Why we need full-fledged int'l forum

Moon Tae-young, koreatimes.co.kr

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Excerpt:

[G]lobal discourse venues such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, attended by world opinion leaders, and the BOAO Forum, wholeheartedly supported by the Chinese government, draw greater attention. Korea also has an international forum that brings together government officials and civil experts to discuss diverse global issues, including diplomatic and security agendas, which is the "Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity," slated for May 25-27 this year, on Jeju Island. ...

We need to further develop the Jeju Forum, which is a "1.5 track (a mixture of government and civil sectors)" dialogue, as Asia's representative forum. As China propagates development strategies and international policies via the BOAO Forum, which is nominally operated by civil organizations, Korea should utilize the Jeju Forum as a channel to distribute valuable information, opinions, wisdom, and ideas. The need to do so is confirmed by the achievement of the public diplomacy networks that the forum has established thus far. ...

Moon Tae-young is President of the Jeju Peace Institute and Executive Chairman of the Jeju Forum for Peace & prosperity. ...