The 27th Korea-Japan Forum met in Tokyo, bringing together more than 50 participants from both countries, including influential politicians, businesspeople, scholars, journalists, and representatives of private exchange organizations.
This year’s forum came at a time when tensions between Japan and South Korea were high, but the meeting offered a reminder that there are still avenues for frank and productive dialogue between the two countries. Discussion topics included the role of both countries in moving toward North Korean denuclearization, shifts in domestic politics and their influence on bilateral relations, and economic relations between Korea and Japan. During the forum, a reception was also held at the residence of current South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-Yeon.
This year was also the 5th Junior Korea-Japan Forum, which served as an excellent opportunity to bring a younger generation into the discussion of how to strengthen the Korea-Japan relationship. There was a lot of enthusiasm and creativity at the junior forum with discussions about social media engagement and the possibility of jointly editing a comparative history textbook between the two countries.
This year’s Korea-Japan Forum Award was presented to Ro-Myung Gong, a distinguished former Korean foreign minister, who also served as a chairman of the forum from 2003 to 2012 and is now honorary chairman.
