“I have only one loyalty in policy and politics: loyalty to the scientific method.”
Emanuel Pastreich
December 15, 2017
Uncategorized
“Prepare for North Korean terror in Gangnam” Korea Times
Korea Times
“Prepare for North Korean terror in Gangnam”
December 3, 2017
There has been a lot of hot rhetoric in Washington, D.C.and Seoul about how Trump and a pumped up U.S. -Korea alliance are going to “take care of” Pyongyang. But I fear that the thinking is fuzzy, if not delusional. North Korea, with extensive underground facilities built over the last fifty years, cannot be stopped by either a precision attack, or an all-out assault. Even if a suicidal Donald Trump dropped 50 atomic bombs on North Korea, he might permanently destroy the climate of Northeast Asia, he might be removed from office through a coup d’etat, but he will do nothing to even scratch the nuclear weapons North Korea is storing deep beneath the surface of the Earth.
Joke about African Americans in American society
I heard this joke from my son yesterday.
Two black men are walking down the street when they see a sign that reads,
“Get ahead in life! Become white. Just $200”
One man said to the other, “Well, it certainly could be a great economic opportunity to be white. Maybe I should try it.”
The other man said, “Try it out and see if it helps.”
He paused, and then responded,
“But I only have $100 on me. Can you lend me $100 and I will pay you back with interest as soon as I become white and get rich.”
“Sure,” replied his friend.
The man went into the store and came out as a white man one hour later.
His friend was amazed, exclaiming, “It worked! Now you can make the big money. So, when can I get my $100 back?”
His friend replied, “Get a job!”
“Korea’s future: The economy, security and society” Emanuel Pastreich @ Kyung Hee University
“Korea’s future:
The economy, security, and society”
Emanuel Pastreich
Associate Professor
Kyung Hee International College
Thursday, November 30, 2017
6:00-7:30 PM
College of International Studies
Room: Kyung Hee University (Suwon Campus)
경희대 국제대학
KIS B101
College of International Studies
Kyung Hee University
Suwon Campus
Deokyoung-daero 1732
Giheung-gu Yongin Gyeonggi-do
The paradigms for economic growth and for security that have worked for the last 50 years in the Republic of Korea have hit a dead end. The nation faces unprecedented challenges in terms of security, economics, society and culture itself that will demand, in the not-too-far-distant future a complete rethinking of the very definition of those terms. Emanuel Pastreich engages students in this lecture in a serious discussion as to what current trends suggest about future challenges for Korea and what must be done now to respond.
Please join us.
epastreich@khu.ac.kr
KIS B101
College of International Studies
Kyung Hee University
Suwon Campus
경희대학교 국제대학
Deokyoung-daero 1732
Giheung-gu Yongin Gyeonggi-do
‘외êµì¸ì´ ë°”ë¼ë³¸ í•œê¸€ì˜ ì°½ì˜ì„±’ 특강
‘외국인이 바라본 한글의 창의성’
특강
이만열교수님_강의자료_NHM (1)
2017년 11월 24일 금요일 오후 4-5:30
국립한글박물관
24일 오후 4시부터는 제3회 인문학 특강 ‘외국인이 바라본 한글의 창의성’을 개최한다. 강연자는 경희대 임마누엘 페스트라이쉬 교수(한국 이름 이만열)이다. 페스트라이쉬 교수는 2005년 주미한국대사관 자문관으로 활동한 이래 우송대, 경희대 등에서 교수로 재직하며 한국과 한국문화에 대한 연구와 강의 활동을 활발히 해 왔다.
이번 인문학 특강은 임마누엘 페스트라이쉬 교수가 바라보는 한글의 문자적 가치를 살펴보는 자리로 외국인 학자의 눈을 통해 한글을 살펴볼 수 있다는 점에서 기대를 모은다. 아울러 세종시대의 철학과 사고방식이 우리 사회에 주는 의미에 대해서도 폭넓게 이야기할 예정이다.
임마누엘 페스트라이쉬 교수는 중어중문학 학사 학위(1987년), 비교문화학 석사 학위(1992년), 동아시아언어문화학 박사 학위(1997년)를 취득한 언어문화 연구 전문가다. 대표적인 저서로 ‘세계의 석학들, 한국의 미래를 말하다'(2012년), ‘한국인만 모르는 다른 대한민국'(2013년), ‘한국인만 몰랐던 더 큰 대한민국'(2017년) 등이 있다. 연암 박지원의 소설을 영문 번역본으로 출간할 정도로 한글 문학에도 관심이 크다. 현재 경희대 국제학부 부교수 겸 아시아 인스티튜트 소장으로 재직하고 있다.
국립한글박물관은 인문학 특강을 통해 한글과 한글문화를 다양한 관점에서 재해석하고 한글문화에 대한 공감대를 만들어나가는 자리를 마련하고 있다. 이번 특강은 국립한글박물관 누리집(www.hangeul.go.kr)에서 사전 신청을 통해 무료로 참여할 수 있다.
(http://news1.kr/articles/?3159413)
The breakdown of coherence in this moment of overwhelming change
I watched the movie Coherence (2013) tonight with tremendous interest. It relates the tale of four couples who find themselves in a cabin in the woods at the time that a comet passes nearby. The comet disrupts space-time, leading to the creation of multiple versions of each person. The different characters then mix with each other, creating tremendous chaos which only deepens with each moment of choice.
I think that the movie was effective because it was a good representation of the radical fragmentation that is taking place in our own society, and around the world, at the same time.
The results are a confusion about information, truth and falsehood. The results from the reproduction and manipulation of information. But not all of that is done by evil people, the shift is more fundamental.
But the confusion is also spiritual and it is also about identity. As things are reproduced so easily and images and words drop in value to be almost worthless, our own identity as humans is called into question. And that is not all. This confusion of replication is taking place precisely at the same time (by accident, or perhaps not) that technology is allowing us to reproduce ourselves and systems of supercomputers are essentially taking over the world.
Oddly, some still cling to this idea that we are looking at a new cold war, or a new world war, but what if it is a conflict between banks of supercomputers around the world, struggling with each other in obscure ways related to currency, current and identity.
We find ourselves in uncharted territory and if the question is what will happen to us, perhaps the most important question of all is: “what do you mean by ‘us?'”
Emanuel’s student ID from National Taiwan University
I studied at National Taiwan University 1985-1986 for my junior year abroad as an exchange student in the Department of Chinese. It was a turning point in my life. This is my student ID from that period. Not that only my Chinese name is featured and that I am a waijisheng 外籍生。
Emanuel on Xi’s speech at CPC
Interview with Emanuel Pastreich
Director of the Asia Institute
October 18, 2017
CGNT (China Global Network Television)
Asia Today
On the 19th Communist Party Congress and President Xi Jinping’s Speech
13:30
Mang Mang:
“Of course, Xi Jinping elaborated on Chinese foreign policy towards Asian neighbors. Which issues stood out most to you and do you have any fresh insights?”
Emanuel Pastreich:
“I can tell you what was most striking. President Xi did not criticize any other nations. He did not speak about wars, or even competition. He gave hope and an opportunity for cooperation. He suggested a new vision for the world, for Asia, starting from the One Belt; One Belt Initiative. His proposal was that the ultimate focus was on each nation’s potential
He said that China offered potential models in its past and in its present, but that each country had its unique qualities that also should be respected.
And I was most impressed when he said, “the political advancement of mankind,” which suggested an idealism that in many countries has been lost over the last few decades and it is very, very far from “America first.”
Finally I was impressed by his emphasis on science and on scientific inquiry, on addressing poverty and addressing climate change, and on global collaboration which was the original purpose of the World Bank and the United Nations, but we have sometimes lost our way.
Host Mang Mang:
“So in order to enhance collaboration there needs to be a decent level of integration. What more can you tell us about Chinese efforts to facilitate greater regional integration in Asia?
Emanuel Pastreich:
“Well, of course, China is active all over the place, and increasingly playing a vital role. But we have to see this in context. As an American, myself, originally, the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from UNESCO, to reduce its participation in the United Nations, in diplomacy and in global governance, in poverty reduction, makes China now the major donor. We are going to see major shifts around the world. And it is inspiring to me, of course I am not a fortune teller and I do not know how things will play out, but this potential for a cooperative world not based on the threat of force or economic domination, in which the needs of poor people and developing countries are properly addressed, that this offers a real potential to us that can be inspiring and I think many people were hoping that he would make some statement like this to give us some sense that there is some potential in what is a very critical and critical and dangerous moment in human history.
Forced to embrace elements of Christian eschatology against my will!
There are two critical parts of Christian eschatology that I have been forced to accept, against my own will, over the last two decades.
First Christian eschatology assumes a moment of creation, a single instant in which the entire universe was created from nothing. I never liked this idea, and I preferred the more logical Buddhist concept of an eternal universe that is stable and cyclical. But the big bang theory, which holds that there was a single moment of creation, has become the dominant explanation for what we observe to day, and so completely upheld by observations that there really are no challenging theories.
The second assumption of the Christians is that there is an apocalypse, a moment when the world is destroyed and everyone is killed. The Christians suggest that the apocalypse is a result of our sins.
This idea also did not sit well with me. After all, humans have done terrible things to each other for thousands of years and God has never been able to completely wipe out humanity. Certainly what disasters have happened were not the result of our sins.
But that was before it became clear that radical climate change is our future, and it may well wipe us all out. I do not assume that those of faith will survive, but I am certain that climate change is a result of our sins, in a sense all of our sins, although some bear immense responsibly and others much less. The more aware I am made by shifting weather patterns of the final stages of climate change, the more I am certain that the apocalypse is upon us.
I do not, however, have much confidence that anyone will be saved by faith, however.
Korea Times “Xi Jinping and ecological civilization movement”
Korea Times
“Xi and ecological civilization movement”
October 10, 2017
Emanuel Pastreich
Koreans worry that the conflict between the United States and China will force them to choose between a military ally and their most important economic partner. Although this view of the current situation is accurate, it is only part of the problem. In fact, Korea is also faced with a profound choice about how it defines economics and the future of civilization itself.
The recent meeting between United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese President Xi Jinping was ostensibly about planning for the upcoming visit of President Donald Trump to Beijing and discussing how China can increase economic pressure on North Korea.
But these two individuals could not be more different in their motives and backgrounds. Rex Tillerson is an unprecedented secretary of state, someone with zero political, governmental, academic or diplomatic experience. As the former CEO of Exxon, Tillerson was directly involved in the cover-up of climate change and the pursuit of profits from petroleum regardless of its impact on the environment.
Since his appointment, he has been ruthless in gutting the State Department, removing any senior diplomats who might offer even the slightest resistance ― and many have quit of their own accord.
By contrast, Xi Jinping has spent his entire career in government and has an intimate understanding of policy and practice. Under his leadership, China has declared that healthcare is a human right and he has spoken out about desertification.