hankyoreh

Participants in the 2024 Northeast Asia Summer School of Peace, which ran from Aug. 26-31 at Chung-Ang University. (courtesy of the CAU Center for German and European Studies)

Kim Nury, professor of German literature at Chung-Ang University 

On Aug. 26, Chung-Ang University kicked off a weeklong event called “2024 Northeast Asia Summer School of Peace.” It was an event to discuss and celebrate “peace in an era of global upheaval.” Graduate students in master’s and doctorate programs at the University of Tokyo, Peking University, and Chung-Ang University were joined by students from Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, Brazil and Chile. Over 40 graduate students attended. 

The seeds for this event took root a long time ago. When Chung-Ang University was selected in 2013 to host a branch of the Center for German and European Studies (ZeDEDs), which is funded by the German government, I thought that, above all else, the center should contribute to peace in Northeast Asia. At the time, the University of Tokyo and Peking University already hosted their own branches of the Center for German and European Studies, so we proposed that both universities build their own “Northeast Asian Society for German and European Studies.” Both schools accepted my proposal, and the exchange between our three institutions began. 

My proposal at the time said the following: 

“To realize the dream of a peaceful Northeast Asian community, I propose that the branches of the Center for German and European Studies in Japan, South Korea and China join forces to create a Northeast Asian Society for German and European Studies. 

“Peaceful coexistence in Northeast Asia is not only a great ideal, it’s a massive challenge. Three enormous barriers stand in the way. The first is Japan’s past. The second is Korea’s present. The third is China’s future. Japan’s lack of historical reckoning is blocking the road to reconciliation in Northeast Asia. The present reality of division in the Korean Peninsula is a blatant example of physical division in Northeast Asia. China’s quest for hegemony is fostering anxiety deep in the collective unconscious of the people in neighboring countries. 

“There is a country that has dealt with all the issues that are currently plaguing Northeast Asia: reckoning with the past, physical division, and hegemony. That country is Germany. 

“Germany has served as a model for historical reckoning by facing the wrongdoings of the Nazis head-on. The country overcame the divisions imposed by the Iron Curtain and reunified as a country. The German people successfully allayed the fears residing in the hearts of its neighbors concerning the German nation’s quest for hegemony, an ambition that sparked two world wars. The German nation went on to serve a decisive role in the formation of the European Union. Korea, China, and Japan all have something to learn from Germany’s experiences, which can provide a new vision for a peaceful Northeast Asian community.”

Today, the dream of peace in Northeast Asia has become even more pressing. Powerful stereotypes and prejudices are deeply rooted in the minds of the youth of all three countries. Anti-Korea and anti-China sentiment are spreading throughout Japan, while a crazed nationalist fever is running rampant across China. Anti-China and anti-Japan sentiments also run deep among young Koreans. Ethnonationalism, patriotism, state nationalism and chauvinism are spreading across Northeast Asia. It’s as if the entire region has been sprayed with a fuel of hatred. The presence of political agitators has turned the situation into a powder keg. One spark could set the whole thing off. 

How are we going to overcome such a precarious situation? In 2015, I led a group of Chung-Ang University students, joined by students from Peking University, on a trip to Ochsenhausen, a town in southwestern Germany, for a summer academic camp called “Academy Europe.” Students attended lectures together, debated, made presentations, and went on local tours. Something amazing happened throughout the course of all this. The South Korean and Chinese students were wary of each other when they first met, but in just two or three days they became close friends, leaving their prejudices behind. Their conversations started with Chinese films, Korean dramas and K-pop, graduated to German novelists and philosophers, and eventually evolved into discussions about the future of Northeast Asia. 

When it came time to say goodbye, they left each other in tears and sadness. Ochsenhausen taught me that physical interaction and conversations create miracles. The cure to rampant ethnonationalism and chauvinism throughout Northeast Asia is none other than interaction and conversation. 

I ended my opening address to kick off the “2024 Northeast Asia Summer School of Peace” with a call for peace. “We are planting the seeds for peace in Northeast Asia. These seeds will one day grow into a rich forest of peace. That day will come.” I then suggested that we all sing Beethoven’s “An die Freude” (Ode to Joy) together. “Your [Joy’s] magic reunites / what custom strictly divided / All people become brothers / under your protective wing.” 

It’s no coincidence that “Ode to Joy” is the official song of the European Union. Conventions like ethnicity, nationality, class and sex divide us, but it is the magic of joy that unites us. I have a dream, that one day the youth of the world, enraptured by joy, will cast off their stereotypes and prejudices and create a global community of peace. 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]