Korean Organic Farming: “The Jewel of Great Price”
Emanuel Pastreich
The Asia Institute
January 25, 2012
The Flower of the Dharma Sutra (Fahuajing 法華經) includes a remarkable tale entitled “The Jewel of Great Price” (無價寶珠) that describes quite accurately the state of organic farming in Korea today as a forgotten treasure.
In “The Jewel of Great Price,” a man is given a jewel by a friend as a present. But because the friend sews the jewel safely into the lining of the man’s jacket while he is sleeping and does not have the chance to tell him about it before parting early the next morning, the man suffers through terrible deprivations over years, unaware that he has this priceless jewel right in his own jacket. Only later when he meets up again with his friend does he learn of the treasure that he was carrying with him.
Asia Institute
“Establishing a Korean Tradition of Democracy to Inspire” (한국어)
“Establishing a Korean Tradition of Democracy to Inspire”
An essay arguing that Korea’s democratic tradition must be traced back over the last thousand years to properly have the depth necessary to inspire the world. We have mistakenly assumed that the Korean democratic tradition is a product of the 1980s, thus unnecessarily limiting its possible impact.
Emanuel Pastreich (이만열)
아시아인스티튜트
2012년 1월 15일
“전통의 재발견과 한국식 민주주의”
민주주의 발전이라는 주제를 갖고 아시아 각국을 바라보면 긍정적인 변화와 더불어 부정적인 변화도 동시에 나타나고 있음을 알 수 있다. 선거를 통해 최고 권력자를 선출하는 나라가 많아지는 현상은 긍정적이지만 정치에 깊은 관심을 잦고 참여 하는 시민들은 오히려 줄고 있다. 그 결과 2년에 한 번 정도 정치인을 상품으로 생각하고 선택하는 형식적 민주주의에서 그친다면 시민들이 정치에 대해 실질적인 영향을 미치지 못하고 의식이 있는 사람들이 정치를 하지 않는 악순환이 조성된다. 이런 현상은 현대 아시아에서, 그리고 전 세계적으로 나타나고 있고 민주주의 위기가 임박했다는 진단을 내릴 수도 있다.
Asia Institute Seminar with Noam Chomsky (December 3, 2011)
December 3, 2011
Emanuel Pastreich with Professor Noam Chomsky
Asia Institute Seminar
The Asia Institute with GPYC Korea (Global Peace Youth Corps)
Emanuel Pastreich:
Recently we have seen quite a bit reporting about a reengagement of the Obama Administration in East Asia and actions that are perceived as an effort to encircle and contain China. Most notable is the agreement to deploy 2,500 US Marines in Darwin announced during President Obama’s November visit to Australia. Well certainly reading through the New York Times you might think that the United States has surrounded China. But there is plenty of evidence that it is in fact the United States that is increasingly isolated from the world. We find increasingly that it is the United States that is difficult to get visas for entry and the United States that is isolated in the international community.
Jung Ang Monthly Magazine Article Features Asia Institute Seminar with Noam Chomsky (article in Korean)
The December issue of Jung Ang Monthly Magazine (월간중앙) featured an extended article on our recent webinar with Professor Noam Chomsky of MIT. Here is a copy of the Korean text. The video and English version will be forthcoming.
Asia Institute Seminar: Interview with Professor Haun Saussy of University of Chicago
The Asia Institute Seminar
December 29, 2011
Interview with Haun Saussy
University Professor of Comparative Literature
University of Chicago
Professor Haun Saussy is a leading scholar of Chinese and comparative literature, has been named University Professor of Comparative Literature in the Division of the Humanities and the College at the University of Chicago. One of the few figures with a deep understanding of both the Western classical and Eastern tradition, who has advanced arguments for a new global approach to comparative literature. Professor Saussy is the 17th person ever to hold the title of University Professor at University of Chicago, an honor given to distinguished scholars.
Saussy’s first book, The Problem of a Chinese Aesthetic (Stanford University Press, 1993), discussed the tradition of commentary that has grown up around the early Chinese poetry collection Shijing. His most recent book is Great Walls of Discourse and Other Adventures in Cultural China (Harvard University Asia Center, 2001), an account of the ways of knowing and describing specific to China scholarship.
“Climate Change, Social Change and the North Korean Threat”
I have yet to see an article discussing the implications of climate change for North Korea. But the topic came up in a recent Asia Institute seminar with Vince Rubino, Matthew Weigand and I. If climate change, the global financial chaos, digitalization and the disorder stemming to domestic and international conflicts sweeping the world worsen in the years to come, there may be some unexpected consequences. Not the least of which would be the strengthening of North Korean power and influence.
“Strengthening of North Korean power? Wait a minute, Emanuel, what are you talking about? I thought North Korea was on the edge of collapse.
Christian Thought (기독교사상) on Emanuel’s work (article in Korean)
This article in the November, 2011 issue of “Christian Thought” (기독교사상) includes a rather lengthy interview in Korean.
Panel on Cooperation in Energy, Transportation and Environment fields in Northeast Asia at Global Peace Convention
The recent Global Peace Convention in Seoul (November 28-29, 2011) brought together a remarkably diverse group of individuals from NGOs, business and academics to discuss the future of North-South relations. The concept of addressing the North-South division by inviting the input of youth from around the world was particularly striking. See the introductory video for Global Peace Convention for a sense of the approach to North-South relations:
Asia Institute Seminar with Noam Chomsky (article in Korean)
White Ink
December 5, 2011
노암 촘스키, ‘나꼼수’에 대해 말하다
위키트리 11.12.05 11:20 하얀잉크
나꼼수 미국원정길에 딴지건 한국정부 향한 노암 촘스키의 대답은?
“만약 이라크 특공대가 조지 부시의 집에 침투해 부시를 암살하고 그 시신을 대서양에 버렸다면 어떻게 반응할 것인지 우리는 자문해야 할지도 모른다”
오사마 빈 라덴이 사살되었던 지난 5월 축제 분위기에 휩싸인 미국사회에 일침을 가했던 지성인. 미국정부의 오사마 빈 라덴 사살은 계획된 살해이며 이것은 명백한 국제법 위반이라고 당당히 밝혔던 이가 바로 노암 촘스키(Noam Chomsky) 교수이다.