| An aerial view of the main stadium where the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games were held. /Korea Times file |
By Bernard Rowan
The governor stressed to me the sacrifices Gangwon Province residents have made throughout modern Korean history. In particular, the region suffered because of the Korean War. The province of Gangwon became divided between the North and South because of the conflict, and of course it remains divided. Over the past 50 years, countless efforts have been made to make Gangwon a stronger contributor to the Korean economy. And now, with leadership and vision, the governor has held several major international events. He prepares his region's citizens for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics. What a wonderful period of accomplishment and positive success, still too little recognized and praised, in my view.
Choi spoke convincingly of the need to develop a culture of peace. It's tempting to dismiss Choi's thinking from a realist view. Doing so continues to perpetrate the war thinking still dominant in the world, as in Ukraine. To invest in the future of people and the planet as a future of peace, we must create spaces that leave conflict and unnecessary strife and turn toward positive cooperation.
Specifically, the PyeongChang Peace Forum emphasized the platform of "Peace: Here and Now!" and an Action Plan for Peace. It included five key agenda topics: economy, sports, DMZ Peace Zone, the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Peace Public Diplomacy. Varied sessions discussed the way peace can serve to organize an economy, as well as possibilities for cooperation between North and South Korea stemming from Gangwon.
Of course, the forum is connected to Gangwon's past sponsorship of the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics and Winter Olympics, as well as the forthcoming 2024 Youth Winter Olympics. Sports build national, regional and global peace capacity. Third, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) provides a notable and key site for future peace. The forum and related efforts are already planning for its transformation to a place representing the transcendence of conflict. The forum publicizes theoretical and concrete efforts to transform society away from the opposition of military forces. It encourages unity towards conservation and Earth jurisprudence.
The Peace Forum shares an understanding of human nature and society of their potential. In other words, it provides attention to focusing away from simple extraction and control of natural resources, giving power to just use and commitments to the earth and future generations. The forum's other sessions focused on the continuing life of the SDGs. Sustainable development ties the pursuit of peace to local government and public-private partnerships, including extending cooperation between North and South Korea.
Governor Choi appears to be continuing his lifetime commitment to investments in the growth and development of Gangwon Province. The forum displays his proven ability to gather international cooperation for major events such as the forum and Olympics. Choi's serious yet cheerful bearing and rhetoric of peace deserve wider hearing and use. I hope the next Korean government will extend Choi's ideas and example wider and develop peace's potential through soft power.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is the associate provost for contract administration and a professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and a former visiting professor at Hanyang University.