← Back · ← Home · ← Back to list
[3rd EAI ACADEMY Lecture 6] Kim Byung-yeon on “North Korea’s Economy and Inter-Korean Relations of the Future”
Editor's Note
The East Asia Institute (EAI) held the 3rd seminar series of the EAI Academy, “South Korea’s Diplomacy of the Future.” The 3rd Academy is a seminar series composed of seven leading scholars in international politics, aiming to foster future public policy experts. It seeks to teach the core contents of the future Asia-Pacific order, ROK-US relations, ROK-Japan relations, ROK-China relations, North Korean issues, and multilateral diplomacy, looking ahead at the international relations landscape of the next 20-30 years. In the sixth lecture, held on August 19, 2022, Professor Kim Byung-yeon of Seoul National University was invited to give a lecture on the topic of “North Korea’s Economy and Inter-Korean Relations of the Future.”
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rj6UnBPuPg
- Date: August 19, 2022, 6:30 PM
- Speaker: Kim Byung-yeon, Professor at Seoul National University
Reading Materials
6-1. Cognitive Abilities and Economic Performance of North Korean Defectors
6-2. Regime Transition and German Unification: Implications for North and South Korea
Speaker Introduction:
■ Kim Byung-yeon is a Professor of Economics at Seoul National University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oxford. He has held professorships at the University of Essex and Sogang University and has received awards such as the National Academy of Sciences Award of Korea (2018), Seoul National University Research Award (2018), Nier Foundation Research Award (2019), Cheongram Award from the Korean Economic Association (2005), and the T.S. Ashton Prize from the Economic History Society (UK). His representative work includes Unveiling the North Korean Economy (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
Video Transcript
Whether to focus specifically on North Korea, I believe there are three reasons. The first is public empathy. Following the logic of perhaps the best policy for the vulnerable, public empathy is prioritized. The number of people in the Korean Peninsula is large, and perhaps more so than those living in other countries, North Koreans are suffering. They are not even provided with basic necessities. If we consider the suffering of North Koreans, our own suffering, and the suffering of those around us, this empathy is the driving force. As Mr. Rhee mentioned at the end, it is about providing support.
Unification should not be led by any particular government in the future, but rather requires the consensus of North and South Koreans. Therefore, policies and strategies that allow both North and South Korea to benefit together are necessary.
*This text is an AI translation of an original written in Korean. Some translations or nuances may be inaccurate.