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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
February 9, 2008
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| January 21, 2008 |
Peace Boat and Sungkonghoe University collaborate to build friendship between Japan and Korea |
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| Professor Kwon played soccer with participants nearly every morning while onboard. |
Peace Boat’s Global University and Sungkonghoe University, a progressive Korean university, established an exchange programme in 2003, with the objective of increasing grassroots cooperation and friendship between the people of Japan and Korea.
Four Sungkonghoe students are sailing on the 60th voyage, and they were joined for the first leg of the trip by their professor, Kwon Heok-Tae. A Professor of Japanese Studies, Professor Kwon was instrumental in founding the joint programme, in line with his belief that since the lack of a common language is one factor holding back conflict resolution in Northeast Asia, it is vital to increase linguistic and cultural exchanges between Koreans and Japanese. |
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| The four Korean IS onboard for the 60th voyage are, from left to right, Hyun-Joong, Ji, So-Young, and Seon-Mi. |
The Korean Students (known as the IS: International Students) will participate in the Global University onboard, focusing on the structure of poverty; global warming; and the situation of the world post-Iraq. Additionally, they will host their own events for participants, introducing topics such as Japan-Korea relations, Korea’s compulsory military training and the sex slaves forcibly recruited from Korea by the Japanese military in the 1940s. The IS will also take part in language exchanges onboard, teaching Korean while studying Japanese, Spanish and English. |
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| The Korean IS wore Japanese yukata for the onboard summer festival. |
The Korean IS each have personal goals for the voyage. Hyun-Joong, a sociology major, plans to study the social movement in Latin America and continue activism after the voyage. Seon-Mi, whose major is Japanese Studies, plans to hold an onboard exhibition focusing on the meaning of peace to different people, and continue studying feminism and minority issues after the voyage. Sociology major So-Young is learning about different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during the voyage, planning to apply this knowledge to her own work. And Ji, who is majoring in sociology and social welfare, is particularly interested in apartheid and similarities with social divisions in Korea. All four of the Korean IS are looking forward to both sharing with and learning from as many different people as they can throughout the 60th voyage. |
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Professor Kwon believes that the Japan peace constitution should remain as it is, not just for Japan but also as a model for Asia and the rest of the world. |
Professor Kwon left the vessel in Singapore, having given thought-provoking presentations on how controversies such as the potential revision of Japan’s constitution and Japanese worship at Yasukuni Shrine, where over 1000 convicted war criminals are enshrined, are hindering the creation of a more peaceful Asia. He encouraged the IS to take this opportunity to re-think who and where they are in relation to the rest of the world, stressing that relations between people are the key to reducing conflict on a larger level. |
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