제주평화연구원

  International Conferences for Peace in Jeju Jeju has hosted peace conferences such as the annual Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues, sponsored since 2002 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific. Other conferences held on Jeju Island include the first Korea-China-JapanTrilateral Cooperation Forum in May 2008, the Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in June 2009, and the Korea-China-Japan Trilateral Summit Meeting in May 2010.     Year   Month/Dates Title   2006   Jan. 20-21   Asian ASEM Senior Officials' Meeting   2007   Mar. 1-Apr. 1   Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting   Jun. 3   Korea-Japan-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting   Jun. 7-9   Conference on War and Peace in the Era of Globalization: Experiences from Europe and Asia   2008   Feb. 18-19   Fourth ROK-US-Japan Security Workshop   Feb. 22-23   Korea-Mongolia Peace and Economic Conference   May 26-28   First Trilateral Cooperation Forum   Nov. 24-26   Seventh Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues   Dec. 9-10   Second Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum   2009   Jun. 1-2   Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit Meeting   Nov. 16-18   Eighth Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues   2010   May 29-30   Third Trilateral Summit Meeting   Dec. 2-3   Ninth Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues   2011   Mar 17-18   First Trilateral Counter-Terrorism Consultation   Mar. 28-Apr. 1   Joint Study Committee Meeting for an FTA among China, Japan, and Korea   May. 17-20   21st Anti-Drug Liaison Officials' Meeting for International Cooperation   May 17-20   International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation in 2011   Jul. 5-7   Second Plenary Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Safeguards Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation   Sep. 20-23   12th International Nuclear Graphite Specialists' Meeting   Oct. 13-14   Eighth Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum   Oct. 19-21   2011 Asia Pacific Symposium on Safety   Nov. 7-8   10th Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues   2012   Dec. 2-3   11th Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues   2013   Nov. 14-15   12th Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues   2014   Dec. 4-5   13th Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues

  HAN Intaek Jeju Peace Institute As an island of world peace, Jeju strives to promote peace and cooperation. One important way for Jeju to achieve its goal is by serving as a venue for meetings and conferences aimed at promoting peace and cooperation. Jeju is a visa-free island accessible by direct flights from major cities in Northeast Asia. Its accessibility and natural beauty make Jeju a preferred site for international conferences and meetings. Not surprisingly, Jeju has been the venue for bilateral, trilateral and multilateral summit meetings. One of the most historic summit meetings in South Korea’s history took place in Jeju about 30 years ago. When the Cold War was drawing to a close, then newly elected President of South Korea Roh Tae-woo introduced “Nordpolitik.” Under the new doctrine, South Korea would reach out to countries it had previously considered enemies. It would seek to normalize diplomatic relations with the Soviet and China. The ultimate target was, of course, North Korea. South Korea’s efforts paid off. In September 1990, South Korea and the Soviet normalized their relations. The following year, then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was mindful of North Korea, and suggested that the summit be held away from Seoul and away from North Korea. As a result, Jeju was chosen. The Roh-Gorbachev summit not only contributed to ending the Cold War, it also started a community-wide movement to turn Jeju into an “island of peace.” Since then, summit meetings have been taking place in Jeju. In April 1996, former President Kim Young-sam and former U.S. President Bill Clinton had a summit in Jeju, followed by a summit between former President Kim and then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. China’s former President Jiang Zemin also visited Jeju and famously played the piano there. Among summit meetings held in Jeju are the Korea-China-Japan summit in 2010 and the Korea-ASEAN special summits in 2009. The list will continue to grow in the future. Jeju has been also the venue for one of the most successful disarmament and non-proliferation dialogues in the region. Since 2002, the Government of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), through its Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) have been holding the annual Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues in Jeju. Attended by representatives from Governments and intergovernmental organizations, as well as policy institutes, academia and non-governmental organizations, the annual Conference has become an important forum for candid and constructive exchanges of views among participants on timely challenges and potential solutions to key disarmament, arms-control and security issues. In particular, it addresses disarmament and non-proliferation concerns at the regional level. Every spring, thousands of people gather in Jeju to talk about peace and prosperity. This annual gathering, the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, began in 2001 and aims to promote peace through dialogue and achieve prosperity through cooperation. The Jeju Forum is attended by some of the biggest names in Asia and around the world, including former and current heads of state, CEOs of global conglomerates, and renowned scholars. But it is also a gathering for everyone and anyone who cares about peace. In essence, the Jeju Forum continues and expands the tradition of summit meetings to discuss peace among friends and former adversaries. The Jeju Peace Institute organizes the Jeju Forum. In 2011, Jeju was also the venue for the 8th Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum. First held in Cairo, Egypt in 2003, the annual Forum brings together influential leaders and brilliant minds from Korea and the Middle East for exchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge. The Jeju Peace Institute organized the 8th Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum with the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. As the Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum is held in South Korea and the Middle East on a rotating basis, subsequent Forums were held in different cities in the Middle East, such as Abu Dhabi, Amman, and Kuwait City. While the venues and Arab co-organizers have changed, the Jeju Peace Institute has remained a Korean organizer of the Forum since 2011. Just last month, the Jeju Peace Institute successfully completed the 12th Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum in Kuwait, in cooperation with the Korea-Arab Society and the Diplomatic Center for Strategic Studies, Kuwait. The Middle East is where the world's oldest cultures and civilizations emerged. Today, however, it is a region deeply involved in conflict. By sharing knowledge and experience to promote peace and cooperation at the Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum, Koreans and Arabs are working together for a better future. By organizing the Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum, the Jeju Peace Institute hopes to contribute to peace and cooperation in the Middle East in a small way.

  Establishment of the Organization of Peace and Cooperation in Northeast Asia The fourth Jeju Peace Forum was hosted by the Jeju Peace Institute from June 21-23, 2007, under the theme of “Peace and Prosperity in Northeast Asia: Exploring the European Experience.” With the goal of establishing an organization of peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia, the fourth forum adopted the Jeju Declaration to call for the Jeju Process, modeled after the Helsinki Process, which led to the creation of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe. The declaration manifested, “Jeju - designated by the Government of the Republic of Korea as an ‘Island of World Peace’ in January 2005 - is ideally suited to serve as the center for such a process and immediate steps should be taken to promote such a role.” Former President Roh Moo-hyun said in his keynote speech to the fourth forum, “The Six-Party Talks, even after the North Korean nuclear issue is settled, should be developed into a multilateral consultative body devoted to peace and security cooperation in Northeast Asia.” He also emphasized that the OSCE established through the Helsinki Process after the World Wars “should serve as a good model for Northeast Asia.” To implement the Jeju Process suggested at the forum, an international workshop on the Jeju Process was held on October 16, 2007. The workshop was attended by Chun Yung-woo (chief negotiator for South Korea at the Six-Party Talks), Brian McDonald (EU ambassador to Korea) and other experts from home and abroad. They held discussions on the action plans to push for the Jeju Process as well as on the roles of European countries in initiating the OSCE lessons from the creation of the OSCE and planning for the organization of the multilateral consultative body in Northeast Asia and the regional community. On the heels of the workshop, professors, Jeju province officials, and researchers of the Jeju Peace Institute held a workshop to discuss concrete measures to initiate the Jeju Process. The endeavors of the Jeju Peace Institute to materialize the Jeju Process in a long-term view were later realized in the form of the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI), an integral part of the government’s national unification and diplomacy policies. However, under the NAPCI to establish the organization of peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia, the Jeju Process is called the “Seoul Process.” Nevertheless, it is still called the Jeju Process by the press and at the Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation, which was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific annually since 2002 on Jeju Island. This conference, in particular, would have to use the NAPCI to implement the Jeju Process. The conference is a track 1.5 meeting that convenes disarmament experts and international organization members from 10 countries to discuss key issues and perspectives of disarmament. To establish an organization of peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia, it is necessary to set up a roadmap and a strategy to systematically implement the Jeju Process. For international cooperation, it is necessary to continue discussions about the Jeju Process at the Jeju Forum, seek measures to encourage Northeast Asian countries to join the process and enhance its status as an inter-governmental consultative body. To realize this vision, the Jeju Peace Institute will set up a long-term strategy to establish and host the security consultative organization on Jeju Island with the collaboration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It will also conduct mid- and long-term examinations of the strategies to achieve lasting peace in Asia.

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="150"] KIM WoosangProfessor, Department of Political Science, Yonsei University[/caption] The international community is still reeling from the world financial crisis started in 2008, and the Brexit decision by the United Kingdom has dealt another shock to the global economy. The world also faces many security issues, such as the pandemic risks of MERS and Zika virus, climate change, the growing threat of terrorism, and refugee and human rights violations issues caused by civil warfare. International cooperation is vital to cope with these global problems. In East Asia, the hegemonic rivalry between the United States and China is intensifying. Chinese President Xi Jinping seeks to build a ‘New Type of Great Power Relations,’ claiming its rise to a superpower is a fait accompli. In particular, China regards its territorial sovereignty over the South and East China Seas as part of its core national interests. China’s rise is perceived to be a threat to the national security of the Asian countries with economies that are increasingly interdependent with China. Cooperation among pivotal middle powers is essential for them to cope with the changes in the security and economic order of the region. Particularly on the part of Korea, which is exposed to the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons, extended deterrence provided by the U.S. is essential for its security. Korea must strengthen its alliance with the U.S. in addition to expanding its economic ties with China. Equipped with this foreign policy approach, Korea should carry out its diplomacy in a predictable manner vis-à-vis its neighboring great powers. In addition to the ROK-U.S. alliance and the ROK-China strategic cooperative partnership, pivotal middle power diplomacy should be a core part of Korea’s grand strategy. The national security-first policy, based on the ROK-U.S. alliance, is the grand strategy for national security. The policy to prioritize economic interests is the grand strategy of economic diplomacy, and the ROK-China strategic cooperative partnership constitutes an integral part of the economic diplomacy of Korea. On top of this, pivotal middle power diplomacy should be the third grand strategy of Korea. To successfully pursue pivotal middle power diplomacy, Korea should push for the establishment of a new ‘apparatus for East Asia peace and cooperation,’ an advanced version of the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI). Due to the North Korean nuclear threat, the four major powers surrounding the Korean peninsula carry greater weight for Korean diplomacy. Nevertheless, Korea should make efforts to expand the horizon of its diplomacy. Korea should pay keen attention to the diverse international and intra-regional security issues, apart from the diplomatic agendas related to the U.S., Japan, China, Russia and the North Korean nuclear issues. Korea should play a middle power leadership role in the East Asian region. By doing so, Korea can maintain its effectiveness as a peace-loving country in international society. Ultimately, Korea would become a driving force to win the support of the international community for peacefully resolving the conflict on the Korean peninsula. As the seventh member of the “20-50 club,” referring to the countries with a population more than 50 million that maintain per capita gross national income of US$20,000, Korea is deemed a representative pivotal middle power in terms of global norms and diplomacy style. As a popular partner of other middle powers seeking to establish a multilateral organization jointly with the great powers as well as with middle and small powers, Korea is equipped with ‘hard power” and can exert substantial influence upon the regional order as well as soft power that plays an important role in human security. Korea should use its international status as a pivotal middle power. All the countries Korea must work with on the Korean peninsula are great powers, except for North Korea. It has to deal with both China and the U.S. simultaneously. For forward-looking, creative and predictable diplomacy, Korea should actively pursue an approach of pivotal middle power diplomacy between the U.S. and China. Pivotal middle power diplomacy is a tactic that pursues change in the great power-led regional order so that it might be favorable not only to the great powers but also to the middle and small powers in the region. It is diplomacy to establish regional order advantageous to more countries in the region by actively participating in the new ‘norm making’ processes in the great power-led order. Also, it is diplomacy that uses the multilateral system, including mini-lateralism, jointly with like-minded middle powers. Asia has a few pivotal middle powers which have economic and security conditions similar to that of Korea. Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines are also pivotal middle powers that are economically interdependent with China and that are also growing with the rise of China. At the same time, as neighbors of China, they are likely to have territorial disputes with China or be intimidated by the rise of China. To deal with these potential threats, they would like to maintain their alliances or improve ties with the U.S. Korea needs to lead on establishing a mini-lateral consultative body among like-minded pivotal middle powers to discuss and seek solutions to regional security and economic issues. There are diverse multilateral organizations to discuss intra-regional security and economic issues. ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and East Asia Summit are in operation, and the Shangri-La Dialogue is held every year. From 2003, the Six-Party Talks to deal with the North Korean nuclear issue have been held. The Park Geun-hye government is hosting the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Forum to push for the NAPCI, as well as holding the Seoul Defense Dialogue since 2015. The multilateral organizations have been discussing trust-building measures and preventive diplomacy, but it is not clear whether they actually contribute to regional security. Every multilateral organization is joined by great powers. The Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Forum is joined by South Korea, North Korea, Mongolia, as well as the United States, China, and Russia. However, it is doubtful whether it can play a constructive role to strengthen regional security amid the acute hegemonic competition between the great powers. The representative middle powers of the region – namely South Korea, Indonesia and Australia – need to establish a consultative body of middle powers that share common regional economic and security considerations. It is hard to hold in-depth discussions and implement plans of action about particular issues in a comprehensive multilateral body such as ARF. Even though its participants discuss relevant issues and pursue proper objectives, it is difficult to develop a feasible alternative through constructive discussions at NAPCI, given that the agendas are limited to the Northeast Asian region and the diversity of its member states. The regional consultative body of middle powers should address issues beyond the scope of the Northeast Asian region, take the form of a mini-lateral organization, and be joined by middle powers only. It is more likely to be successful if the pivotal middle powers – which have in common security and economic environments amid the rivalry between the U.S. and China – form the organization by excluding these great powers. In addition, it would be more effectively operated under the mini-lateral system. NAPCI seeks to promote institutional cooperation in climate change, nuclear safety and security, and cyber security issues. The newly planned regional consultative body should be focused on strengthening institutional cooperation among the Asian countries on the diverse human security issues that NAPCI raises. Korea, Australia, and Indonesia should play leading roles in creating a mini-lateral organization and coming up with measures to enhance institutional cooperation and develop agendas on sustainable development, natural disasters, sea lines of communication, human rights, humanitarian aid, terrorism, cyber security and peace-keeping operations. The mini-lateral consultative body should perform a facilitating role as well as a catalyst role so the agendas are adopted in larger multilateral organizations such as ARF, APEC and EAS. There is currently one middle power consultative body in existence, MIKTA. The member countries – including Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, and Australia – share no particular interests or objectives, except for their international status as pivotal middle powers. Therefore, some question its importance by pointing out that it remains on the level of a Coffee Club. The new East Asian peace consultative body should be developed into an influential regional coalition to address the substantial agendas of the countries in the region. To do so, it would be better not to discuss the issues related to certain countries. For instance, Korea should not put the North Korean nuclear issue on the agenda. The nuclear issue should be tabled at other multilateral organizations, and the new East Asian consultative body should improve the regional economic and security environment by addressing security issues involving the majority of Asian countries. The mini-lateral consultative body should engage in diplomacy of persuasion to convince the U.S. and China that the regional members could cooperate with the U.S. on security issues and collaborate with China and Russia as well as the U.S. and Japan on economic issues. Members of the mini-lateral consultative body should be able to join the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and call in unison for freedom of navigation in the South and East China Seas. The mini-lateral consultative body should be a venue in which middle powers cooperate to seek forward-looking and creative diplomacy, lest the regional order be based only on the interests and capabilities of the great powers. I look forward to the days when the new regional middle power consultative body goes into operation on Jeju Island, the Island of World Peace, to establish an agenda for peace and prosperity in Asia.

  Mandarin Orange Aid Campaign for North Koreans The idea of collecting mandarin oranges for North Koreans was brought up by religious groups on Jeju Island in 1998 when Jeju farmers were struggling to address the problem of the overproduction of mandarin oranges that year. The program was initiated not only to help the hunger-stricken North Korean people, but also to help stabilize the price of mandarin oranges. The Korean Red Cross got involved in 1999 to promote the “Jeju Residents’ Campaign to Send Mandarin Oranges to North Korea” in celebration of the new millennium, which resulted in the delivery of 100 tons of the fruit to the North. The campaign has since then gained steam, leading to the establishment in November 2011 of the “Jeju Residents’ Campaign Headquarters for Helping North Koreans,” which was later renamed as the “Jeju Center for Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation.” As the campaign became more structured, an independent channel for dialogue was set up for direct talks in Beijing with the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee of North Korea without the assistance of the Korean Red Cross or the “Korean Sharing Movement,” a Seoul-based aid group. The inter-Korean dialogue was later maintained by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC). On Nov. 28, 2001, officials of the “Jeju Center for Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation” met with their counterparts from the North’s KCRC in Beijing to sign an “Agreement for the Jeju Residents’ Visit to North Korea and the Verification of the Provision and Distribution of Jeju-Grown Agricultural Products.” In the wake of the agreement, the donation campaign started to collect donations in kind and cash to send mandarin oranges and carrots grown on Jeju to North Korea. At the same time, detailed arrangements were made to confirm the actual distribution of the agricultural products to the North Korean people. The Jeju provincial government enacted an ordinance for the promotion of exchange and cooperation between South and North Korea in May 2007. The new ordinance paved the way for the creation of the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund which had raised a total of 2.1 billion won up to November 2015. The mandarin orange aid campaign for North Koreans was held every year from November to the next February. The annual campaign, taking 122 days, had a lengthy process in the following order: (1) report of the planned contact with North Korean counterparts to the South Korean government (2) consultation with the North’s KCRC (3) allotment of the budget for the cost of logistics of the mandarin orange aid (4) consultation on mandarin orange aid plans with the North Korean authorities (5) collection of mandarin orange donations, followed by sorting, packaging and storing them (6) ground transportation for mandarin oranges in Jeju loading them on a cargo vessel at Jeju Port quarantine inspections and shipment to the North and (7) confirmation of delivery and distribution to the North Korean people. The mandarin orange aid campaign for North Koreans had been successfully carried out up to 2010 when economic sanctions, called “May 24 Measures,” were imposed on the North. The mandarin orange aid was cited as one of the most successful examples of a North Korea aid program on the local government level. Some international news media even deemed it as “Vitamin C Diplomacy” that has contributed to easing tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang. In addition to mandarin oranges, carrots and other agricultural products grown on Jeju were delivered to the North. The successful campaign was followed by the donations of winter clothing for North Korean children in 2002 and 2004. Other aid programs were also initiated to provide grass seed, medical supplies and other humanitarian assistances to the North. The mandarin orange aid campaign for North Koreans created momentum for Jeju and Pyongyang to build mutual trust. It not only laid the foundation for diverse exchange projects, but also contributed to diversifying distribution channels for Jeju’s mandarin oranges, carrots and other agricultural products, and thereby stabilizing their prices and increasing the income of Jeju farmers. The mandarin orange aid program for North Koreans, undertaken for a humanitarian cause, has strengthened the trust between Jeju and Pyongyang to the extent that a large delegation of Jeju residents visited the North in May 2002 for the first time since national division. The visit, upon the invitation of the North, was made four times from May 2002 to November 2007 resulting in a total of 835 Jeju citizens crossing the border into the North.

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="150"] KO Seong-joonProfessor Emeritus, Jeju National University Vice-chairman, Jeju Center for Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation[/caption] Following the fourth nuclear arms test in January this year, North Korea conducted a nuclear warhead test again on Sept. 9, the largest ever and similar to the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in spite of the sanctions imposed by international society and South Korea upon it. So far, the North succeeded in launching missiles carrying nuclear warheads, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles. It would not be unusual or even unexpected if North Korea announces its deployment of nuclear missiles at anytime. The inter-Korean relation is in due course for a war, as seen in the editorials and columns, entitled “Drastic Changes Needed to Respond to the North Korean Nuclear Arms,” “North Korean Nuclear Arms Aimed at Communizing the South,” “Bombing the North or Being Held Nuclear Hostages” and “Be Prepared for Contingencies.” Amid this grim situation, the North Korean border area with China has reportedly suffered unprecedented damage from flooding. Civic groups and some in the opposition proposed “humanitarian aid to the North,” and the leader of the third party in the National Assembly called for “rice and mandarin orange donations” in his speech to the Assembly. The humanitarian aid to the North, however, requires a national consensus, as the floor leader of the ruling party pointed out, an official request of the North for it and a confirmation by local and international organizations, including from the Korean Red Cross, to verify actual distribution of the aid to the North Korean people. Amid the security crisis on the Korean peninsula, the voices for humanitarian aid to the North Korean people somehow helped in easing the tension, but it remains to be seen when the aid can be resumed. The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province became the first local government of the South that extended aid to the North by sending in January, 1999, tangerines to the North Korean people who were suffering from the worst famine imaginable. After the occasion, the Jeju province has been leading the local governments’ exchanges with the North, looking forward to more active exchanges for national unification. Vitamin C Diplomacy The mandarin orange aid project for the North was the first inter-Korean exchange initiated by a local government of the South and a representative win-win case for the two Koreas. It started with the proposal of religious groups in 1998 when Jeju farmers were struggling to address the problem of overproduction of mandarin oranges that year. It was designed not only to help hunger-stricken North Korean people, but also to help stabilize the price of mandarin oranges. The humanitarian project continued for 12 years from December, 1998, until February, 2012, but was suspended by the “May 24 measures (sanction)” in 2010 when the North sank the South Korean battleship, Cheonan. Before the suspension of the aid in 2010, Jeju islanders delivered 48,328 tons of tangerines and 18,100 tons of carrots to the North. The mandarin orange delivery to North Korea was the only and first case of the aid pursued jointly by a local government of the South and its residents. It was also a model case that realized aid based on the principle of national consensus. It made a precedent for contributing to the co-prosperity of two Koreas by opting for an aid item benefitting both the South and North. Unlike the North aid projects promoted by NGOs and the central government, the tangerine delivery was the first project spearheaded jointly by a local government, Jeju province, and a private organization (the Jeju Center for Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation that was led by the Jeju islanders). It was benchmarked by other local governments. Mandarin orange is a fruit that cannot be produced in the North and is difficult to preserve. As it has to be consumed in a short time, it was distributed to far more people than other aid items. As a result, some in the North would put the fruit on their ancestral rite tables. Mandarin oranges with vitamin C were more than a winter fruit for those in the North. Some defectors from North Korea testified that they used the tangerine peel tea as cold medicine for their children. Mandarin oranges from Jeju Island are remembered by the North Korean people as something more than a mere donation and as a symbol of the hopes for national unification. The project could be maintained for 10 years, even when it was difficult to get government approval amid the volatile inter-Korean relations, thanks to the cooperation of the provincial government of Jeju Island with the central government in Seoul. The central government was well aware of the North Korean authorities’ amicable posture towards the southernmost island and evaluated the humanitarian project that the island pursued even with its tight budget highly. The Visit of the Jeju Delegates to North Korea for Massive Human Exchanges The mandarin orange aid project for the North has developed into massive personal exchanges between the two Koreas. As a token of gratitude for the continued aid by the Jeju province, the North invited the delegation of Jeju islanders for four times from 2002 till 2007, with a total of 835 islanders visiting the North. The first visit by the 253 delegates to the North on May 10 – 15, 2002, was the first made by a local government since the national division. It is deemed to have opened a new chapter in the inter-Korean exchange with the unconditional material aid, which led to the human exchange. Though the visit was made under the tight control of the North, it directly and indirectly helped the North Korea people to know about the islanders’ love of peace. The islanders, on their part, could confirm the superiority of the South Korean system with their experience of the realities of North Korea during the visit and renewed their determination towards national unification. As the Jeju governor, the chairman of the provincial assembly, the chairman of the Jeju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other leading figures of the island joined the visit on every occasion, it laid a firm basis for trust-building and further development of inter-Korean ties. The human exchange was the result of the trust and closer ties built for 10 years by the tangerine aid. Favorite Venue of the Inter-Korean Talks As the mandarin orange aid project continued every year, Jeju Island emerged as a symbol of the national unification efforts in the name of “from Mt. Halla to Mt. Paektu.” It drew attention as a venue of the inter-Korean talks after the inter-Korean ministerial talks and defense ministers’ talks were held in the autumn of 2000, following the June 15 summit of the two Koreas on the island in the same year. Jeju Island remained the favorite place for diverse inter-Korean talks, including the 17th inter-Korean ministerial talks in 2005 and the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Committee meeting in 2006. Expansion of the Assistance and Cooperation Projects The campaign to send mandarin oranges to the North diversified humanitarian aid items. Carrots, one of the representative agricultural products of Jeju Island, have been sent to the North five times, with winter clothes for North Korean children, grass seeds, medical supplies and flood relief goods being delivered to the North as well. The humanitarian aid contributed to improving the living conditions of the North Korea people and expanding human exchanges between the South and North. In January, 2009, Jeju province started to provide the North with construction materials to build a Jeju black pig farm in Pyongyang as part of a development cooperation project, but it was halted due to the “May 24 measures” in 2010. The mandarin orange and carrot donation project was originally designed to aid children, pregnant women and the socially disadvantaged people of the North, but it was difficult to confirm if the donations were delivered to them. The confirmation of delivery remains a precondition for resuming the humanitarian aid for the North Korean people. When the Jeju delegation visited the North, they proposed that the North join the Jeju Peace Forum, the World Korean Business Convention and the general assembly of the United Cities and Local Government in Jeju Island. They also discussed the ecological inter-Korean cooperation about the issues involving Paektu and Halla Mountains, but regrettably failed to reach an agreement. In retrospect, the mandarin orange aid project for the North was the first case of a local government of the South breaking the deadlock of inter-Korean relations. It also left a good impression about Jeju Island in the minds of the North Korean people, to the extent that they would choose Jeju Island as the “place they would like to visit the most in the South.” It has been six years since the mandarin orange aid was suspended after the May 24 measures. Given the current situations in the South and North, it is difficult to expect any improvement of the inter-Korean relations. Incumbent Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong is making more strenuous efforts to engage in inter-Korean exchange projects than any other local governments or his predecessors. I look forward to active human and material exchanges for peace and national unification through the “Jeju-North Korea channel,” opened by the tangerine aid.

  Commitments to Peace Education The project to support peace education consists of the Peace Academy for citizens and peace education for youths. 1) The Peace Academy The Peace Academy for citizens, organized by the “Jeju Citizens’ Council for the Island of World Peace.” and operated by the Jeju YWCA, provides lectures and question-and-answer sessions with experts in the fields of peace, environment, economy, culture, human rights and welfare affairs. The Peace Academy was established in 2006 under Article 155 of the “special law on establishment of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and International Free City” and Article 235 (amended) of the “ordinance on establishment and operation of the Jeju Citizens’ Council for the Island of World Peace.” From 2006 to 2015, it had hosted 101 sessions attended by a total of 12,079 people. The Academy also operates a program to visit the peace-related relics, with the Academy sessions and programs being broadcasted by KCTV Jeju. Those who complete the Academy course are awarded with certificates. Starting with the session on the “national strategy for peaceful reunification,” the Academy has presented lectures on the “IS threats of terrorism and the Syrian refugee issue,” “Peace accomplished by culture and arts,” “North Korea seen through films (Winter Butterfly and human rights of the North),” and “North Korean nuclear issue and our attitude toward it” in 2016. The academy is also set to give lectures on the themes of “nature and peace” and “humanities and peace” in the latter half of 2016. 2) The Peace Academy for Youths The Peace Academy for youths was the peace education program administered at the children’s care center and cultural center for youths from 2007 to 2011 under the auspices of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the Jeju Peace Institute and the Seogwipo YWCA. To raise awareness of the Island of World Peace among the youths and help with their understanding of peace, the Academy organized expert lectures on peace, a tour of the International Peace Center of Jeju and quiz games on peace. It also hosted educational events such as painting, postcard making and public speaking relating to the theme of peace. The Peace Academy for youths was held for 42 sessions up to 2011, with a total of 3,368 participants joining the programs. The Academy helped the youths of Jeju Island learn about the background of the peace movement and the practice of peace, understand the meaning of the Island of World Peace and pay more attention to peace-related matters in their daily lives.

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="150"] Yi Sin-seonSecretary General, Seogwipo YWCA[/caption] “Peace” is an abstract word, but it is also a universally familiar word. There resonates in the heart of every human being an inborn desire for peace. It is not easy, however, to explain a notion so abstract and then to subsequently gain the right path to peace. For that reason, one must begin, as the first step of a noble journey, with a contemplation on the meaning of peace. “Pyeonghwa” (peace) is composed of two characters, pyeong (平), which means scale, and hwa (和), meaning harmony. Pyeong implies fairness in its symbol of a balanced scale. It is difficult to maintain peace without fairness. Furthermore, the character hwa (和), comprised of 禾, referring to the rice plant, and 口, referring to the mouth, means sharing wealth with others. Therefore, the underlying meaning of peace (pyeonghwa) lies in coexistence through sharing. The value of peace is not duly recognized, like the water or the air, even though it is a rudimentary object. Hence peace should be taught so that people may learn its correct meaning and practice peace, based on a deep appreciation of its meaning in daily life as well as its broad and narrow imports. Peace education, administered by schools or at educational sites, serves as a solid basis upon which people recognize the meaning of peace, experience peace, share examples of peace, and practice peace in their daily lives. The Seogwipo YWCA, established in 1992 to such aspirations, inaugurated peace education and the peace movement by selecting the “peace and sharing” campaign as its major project in its general assembly that year. In 2001, the Seogwipo YWCA began a program to better understand North Korea with great hopes of Korean reunification, while continuing its peace movement to assist the North Korean people and refugees from the North, to supply powdered milk to the North and to re-establish the YWCA in the North. It also remains active in peace education by visiting every school in Seogwipo and offering the national unification class for mothers, young people, and adults. In particular, peace education has provided opportunities for young people to help each other learn about North Korea through student club activities such as the Unification Golden Bell (Tongil goldeun bel) event, organized by a club called Y-Teen. In addition to club activities, schools have implemented their own unification education programs. Meanwhile, for the field study of peace, being complementary to its theoretical teachings, Seogwipo YWCA is operating the Peace Academy for Youths (Young People) at the International Peace Institute Jeju. At the Academy, doctorate researchers not only conduct lectures on peace, but also administer field studies to the satisfaction of the students and schools that have joined the program. The Peace Academy program for students and adults, an annual event since 2013, offers monthly lectures about peace and has drawn the keen interest of the Jeju islanders. It has also organized field trips for students of the Academy to the peace sites on Jeju Island and Nagasaki, Japan. With the practical education programs, the Academy has helped the islanders to internalize and practice peace. In particular, the Academy has organized lectures by refugees from North Korea and arranged meetings with experts on North Korea to help the students understand the current affairs of North Korea and the Korean peninsula, as well as their surrounding international and regional conflicts. With its diversity of programs, the Academy has succeeded in drawing a wide range of audiences for its lectures. Along with the peace education, the Seogwipo YWCA started a humanitarian movement to send powdered milk to North Korea since 1996 to aid and relieve the children suffering from hunger and poverty. With donations collected from 1997 to 1998, it delivered 25 tons of powdered milk to the North and continued donations of undergarments, medicines, rice noodles, stationery supplies, and tangerines, besides. As highlighted above, the Seogwipo YWCA is engaged in the humanitarian peace movement on the one hand and peace education to bring about change in the local community on the other. It is also involved in the organization of peace concerts, peace camps and other cultural events, including one at which to experience North Korean food, to help better understand the cultural differences between the two Koreas. The Jeju islanders, in turn, transform their living space into a school, as it were, to promote peace by exchanging and disseminating what they have learned from the peace programs. The continued peace education and the practice of sharing in their daily lives are expected to enhance the value of this island of peace.

  Development of A Water Education Hub in Northeast Asia The plan to develop Jeju Island as a water education hub in Northeast Asia originated from the project to establish the Water Science Park. This project was later modified as to erect an industrial complex to produce high value-added products by using lava seawater. Unlike ordinary seawater, lava seawater is pollutants-free, clean water available perennially, as it is not exposed to the atmosphere. To systematically develop the lava seawater resources as a new growth engine of Jeju Island, an industrial complex was designated in December 2009. With Jeju Province Development Co. in charge of the project, the construction of the industrial complex began in Handong-ri, Iljudongno, Gujwa-eup of Jeju City in September 2011 and was completed in December 2014. Of the 14 lots (126,705 m²) constituting the industrial complex, 11 lots (83,398 m²) were rented out to business firms now in operation. Meanwhile, Jeju Technopark, the think tank of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, is playing a leading role in enriching the Jeju economy by extending technological assistance, producing an industrial workforce, creating new businesses and advising businesses on marketing. A concrete example of its role is the establishment of the “Lava Seawater Commercialization Support Center,” which was advanced as part of the initiative of the Ministry of the Knowledge Economy from 2008 until 2013 to promote the strategic industries of local communities (the project to lay the foundation for the local community-based industries). Jeju Technopark also established the lava seawater processing system to conduct research on stability, cleanliness, safety and functionality of lava seawater and made nine applications for patents (five were registered as patents) and 29 applications for trademarks (15 were registered as trademarks), and additionally developed prototypes of lava seawater products. Jeju Tehnopark is promoting the growth of relevant industries through research and development of industrial materials and products using lava seawater with the aim of revitalizing and restructuring the local economy. The project to commercialize and use lava seawater for multi-purposes is expected to achieve economies of scale and produce cluster effects.

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="150"] SUNG Jung HeeResearch Professor, Institute of East and West Studies, Yonsei University[/caption] The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has been working intensively on 17 peace-related projects since Jeju’s official designation as the Island of World Peace by the central government in 2005. Among those projects, the “Northeast Asian hub of water education” project may be the only one that is not instantly associated with the word, “peace,” typically given greater salience in the context of confrontation between South and North Korea or as a general indication of some diplomatic settlement of conflict. The principal reason why the public does not consider the pertinence of the issue of water to peace can be attributed to its fundamental lack of understanding concerning the very nature of the water issue, which I believe underscores the crucial necessity of education about water. Vandana Shiva, an internationally recognized environmental activist, pointed out in her book, Water Wars, that many important conflicts of our time have actually been “water wars” in the guise of territorial, religious or ethnic conflicts. The war between the Israelis and Palestinians was waged over water resources in the Jordan River basin. The Aswan Dam on the Nile River is another site of ongoing water conflict between Egypt, the Sudan and Ethiopia, which share the longest river in the world. Rising in the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong River runs through six countries, including Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, to flow into the South China Sea. With its length estimated at 4,880 km, the Mekong River basin drains an area of approximately 810,000 km2, making it the sixth longest river in the world. The Mekong is home to about 65 million farmers and fishers of those six countries. China’s large dams built on the upper reaches of the Mekong River to generate electricity have been criticized for causing water shortages downstream, escalating disputes among Mekong River basin countries. The countries around 214 transboundary river basins over the world are faced with ever-present threats of conflict in the event of a water crisis. The United Nations Environment Program reports that one-third of the world’s population will face serious water shortages by 2025 if the global population and water consumption per capita continue to rise at their current rates. Climate change is also likely to make water shortages more severe, increasing the likelihood of water conflicts. Water is closely linked to food production, in particular. Rapid population and economic growth as well as urbanization in China have drastically increased demand for fresh water, which has resulted in the Yellow River drying up often since 1972, when it ran dry for the first time in China's recorded history. With agriculture demanding the largest amount of water, water shortages in China may lead to the rise of grain prices, as 70 percent of China’s grain production depends on irrigated fields, as opposed to the 17 percent of U.S. agricultural production reliant on irrigated farming. This may also lead to worse famines and greater poverty in the least developed countries that cause an increase of environmental refugees and displaced persons, whose obscure status imperil peace by fomenting conflicts and clashes over their much maligned presence. Ismail Serageldin, former Vice President of the World Bank, claimed in 1995 that “if the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water.” Water is about poverty and about peace. The substance and causes of the water problems that we face today can be summarized as follows. First, there is a lack of scientific understanding of water and the water cycle. The physical properties of water are so unique that water cannot be replaced by any other matter. Some 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, but 97.5 percent of that is unusable salt water meaning, only 2.5 percent of the Earth's water is fresh, leaving less than one percent of that tiny 2.5 percent freshwater potable. Moreover, these limited sources of fresh drinking water cycles naturally. Water shortages are unavoidable if the Earth's water resources are not consumed in a sustainable manner that conforms to the harmony of the water cycle. Second, there exists a real concern about the accessibility of water. Water shortages are caused not only by the material scarcity of water resources, but also by social and economic inequalities in having access to water. Simply put, it is a matter of artificial barriers to gaining water access. The social disparity in the distribution and access to water threatens sustainable development, because it is closely related to the health of women and children, education and poverty. Third, low levels of public awareness of water issues remain a major cause of water shortages. Contrary to popular belief, well-built water supply and drainage systems in urban areas act as an obstacle for raising public sensitivity to water problems and awareness of the seriousness of water overconsumption, and thus making it more difficult to cope with the water problems. Fourth, the impact of climate change is demonstrated by water problems in everyday life. Compared to climate change, however, the seriousness of water issues garners less attention in the collective efforts of the global society towards the remedying of such global challenges. For the last 60 years, Mongolia has suffered from various effects of climate change, with 78 percent of its land turning into desert 90 percent of its pasturelands facing desertification and 887 rivers and streams, 2,069 wells, and 1,166 lakes drying up, which have produced climate refugees across the country. Given the characteristics of water issues, the most effective way to deal with water problems would be to invest in public education about water issues. In 2000, the UN General Assembly declared 2003 the International Year of Fresh Water to raise public awareness about the seriousness of the water issue. Also in 2003, the High Level Committee on Programs of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination established UN-Water, a UN inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater- and sanitation-related issues. In the same year, the UN General Assembly declared the years 2005-2015 as the UN Decade for Action for “Water for Life” to promote efforts to fulfill Millennium Development Goals for water and water-related issues. In recognition of the need for regional water education in Northeast Asia, South Korea proposed at the 6th World Water Forum in 2012 the creation of a water education center to respond to climate change by 2018. In addition, the Korea-China-Japan Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat called for the establishment of a research council comprising the three countries’ administrators and experts in water resources in a meeting at the 7th World Water Forum held last year. Given the repeated calls, it is very meaningful that Jeju included a scheme to promote itself as the “Northeast Asian hub of water education” as one of the 17 projects for the Island of World Peace. I would like to propose a few ideas that I hope will help Jeju to further serve as a water education hub for Northeast Asia. First, water issues should be set not only as a local or domestic agenda but as a regional one for the sustainable development of Northeast Asia. To that end, it would be sensible to address these issues as part of the global agenda as outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Second, the scope of education should not be confined to water resources and water quality, but extended to cover its many convergent subjects, including climate change, desertification, and international development cooperation. Third, it is necessary to offer water education for all and to develop educational content that takes advantage of the entire island of Jeju as a water education hub. Jeju has often experienced severe water shortages in the past because of the island’s volcanic soil that fails to contain rainwater. Spurred by such an adverse condition, due to which Jeju women had to carry water jars and baskets home, Jeju developed its commercially available best-selling underground water “Samdasoo” that reshaped Korea’s water industry. More efforts should be made to develop educational content that conveys and disseminates local human experiences to broader audiences at large. Lastly, strategic efforts should be made to draw synergystic effects with the proposed water education center and the existing training facilities such as the Jeju International Training Center under the wing of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). As water issues are related to the agendas of sustainable urbanization and environment, health, and human security, it would be possible to make specialized approaches, based on water education, towards these agendas. Water education will not only raise the trainees’ awareness of water problems and improve their ability to respond to them, but also provide water experts who live all around Northeast Asia with opportunities to gather at the water education site in Jeju and formulate alternative ways to address water issues and climate change, eventually contributing to the sustainable development of their respective regions.