“History, nature and diplomacy made Jeju a peace symbol.”
Jeju Island is not only renowned for being one of the UNESCO’s three designated natural heritage sites, but also for having an arena of international conference sites and summit locations. Geopolitically located in the center of Northeast Asia, Jeju is considered as an ideal place for multilateral dialogue to promote sustainable peace and prosperity in Asia. Jeju was also designated as the ‘Island of World Peace’ by the Korean Government in 2005. Since then, Jeju and related organizations, including Jeju Peace Institute, have been committed to building peace on the Korean Peninsula and throughout East Asia. The Jeju Forum is at the core of these peace-building efforts. Ever since the 1991 Summit between South Korean President Roh Tae-Woo and President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, six additional bilateral or multilateral summits have been successfully held in Jeju.
제주도는 유네스코(UNESCO) 자연유산 3개 부문 지정뿐 아니라 국제회의와 정상회담 개최지입니다. 제주는 동북아 지역의 지정학적 중심에 위치하여 아시아의 지속가능한 평화와 공동번영 촉진을 위한 최적의 다자협력 논의의 장으로 여겨집니다. 한국 정부는 2005년 제주를 ‘세계 평화의 섬’으로 지정했습니다. 이후 제주평화연구원을 비롯한 유관 기관들은 한반도와 동아시아의 평화 구축을 위해 노력해왔습니다. 제주포럼은 이러한 평화 사업의 핵심이라 할 수 있습니다. 1991년 노태우 대통령과 미하일 고르바초프 대통령 간의 한·소 정상회의 이래 양자 혹은 다자간 정상회의가 6차례 제주에서 개최되었습니다.
Amid deepening security threats in the Indo-Pacific, the region will need to enhance cooperation and identify opportunities to achieve sustainable peace and prosperity. This year’s forum will bring together leaders and experts from government, business, and civil society to collaborate and provide solutions to address multiple crises in the region.
Today, the world is mired in multiple conflicts and crises, from the Russo-Ukrainian war to the US-China rivalry, COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. It is incumbent on us to overcome these problems and move towards peace. Proposing coexistence and cooperation as its core agenda, the 2022 Jeju Forum seeks to chart a roadmap to peace beyond conflict and serve as a platform for public discussion
Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeju Forum has managed to carry on the tradition of opening up the forum to the public and participants across borders, leading the discourse on sustainable peace and prosperity. In particular, this year’s forum celebrated the 30th anniversary of the South Korea–Soviet Union summit on Jeju in 1991, which gave birth to the idea of designating Jeju as an “Island of World Peace” and revisited what the end of the Cold War has implied for peace in northeast Asia.
The global society is going through a huge change due to a pandemic. The Jeju Forum 2020 was venue for us to reinvent 'multilateral cooperation,' and to find fundamental causes and solutions to the humanity's crisis as we discussed new perspectives toward the nature. Due to the COVID-19, This Forum took the form of a 'hybrid' conference where both on-spot and video sessions were conducted simultaneously. 2020-12-15
Recently, East Asia has experienced drastic changes in various areas, including in the spheres of security, economics and trade, and the overall regional political order. At this juncture, we need to discuss ways to establish a permanent peace mechanism to settle disputes in the region through peaceful means. Therefore, the Jeju Forum 2019 advanced the concept of resilient peace for discussions in its upcoming sessions. Resilient peace is an end-product of the mechanism. Once the mechanism starts to effectively operate, a regional resilient peace will be established.
Over the years, however, Asia has been facing an increasing array of security problems like territorial disputes and arms race and non-traditional security challenges such as cyber security and the absence of an encompassing regional institution to maintaining peace and stability. It is thus high time to re-engineer peace for Asia as neither the usual mode of dealing with eace nor simply playing with concepts are deemed any longer workable. Peace and prosperity should be the priority for the region and alternatives must be actively sought after.
Today, humanity is facing supra-national issues such as low growth, climate change, cyber security amid a new political-economic order symbolized by the recent de-globalization trend. An agenda for a "cooperative Asia" was presented at the forum and discussed to provide ways for a better future with regard to the universal wishes.
Asia’s political and economic situation is in transition, fraught with a mix of old and new problems. As witnessing a daunting array of challenges, we are also seeing rays of hope in the cooperation between Korea, China, and Japan. The 11th forum examines the implications of leadership against this backdrop, covering a range of topics from peaceful cooperation to climate change.
The 10th forum focused on building a more solid mechanism for a multilateral cooperation in Asia. The year 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of key historical events including the end of World War II, the founding of the United Nations, and the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule. One of the highlights of the forum was the review of progress made towards maintaining a peaceful coexistence within the region.
The 9th forum dealt with international cooperation and security, business and economy, culture, gender, the environment, sustainability, and community development. The former and incumbent leaders of the Asia-Pacific region shared their perspectives on these issues. More than 60 sessions were held for participants to discuss solutions to unravel the paradoxes within the region in search of ‘New Asia.’
The year 2013 was a transitional point for the international community as the United States, Japan, China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea all underwent changes of the administrations. The adoption of major policy changes by the new governments was anticipated and the new role and paradigm of the Asia-Pacific region, where tensions remained high due to territorial disputes and the nuclear weapons of North Korea, were discussed during the 8th forum.
The main topic of the 7th forum was to discuss the future and the role of Asia amid the rapid changes of society. The forum also covered other such topics as measures to facilitate and widen regional cooperation, economic cooperation and free trade, cultural exchange, mutual understanding, and human interchange.
The 6th forum focused on the key issues of the Northeast Asian region including China’s rising power and its implications on Asian economy and financial markets. Discussion regarding regional security agendas, such as nuclear security and maritime security, were held along with the issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and reunification.
Based on the cumulative content from previous forums, wider issues such as history disputes, economic crises, and regional cooperation were discussed at the 5th forum. Non-traditional security issues, such as economic security and human security, were also discussed together with the traditional security agendas such as nuclear weapons of North Korea.
The Jeju Peace Institute has the Jeju Forum since the 4th forum. Political, security, and organized economic experiences of Europe that were applicable to the context of Northeast Asia, such as the reunification of Germany and the European integration, were examined. An institutional framework for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia were also discussed.
The establishment of a multilateral security institution through the Six-Party Talks was the main topic of the second forum, together with various views and practical measures addressing the topic of regional security cooperation. Other discussion points included the North Korean nuclear problem, inter-Korean relations, and the role of South Korea in promoting peace and prosperity in the region.
The establishment of a multilateral security institution through the Six-Party Talks was the main topic of the second forum, together with various views and practical measures addressing the topic of regional security cooperation. Other discussion points included the North Korean nuclear problem, inter-Korean relations, and the role of South Korea in promoting peace and prosperity in the region.
The first forum coincided with the first anniversary of the South-North Summit on June 15 to address the region’s prospects for peace, stability, and prosperity in the 21st century. Participants emphasized that co-existence and peaceful reunification can only be achieved through South-North reconciliation, exchange, and cooperation based on mutual understanding and tolerance.