Diverging Patterns for Incorporating Immigrants in Korea and Japan
Memo #56 – In the mid 2000s, Korea and Japan unveiled unprecedented proposals for immigrant incorporation. This included the Basic Act on the Treatment of Foreigners in Korea and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ plan for Multicultural Coexistence Promotion in Local Communities in Japan. These plans acknowledged for the first time the need to manage foreigners settled within each country. But they also represented contrasting frameworks for their incorporation. In Korea, there was centralized rights-based legislation that targeted specific immigrant groups and in Japan, there were decentralized guidelines that prioritized community-based partnerships.
Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia and the Sidelining of Corruption and Human Rights Issues
Memo #26 – Last month over four hundred members of Asia’s business community converged on the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for a four-day conference dedicated to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The CSR Asia Summit organized by Hong Kong-based CSR Asia has become one of the region’s most dynamic conferences, bringing together a wide range of corporate stakeholders. Based on this year’s theme, ‘Strategic Solutions for Sustainability,’ the Summit aimed to highlight the close relationship between the social, environmental, and economic risk factors of doing business in Asia.
65 Years After The Asia Pacific War: The End of History Politics?
Memo #15 – It is not that the contentious issues have been resolved, or that a general history lovefest has broken out across East Asia. But international exchanges over historical controversies have been toned down, especially between South Korea and Japan. The 65th anniversary of Japan’s surrender passed quietly on August 15th, 2010. The U.S. ambassador to Japan’s participation in the ceremony to commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th was the most commented-on element of the anniversary.
Media Narratives and North Korea: Content Convergence in (Mis)reporting on the Fate of the North Korean National Soccer Team Coach
Memo #10 – News and internet channels around the world reacted with indignation, pity, and outrage to reports that the coach of North Korea’s World Cup soccer team, Kim Chong-hun, had been sent to a labour mine and forced to work for 14 hours a day after a 6 hour public harangue of most of his team and staff.
Is South Korea’s Hyper-Education System The Future?
Memo #2 – A recent workshop at the University of Waterloo concluded that hyper-education will spread globally in the future. Currently, South Korea’s education system seems to be the most extreme. It is increasingly structured around tutoring in “hagwon” (supplemental education institutions). Korea has taken on even more extreme forms of examination “hell” than Japan.