Gyeonggi Province-Northern Ireland International Academic Conference on Governance, Cooperation, and Peace Process Opens on the 18th

The "Gyeonggi Province-Northern Ireland International Academic Conference on Governance, Cooperation, and Peace Process," which seeks to explore peace on the Korean Peninsula through governance and cooperation, building upon Northern Ireland's transformation from conflict and pain into a space of coexistence, opened at 10 a.m. local time on September 18 at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

Co-hosted by Gyeonggi Province and Shinhan University, this international academic conference focused on exploring the direction of overcoming division and achieving peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula in the future through discussions by domestic and international scholars on political cooperation, governance, and peace processes.

The organizers noted that the conference carries particular significance by being held in Northern Ireland, which through the Good Friday Agreement ended long-standing ethnic and religious conflicts and opened the path to coexistence and peace.

The academic conference, running from September 18 to 19, is attended by approximately 150 domestic and international experts and audience members, including Kim Dong-geun, Executive Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province; Yu Bo-seon, Vice President of Shinhan University; Andrew Finlay, Dean of the School of Peace Studies at Trinity College Dublin; Sean Farren, former First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive; and Yoon Yeo-jun, former Minister of Environment.

On the first day of the conference on September 18, following remarks by Vice Governor Kim Dong-geun and Vice President Yu Bo-seon and Professor Andrew Finlay, former First Minister Sean Farren delivered a keynote address on the topic "Peacemaking in a World of Terror: A Reassessment of the Northern Ireland Experience," opening the discussion.

In the first session, "Peace Processes from a Comparative Perspective," discussions were held on topics including "Restorative Justice Based on Northern Ireland's Peace Process," "Comparing Post-Colonial and Post-Division Peace Processes on the Island of Ireland and the Korean Peninsula," and "From Border Security to Fluid Borders in the Matsu Islands," featuring participants Derek Wilson (University of Ulster), Koo Gap-woo (Graduate School of North Korean Studies), Siou Cin-Wei (National Taiwan University), David Mitchell (Trinity College), Katie Hayward (Queen's University), and Nam Young-ho (Shinhan University).

In the second session focusing on "Conflict Management and Power-Sharing," discussions centered on topics including "Has Power-Sharing Worked in Northern Ireland?", "Possibilities of Power-Sharing," and "Conflict and Cooperation in Inter-Korean Relations," with contributors Jonathan Tonge (University of Liverpool), Donn Wesch (Dublin City University), Jang Kyung-ryong (Gwangju Women's University), Robin Wilson (Trinity College), Lee Woo-chul, former Director of Political Cooperation for Gyeonggi Province, and Gladys Ganiel (Queen's University).

As the final event on the first day of the conference, a roundtable discussion was held on the theme "Dynamics of Borders and Peace Processes," with panelists including Geraldine Smyth (Trinity College), Sean Farren (Trinity College), Katie Hayward (Queen's University), Yong Won Lee (Waseda University), former Minister of Environment Yoon Yeo-jun, Kang Tae-ho, Director of the Hankyoreh Peace Institute, and Bae Myung-bok, Editorial Board Member of the JoongAng Ilbo.

In the third session to be held on September 19, discussions will take place on "Beyond Borders: Cooperation and Reconciliation." Specific topics include "Diagnosis of Cross-Border Cooperation between North and South Ireland," "Post-Globalization Phenomena and the Technology of Korean Peninsula Peace," "Brexit and the Resilience of Liberal International Order," and "Dark Tourism in the Sino-Korean Border Region," featuring presenters including Etain Tannam (Trinity College), Kim Hak-jae (Seoul National University), Lee Geun (Seoul National University), Kim Sung-kyung (Graduate School of North Korean Studies), Jo Dong-ho (Ewha Womans University), Park Hyun-kwee (Cambridge University), Jude Rall Fernando (Trinity College), and Park So-jin (Shinhan University). In the evening, all participants will hold a discussion forum to comprehensively review and organize matters discussed over the two days.

Additionally, during this international academic conference, participants will visit locations across the island of Ireland from September 19 to 21, including the Peace Wall in Belfast, Corrymeela, Derry, and Trinity College Dublin, which bear traces of conflict and coexistence, to engage in lively discussions at the sites.

The organizers plan to collect the papers and discussions presented and publish them as a monograph, using it as a compass for Gyeonggi Province's future strategies to overcome division and its role in advancing peace.

Vice Governor Kim Dong-geun stated, "The coexistence and peace established in Ireland was made possible by cooperation based on mutual trust between Catholics and Protestants, and between the Irish government and the British government. Gyeonggi Province is also presenting a new model of political cooperation and governance. Based on the discussions at this conference, we will make efforts to ensure that Gyeonggi Province's endeavors contribute to building peace on the Korean Peninsula."