hankyoreh

The inaugural issue of the Seoul-based "Global Asia" journal was published, with an aim to become the Asian "Foreign Affairs," referring to the influential journal published by the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations. A publication party was held on October 1.

Global Asia is published by the East Asia Foundation (EAF), and is currently the only magazine that looks at worldwide issues and Asian policy with Asian insight, communicating to the world Asian voices on important issues.

Former minister of foreign affairs and trade Gong Ro-myung is the publisher and Moon Chung-in, a professor of political science at Yonsei University, is the editor-in-chief of the new journal. Making waves in international affairs circles is the fact that Gong, who is considered a conservative, and Moon, who is considered a liberal and "President Roh’s personal foreign affairs teacher," will cooperate on the new magazine.

The inaugural issue contains articles by former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, former Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, former Chinese vice premier Qian Qichen and former U.S. national security advisor Samuel Berger. In an article titled "Future of East Asian Regionalism," former president Kim stressed the necessity to form an East Asian community, saying, "The world is advancing toward an era in which Asia becomes the center, removing the age-old West-centered attitude."

Members of the editorial board include many notable figures, such as Ahn Choong-yong, a professor of Chung-Ang University; Funabashi Yoichi, a columnist and chief diplomatic correspondent for Asahi Shimbun in Japan; Wang Jisi, dean of the School of International Studies at Beijing University; David Plott, a professor of Hong Kong University; John Ikenberry, a professor of Princeton University in the United States; Nodari Simonia, former director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow; Nayan Chanda, a professor of Yale University; Simon Tay, a professor of National University of Singapore, and Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute in the U.S.

The editors will hold dialogue via e-mail regarding the magazine. The journal will be designed in Australia, and printed in Hong Kong with paper supplied by Japan.

Global Asia will be published biannually through 2007 and will begin to be issued as a quarterly in 2008. The public can download the inagural edition free of charge at its official Internet site, www.globalasia.org. Starting with its second issue, the journal will be on magazine stands in Asia, the U.S., and Europe.