 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Caltech official named director of UGA fund raising
CHA Research Fellows for 2000-2001 announced
Georgia Center marketing staff wins six awards
Nutrition prof’s efforts yield food for thought
Kudos
Two administrative positons filled in student affairs division
Top of the class
Globis director discusses his role in resolving problems facing the two Koreas
pwilliam@franklin.uga.edu
Han Park is a professor of political science and director of UGA’s Center for the Study of Global Issues. He has been intimately involved with the problems facing North Korea and South Korea for more than three decades. Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg calls Park “one of the architects” of the “breakthrough that is now taking place” between the two countries. Columns talked to Park about the problems facing the two Koreas and his longterm role in helping solve them.
Columns: Is the apparent thaw between North and South Korea real or superficial?
Park: Real in the sense that they are sincere. They are not faking. But it is superficial in the sense that we really cannot expect a peaceful resolution, in real terms, to the tension and potential conflict there--because all they have been doing since the summit meeting is making humanitarian gestures, as opposed to dealing with the hard issues, such as security and reduction of arms.
Columns: In your opinion, was the recent reunion between 100 citizens of North Korea and relatives in the South a genuine act of conciliation on the part of North Korea?
Park: It was a genuine humanitarian gesture but not political conciliation at all. From these conciliatory gestures, both Korean governments are getting a lot of media exposure and support from the international community.
Columns: You’ve been to North Korea more than 35 times. Were you ever worried that you were truly in personal danger?
Park: Always. To this day, we have no diplomatic relations between the United States and North Korea. So on my passport, there’s no evidence whatsoever that I have visited North Korea. Really, there’s no way anybody can trace my whereabouts when I visit North Korea. Aside from this technical and legalistic dimension, substantively, I don’t condone North Korean ideology and am often critical of its policies, and they know it. So they may find me harmful to the perpetuation of their system, as far as propaganda is concerned. They may find me a source of discomfort in some ways. So, yes, I always felt uneasy, and each time I go there I buy extra life insurance.
Columns: Do you think one side or the other reaped a greater benefit from the trip of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung to North Korea?
Park: I think this was a win-win event. Kim Dae-jung became a much more popular leader in the South because of his rather visionary, heroic move. And Kim Jong-il [president of North Korea] got much support from North Koreans as well as South Koreans for unexpectedly conciliatory and unexpectedly sophisticated gestures.
Columns: Why have you devoted so much of your life to bringing North and South Korea closer together?
Park: Ethnically, I’m a Korean. I have been personally a victim of the division. I was a part of a separated family myself. I wanted to help these dispersed family members be reunited. I organized, with the help of the late Dean Rusk, a non-profit organization called Uniting Families, Inc., here in Athens, and am trying to help these people and their relatives before more people die of old age. They have been separated for 50 or more years. I feel a sense of urgency because I empathize personally.
Columns: What role has the University of Georgia played in all this?
Park: The University of Georgia is the first and only university that has established a working relationship with North Korea. We have received delegations over the past few years, most recently last November and December. And the North Korean government officially extended an invitation to the dean of UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to bring a delegation, so we’re planning to go there in late October. We are at the forefront of higher education institutions in the United States in exploring ties with a “rogue” nation. I think it’s an important and intellectually pioneering step, and I’m proud of being part of this university community and these efforts.
UGA Home ] Admissions ] Directories ] Sports ] Alumni ] Weather ]
Search this site ] Search UGA sites ]
Developed by University Communications News Bureau at the University of Georgia.
Beth Roberts: Columns editor, Juliett Dinkins: Columns managing editor,
Janet Beckley: Columns art director.
This site works best with the latest version of
Netscape Navigator 4.0 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0.