October 26 EASC Colloq

PRESENTER: Seongji Woo (EASC Visiting Scholar, IU Bloomington)

TOPIC: Power Transitions and Inter-Korean Dialogue in the Early 1970s
DATE: Friday, October 26, 2012

TIME: 12:00-1:15 p.m.
LOCATION: Ballantine 004

 

Power transitions are common in international relations. History abounds with examples of power transitions at both the major and minor power levels. Whether power transition leads to war or peace is an important theoretical and empirical question. The impact of power transition on the inter-Korean rivalry has yet to be studied thoroughly. Interestingly, the time of power transition between Seoul and Pyongyang and the increase of cooperation between them coincided. How could it be? Doesn’t power transition theory suggest a higher risk of conflict between rivals in times of power transition? Should we not expect an increase of inter-Korean conflict and security competition when South Korea (Republic of Korea, ROK) was surpassing North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea) in terms of the national strength? South Korea and North Korea have been born as rivals and remain as such until today. The inter-Korean rivalry was consolidated with the outbreak of the Korean War at its early stage. As any typical rivalry has it, inter-Korean relations have been marred by repetitive and severe confrontation and hatred. At times, though, the rivalry on the Korean Peninsula has experienced moments of de-escalation and enhanced cooperation. What accounts for the rise of transient, albeit meaningful, peace between the two Koreas? The scholarship on the origins of inter-Korean dialogue in the early 1970s is by no means an unexplored path. Many have studied the issue thoroughly and come up with plausible and productive answers. Some emphasize the impact of changes in major power politics (e.g. the Nixon shock) on the decision making of Korean elites on both sides. Others point to “impure” motives of South and North Koreans leaders to consolidate their domestic power, exploiting inter-Korean dialogue as an excuse. One possible explanation that is yet to be explored in detail has to do with the variable of power transition between Seoul and Pyongyang. As such, this talk will explain how power transition between South and North Korea influenced inter-Korean dialogue in the early 1970s. Professor Woo will address two questions. First, why was power transition between the two Koreas unaccompanied with the outbreak of overt hostilities? Second, how do we explain an increase of inter-Korean cooperation during power transition against popular expectations?

 

Seongji Woo is currently an Associate Professor at the College of International Studies, Kyung Hee University. Before joining Kyung Hee, he worked as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2003 to 2005. Dr. Woo received his Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington. His English articles include “Pyongyang and the World: North Korean Perspectives on International Relations under Kim Jong-il” (August 2011, Pacific Focus), “The Park Chung-hee Administration amid Inter-Korean Reconciliation in the Détente Period” (Summer 2009, Korea Journal), “Triangle Research and Understanding Northeast Asian Politics” (Summer 2003, Asian Perspective), “South Korea’s Search for a Unification Strategy” (Summer 2003, Orbis), and “Adversarial Engagement and Alliance Relations: Triangular Politics on the Korean Peninsula, 1988-94” (March 2001, Issues & Studies). His research interests are North Korean Politics, Inter-Korean Relations and International Relations Theory.

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