-9483 or visit www.raskb.com.