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Classical music in North Korea
# Developments on the Korean Peninsula l 2022-10-12
Developments on the Korean Peninsula
YONHAP News
A documentary called “The Generation of Korean Classical Music ” was released in South Korea last August, directed by Thierry Lauro, who had won the Queen Elizabeth International Music Award.
In fact, this director produced a similar documentary before in 2012, in which he questioned why so many Korean musicians dominated international competitions, and noted that Koreans have been winning first prizes in major international music competitions for the past two decades.
As one of the secrets behind this success, he says, young Korean musicians freely express the stories within them in their own unique ways.
The international popularity of Korean classical music is manifested in the expression "Ki Classics" which seems to be inspired by the well-known term "Ki Pop".
North Korean classical musicians are also said to perform well on the international stage.
Many Koreans may still remember the joint concert held by orchestras from the two Koreas in Seoul in 2000.
At the time, South Korea's world-famous soprano "Sumi Jo" sang with North Korean tenor "Ri Young-ok" together, attracting much attention.
But classical music in North Korea is slightly different from music in South Korea.
Dr. Bee Ein Qiu, Professor at the Korean Institute of Performing Arts at Kyung Ein National University of Education:
In South Korea, classical music is generally considered a tradition of Western world music.
In the North, on the other hand, classical music includes both traditional Korean music and European classical music.
Western classical music was introduced to the Korean peninsula in the late 19th century, and later spread widely during the Japanese colonial period, attracting the interest of many enthusiasts.
Therefore, Koreans valued classical music in the same way for almost 50 years before the national division.
Koreans thus share the same memory about gentle classical music that produced many harmonious colors.
Thus, Western classical music in South Korea and European classical music in North Korea are essentially the same.
The difference is that traditional Korean music is also included in the classical music of North Korea.
The North Korean orchestra that appeared at the inter-Korean concert in 2000 is the State Symphony Orchestra founded in 1946.
She once again played with the KBS orchestra in South Korea.
A similar offer was made in Pyongyang in 2002.
A North Korean fugitive who watched that show still cherishes this impressive moment.
The North Korean orchestra also performed with the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang in 2008 at a historic ceremony for peace.
In North Korea, the orchestra is known as an artistic creative group representing the country and playing an important role in the development of Ju-chee music as well as musical art.
The word "gu chi" means "self-reliance."
Apart from this band, there are many other classical music groups in North Korea.
"Bee Ein Kyu":
In North Korea, the Man Soo-deh Art Troupe was created in 1969, and the Yoon Ei Sang Orchestra was founded in 1990.
Named after the famous Korean-German composer, young performers praised the Yun Ei Sang orchestra for being a Western-style orchestra that often showcased Western classical music, which was rarely played in the North.
The ensemble consists mainly of Yun's works and music performed in Western and Central Europe.
At the same time, Sam Ji Yeon was created from musicians from the female band of Man So Dae.
The band competed with the "On Ha Soo" orchestra familiar to South Koreans.
Jongbong was created as a musical choir and light orchestra.
The Sam Ji-yun Orchestra was registered as an official orchestra in 2018, when it visited South Korea on the occasion of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Currently, the State Affairs Committee Band is the most popular band in the country.
All of these bands perform classical music.
North Korean founder Kim Il-sung once said that art is a powerful way to lead the public into revolutionary struggle.
In the communist system, all forms of art are used as a tool for propaganda and agitation.
Classical music is no exception.
When performing classical music, North Korean musicians use modified traditional musical instruments along with Western instruments, in a so-called "compact orchestra".
"Bee Ein Kyu":
North Korea began offering a unique art genre called revolutionary opera in the late 1960s.
Initially, Western musical instruments were used in those performances, but former leader Kim Jong-il raised the need to use Korean traditional instruments to express the unique feelings of Koreans.
After that, Korean instruments were included in the revolutionary opera.
The public in the North expressed a positive reaction to this new style, and North Korea believed that this style would be its own independent orchestral music.
As a result, North Korea modified traditional instruments in such a way as to produce sounds appropriate to Western music and incorporated them into the "compact orchestra."
Most of the music performed by North Korean orchestras is not Western classical music, but is produced by the state.
Under instructions from Kim Jong-il in the 1970s, North Korea produced new orchestral music, based on some local songs.
"Bee Ein Kyu":
North Korean classical music is mostly inspired by the music of Gu Chih.
The government in North Korea found that typical classical music wouldn ’ t appeal to the general public very much, so it wasn ’ t good enough to instill a revolutionary spirit in the people.
To find a solution, North Korea decided to arrange famous songs for musical compositions.
The first classical music of the genre is called: "The bumper harvest comes to the Chongsan Plain."
Some traditional Korean musical instruments have been added to create a delightful musical atmosphere.
While listening to music, audiences are reminded of songs they already know.
North Korean instrumental music based on local folk songs includes the well-known song "Arirang Orchestra" among South Koreans.
Arirang Orchestra is a unique piece of music created in the 1970s.
The New York Philharmonic performed this traditional Korean folk song in Pyongyang.
Arirang was also played by the North Korean Orchestra Eun Ha Soo during a concert in Paris, led by South Korean conductor Chung Myung-hoon, and at a joint concert held by the South Korean KBS Orchestra with the North Korean Orchestra.
Classical musicians in North Korea are extremely adept in terms of techniques, because the state is looking for and formally training talented people.
North Korea began seriously educating artists in 1959 when the People's Assembly decided to reform the education system in general.
The State provided an 11-year art school system and music education for gifted children.
"Bee Ein Kyu":
South Korean pianist Im Yoon Chan began learning music at a private institute in his neighborhood.
In contrast, in North Korea, there is no private education, at least in principle, and students learn through public education in most cases.
One of the most important duties of kindergarten teachers in the North is to discover gifted children.
If the teacher finds that the child can play the drum or piano, he sends a recommendation to a local committee.
The committee determines whether the child is truly gifted, and then sends him to kindergartens specializing in art education.
Later, the child is admitted to elementary school, middle school and then art school.
This is how North Korea ’ s gifted student education system works.
In the north, kindergartens are famous for early education of musically gifted children.
In particular, a kindergarten in Pyongyang is known as the institute attended by Ri Sol Ju, the wife of leader Kim Jong Un.
These kindergartens are equipped with dozens of different types of musical instruments, as well as high-quality sound systems and training rooms, with many music teachers.
The education of gifted children in North Korea has led to outstanding performances in international competitions.
For example, the piano marvel Yu Byeolmi won the first prize at the International Children ’ s Piano Competition in 2010 at the age of eight, while Ma Shin A won the first prize at the Chopin International Children ’ s and Young People ’ s Piano Competition in 2016.
Both are graduates of Pyongyang ’ s Kyung Sang Kindergarten.
"Bee Ein Kyu":
North Korean parents are making continuous efforts to enroll their children in the gifted education system.
In most cases, the parents of those who were nurtured as gifted students are musicians, upper-class or wealthy.
Members of the high social class enjoy greater educational and economic benefits that they pass on to their children.
Successful North Korean women such as Ri Sul Ju were initially musicians.
She had a good family background and learned music in an ideal environment, and enrolled in a music academy.
Why is North Korea constantly exploring children with artistic talent?
Analysts say it is using artists as a propaganda tool for its ruling regime.
Among the talented North Korean musicians who became prominent, many did not appear on the world stage later.
"Bee Ein Kyu":
North Korea sends many students abroad to allow them to learn advanced foreign techniques, with the aim of developing its own "Gu Chih Art".
But once they win prizes in international competitions, they go home and disappear from the international stage.
For example, the accomplished violinist Moon Kyung Jin, a former member of the Eun Ha Soo orchestra, took second place in the Tchaikovsky International competition, when the first prize was not awarded.
When studying or joining contests abroad, North Korean musicians may think that their mission is to serve their country in the development of the art of gu chi, not earn money and fame internationally.
The North Korean government is also urging them to return home, as their global activities could be dangerous for the ruling regime.
Unfortunately, talented North Korean musicians cannot properly display their abilities, although they have received rigorous training since childhood, and their abilities have been internationally recognized.
But we are always looking forward to enjoying their performance on the world stage.
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The expert spoke about the prospects of cooperation between Kazakhstan and South Korea
BaigeNews.kz correspondent talked with Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Director of the Institute of Asian Studies of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Herman Kim about the prospects for the development of relations between Kazakhstan and South Korea and the problems of university education.
- German Nikolayevich, please tell us about the current prospects for the development of relations between Kazakhstan and South Korea?
What is the main focus?
- South Korea was one of the first to recognize the independence of the states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan).
And within a year, diplomatic relations were signed between Kazakhstan and South Korea.
Over the past 30 years, we have gone through different stages.
Then, in the late 1990s, there was the Asian financial crisis, which severely affected South Korea.
Investors and even middle-class businessmen have come back.
Then came a new stage when the oil industry was developing in Kazakhstan.
It was a period of real economic cooperation between the countries.
As for political and socio-cultural issues, we do not interfere in the affairs of South Korea and do not overlap in any way.
We have only one important issue: economic relations.
It raises a lot of other questions: to what extent are we of interest to South Korea, what do they want to invest in, what are the national interests of all Central Asian states?
For example, for 15 years we have been talking about the construction of an NPP.
There was a period when it was said that South Korea would build a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan.
In the end, she was not given a contract because Kazakhstan had other interests.
Although everyone knows that nuclear energy in South Korea is advanced.
Their reactors are probably the safest in the world, as they work on light water, etc.
And 40% of their energy is produced by nuclear power plants.
Speaking about the prospects of relations, the following question arises: what country does South Korea see as its strategic partner?
Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan?
In 2009, Kazakhstan and South Korea signed a strategic partnership agreement that emphasizes the special relationship between the countries.
As it turned out, these relations were not special.
Although Kazakhstan was the main partner for South Korea in terms of trade.
We gave them oil, non-ferrous metals, uranium, and they gave us stuff.
We didn't compete because the relationship was barter.
The situation changed at a time when the former political leadership of Kazakhstan began to stall and there were cases of corruption.
And in South Korea, they have already passed this and did not want to go with cash in their briefcases.
At this point, the leadership changed in Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov left, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev took his place.
He wanted to be a Democrat and a fighter for justice.
Therefore, Uzbekistan began to move to a more civilized form of business.
This has opened up new opportunities for investors.
First, it is the sales market, and South Korea needs to export all the time.
They even have a slogan: export or die.
They live on the fact that they import raw materials, process them and add value.
Apart from their hands, brains and new technologies, they have nothing of their own.
In addition, almost 35 million people live in Uzbekistan, against 19 million in Kazakhstan.
There is a comfortable climate, fertile land, there is something to eat, and what sights to see.
This attracted the South Koreans, as a result, they signed an investment agreement with Uzbekistan 10 times more than with Kazakhstan.
In the near future, if we talk about the prospects of relations, South Korea will continue to focus on Uzbekistan.
To date, five South Korean universities have been opened there.
We don't have one yet.
Therefore, we will have to compete, make efforts.
The countries of Central Asia are like communicating vessels.
If we want to come to Kazakhstan, something must leave Uzbekistan.
Something needs to be done, something needs to be done.
Other countries, such as Turkmenistan, are gas suppliers.
One way or another, South Korea will buy gas in exchange for something there.
Tajikistan is also a minority player.
But the main players are Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan had a number of advantages over other countries: we had entered into market and economic relations earlier, our intellectual potential was higher, and there were already large production capacities of Union significance.
But in Uzbekistan, they quickly oriented themselves, so the competition between our countries will remain.
We believe that South Korea and Kazakhstan are different.
And if for Uzbekistan South Korea is the main partner of the few, then we have a minority among many.
Kazakhstan has many partners, almost all large states, and all of them have interests in our resources.
Therefore, South Korea is more difficult to play in this field than in Uzbekistan.
- About a year ago, information appeared about the opening in Kazakhstan of branches of leading universities of South Korea in Kazakhstan, in particular, the branch of the Seoul University of Science and Technology in Kyzylorda.
At what stage is this project today?
Tell me more about him.
- On paper for now.
We want the best South Korean universities to join us.
South Korea is educating thousands of our students.
It is an attractive and comfortable country for life.
Our students like to study in good universities in the American education system.
You can study in both Korean and English.
But according to the laws of the country, neither public nor private universities are allowed to invest money, receive subsidies from the government to open branches.
Having its own financial resources, the university cannot transfer this money abroad.
Five universities opened in Uzbekistan, as the government fully provided the building and infrastructure.
From South Korea only management and teachers.
The universities issue diplomas of the state sample and the South Korean university.
We do not provide such conditions yet.
It is very important how the university works.
Figuratively speaking, this is a portal on which the entire educational, educational, scientific process and personnel issues are laid.
The question of why, with resources, we cannot make a private university is on the agenda.
I do not rule out that in a year or two we will have a joint university, or on such terms that we will provide them with infrastructure, and they will enter these buildings.
Although this is also a lot of money, each professor from South Korea needs to pay a salary by their standards, to provide accommodation.
Hiring 30-40 professors is a lot of money.
South Korea is also concerned about this issue, as their birth rate plummeted 20 years ago.
Because of this, the number of students is constantly decreasing.
Then their deficit needs to be filled by foreign students.
The first, in large numbers, were Chinese students.
But due to the fact that they did not know Korean and did not know English well, the level of education dropped.
Therefore, it is more interesting for South Koreans to attract students from Kazakhstan and Russia.
They are more advanced in cultural and linguistic issues.
But those who want to go to Korea are still fewer than those who want to go to the United States or the United Kingdom.
Therefore, South Korea is looking for ways to cooperate in university education.
- If we open a South Korean university, it will certainly be paid.
- In the promising university that will arise, whether it is purely Korean, as a branch, or as a joint Kazakh-Korean university, students will certainly be divided into those who study for a grant, and those who will pay money.
The problem is that neither the state nor private business is interested in spending a lot of money to create educational infrastructure - buy or build a building, equip it.
The educational business is long, and investing in it from scratch will not soon get the investment back.
In addition, there is a lot of competition among universities in Kazakhstan.
- Can the opening of a new university in Kazakhstan somehow affect the education system?
- I think that the opening of one and even two South Korean universities will not make fundamental changes in the market of higher education in Kazakhstan.
This will not affect the overall quality of the education system.
Since we have a national education system, South Korean universities will have to adapt to us.
These universities will be able to partially close the shortage of personnel, for example, in IT.
They can also become a model for other universities, in terms of building an educational system.
There is still an illiberal education in Kazakhstan.
Students are not equal to professors.
Our professors and management determine what and how much students should learn.
And there should be partnerships, when professors and students have rights in the educational process, and according to the program, students teach 30% of the mandatory course, and the remaining 70% form independently.
Yes, school education is stronger in comparison with the same American, but at the bachelor ’ s degree we begin to sag, and in the master ’ s degree the difference is even greater.
When students are given the right to choose, when they begin to shape their own curricula, not only in selected universities, but everywhere, the level of education will increase.
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Coffee culture in North Korea
# Developments on the Korean Peninsula l 2023-11-22
Developments on the Korean Peninsula
Getty Images Bank
"Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love": this is how French politician Charles Peregor described coffee.
Many people choose to have coffee with some baked goods for breakfast, and it is common to see people buying their favorite coffee on the way to work.
According to a 2020 survey, South Koreans consume 367 cups of coffee annually, the second highest in the world after France.
It is easy to understand why South Korea is called the “Republic of Coffee. ”
So what about North Korea?
It is not common to find the word "coffee" in North Korean literature.
In a novel titled Eternal Affection by North Korean author Ri Hee Ryun, she describes coffee as follows:
E.J. Sun, professor at the Korean Institute for National Unification:
Coffee rarely appears in North Korean literature.
Morning coffee is expressed in the context of the former Soviet Union as a country-specific culture there.
When the events take place in a capitalist society or in Japan, coffee is portrayed as the corrupt ’ s favorite drink.
If a North Korean drinks it, he is portrayed as someone who corrupts society.
Remarkably, coffee has appeared in North Korean literature.
The phrase "sweet but bitter, bitter but sweet" describes exactly the taste of instant coffee in South Korea.
North Korea vehemently criticizes things that taste weird, criticizes the behavior of power-aspirants who pursue foreign habits, and compares it to coffee.
Since the 1990s, a culture of enjoying coffee has formed among the upper classes of North Korean society, including former leader Kim Jong Il and senior officials, diplomats and those sent abroad.
Kim Yong Nam, the former chairman of the Supreme People ’ s Assembly, liked to eat milk, butter, bread and coffee for breakfast.
But in North Korea, coffee isn ’ t just a subject of personal preferences, it ’ s described as “a taste that symbolizes capitalism. ”
"E.J. Sun":
Cafes are places where someone meets other people.
It initially emerged as a modern space that increases opportunities for information exchange between visitors.
It was the French capital, Paris, that turned cafes into places of dialogue and discussion, and then the rise of capitalism gave rise to an entirely new type of consumption space, such as roadside cafes in cities.
In North Korea, which rejects capitalism itself, the coffee consumed in these coffeehouses is associated with the “decadent ” culture of capitalist society.
According to a report by the International Coffee Organization, North Korea's coffee imports increased markedly in the first decade of the 21st century.
From 1990 to 1999, North Korea imported less than 1,000 bags of coffee a year, weighing 60 kilograms.
But imports began to increase in the 2000s, and by 2012, they were importing an average of 19,000 bags of coffee a year.
A cup of coffee generally contains 7 grams of coffee beans, so it can be estimated that North Koreans consume only about 7 cups of coffee per person per year.
This amount has increased since the 1990s, but is still very small, compared to other countries, where per capita coffee consumption in North Korea is only 1 in 40 compared to South Korea.
Coffee shops have gradually started in North Korea since Kim Jong Un came to power.
In 2012, Kim Jong-un visited the Sunrise restaurant after it opened on Chang Joon Street in Pyongyang.
North Korean media also showcased places where citizens could drink coffee.
"E.J. Sun":
If North Koreans want to drink coffee, they can go to restaurants, soda shops or tea cafes.
The Sunrise restaurant, where Kim Jong Un drank coffee, is famous for its unique and delicious coffee taste.
Local media say visitors can have friendly conversations in a good atmosphere at the cafe, which is located on the sixth floor of the Hae Dang Hoa service complex, which includes restaurants, shops, a water park, a hair salon and a gymnasium.
The cafe offers many different types of coffee, tea, juices and sweets.
The soft drink shop Man Su Kyu, located on the banks of the Pu Tong River, is famous for its distinctive petal shape; it is also known for its cozy and elegant café.
There is also a café on board the Rainbow cruise ship on the Teidong River where cappuccino and mocha are served.
North Korea has developed several tourist routes to attract foreign tourists and expand its tourist market.
The tourist route between Pyongyang and Wan San is one of them.
Shen Byeong Kom Kang, located on the way from Pyongyang to Wan San, serves cappuccino, espresso and mocha, as well as Kang Ryong ’ s green tea, which is promoted as an export commodity.
Yuri Tours, a U.S. company that organizes tours to North Korea, featured four coffee shops worth visiting in downtown Pyongyang on its 2013 blog, “Coffee in North Korea, ” noting that a cup of coffee costs between $3 and $4.
This is a huge amount considering the prices in North Korea.
Cafes are mostly frequented by the new rich, senior officials of the country and young people who have dates.
Coffee was once the preserve of the upper class in North Korea, but it was the Kaesong industrial complex that spread coffee among the general public in the North.
South Korean companies in the inter-Korean industrial zone were distributing choco pi snacks to North Korean workers there.
The chocolate cake stuffed with marshmallow was very popular among workers, as was the instant coffee produced in South Korea.
A bag of instant coffee contains coffee powder, sugar and cream, enough to prepare one cup.
"E.J. Sun":
One of the advantages of instant coffee is that it provides a person with caffeine and sugar quickly.
Dieters can enjoy another product that contains half the amount of sugar to reduce calories.
There are also distinctive coffee blends with an enhanced flavor.
The instant coffee blend combines bitter, sweet and salty in one package.
This is the best thing about instant coffee.
North Korean citizens are said to have loved the South Korean coffee blend, which in the North was called "coffee finger", as it was considered a rare and valuable snack so much that it was served to guests or as rewards.
Even after the Kaesong Industrial Complex closed in 2016, South Korean coffee products were traded in the North ’ s private markets, called Jang Ma Dang, in line with the steady increase in citizens ’ purchasing power.
The growing popularity of instant dried coffee has led street vendors to sell it.
North Korea is said to be producing its own instant coffee.
A North Korean YouTuber offers red ginseng coffee on her channel, which looks like South Korea ’ s instant coffee mix.
North Korea has created its own brand of instant coffee, Sambok.
"E.J. Sun":
Sambok coffee, produced in Pyongyang, looks similar to South Korean instant coffee, which the North Koreans call "coffee finger"; it tastes similar to South Korean products.
Since early 2016, Sambok coffee has been distributed in major cities such as Pyongyang, Shin Oi Ju and Kaesong, and red ginseng coffee Kaesong Koryo is promoted on the North Korean foreign trade website.
The medicinal properties of red ginseng have been added to the coffee and are therefore effective in relieving mental and physical fatigue.
Red ginseng is a special export product launched with confidence by North Korea, and coffee and milk have been added to the red ginseng in Kaesong Koryo coffee to produce this distinctive coffee blend.
For North Koreans, it has become normal to serve coffee to guests at home and hold meetings while drinking coffee.
Previously, only some high-ranking officials enjoyed coffee.
"E.J. Sun":
Another way to measure the popularity of coffee is to see how many types of coffee-flavored beverages have been produced in North Korea.
The milk coffee produced by the Eun Ha Tae Sung Food Factory sells well.
Another plant based in Pyongyang manufactures various dairy products, including coffee-flavored milk.
The variety of coffee-flavored beverages available in the market shows just how popular coffee is there.
But on the other hand, Google Maps shows that famous cafes in Pyongyang are temporarily or permanently closed for the time being.
It ’ s hard to know exactly what Google Maps ’ algorithm is, but cafes don ’ t seem to run smoothly nowadays.
The difficulty of importing coffee may be one of the reasons.
North Korea also tends to focus on locally produced tea products.
For these reasons, the coffee situation is no longer the same as before, but I don ’ t think coffee will completely disappear in North Korea as it is starting to open its borders again and needs to meet the demand of foreign tourists.
So I think North Korea will continue to produce coffee-flavored products.
In this cold winter, many crave a cup of hot coffee.
When will people from the two Koreas be able to exchange coffee products and eat them together?
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Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo Summit: What do its participants achieve?
Martin Fritz
May 28, 2024
China, South Korea and Japan, Asia ’ s three largest economies, want to expand economic ties and conclude a free trade agreement – despite political distrust.
https: / / p.dw.com / p / 4gO7i
For the first time in more than four years, the South Korean president, as well as the heads of government of China and Japan, met on Monday at a trilateral summit to discuss strengthening economic cooperation in the region.
Asia ’ s three largest economies want to revive negotiations on a free trade agreement, according to a meeting in Seoul.
In addition, it is emphasized that the Korean peninsula should be free of nuclear weapons.
China, which is considered the closest ally of North Korea, also expressed its disagreement with the development of Pyongyang ’ s nuclear program.
All three countries called for a political solution to the problem.
According to the final declaration of the summit, they also want to develop cooperation in the fields of sustainable development, health, science and technology and disaster management.
It is also planned to expand exchanges between people.
Distrust caused by long-standing disagreements
On the eve of negotiations in the trilateral format, the host of the summit, South Korean President Yoon Seok Yol separately met first with Premier of the State Council of China Li Qian, and then with the head of the Japanese government Fumio Kishida.
Relations between neighboring countries remain very difficult.
They are full of mistrust, which is due to the not fully worked out guilt for the events that occurred in the Second World War.
Even almost 80 years after the end of the war, territorial disputes between these countries have not been resolved.
At the same time, in military terms, Tokyo and Seoul are under the protection of the United States, while China is rapidly expanding its activity in the Pacific region.
“This summit will be a turning point on the way to the full restoration and normalization of the system of trilateral cooperation.
It will give impetus to future-oriented practical cooperation that will benefit the people of the three countries, ” said Kim Tae Hyo, deputy national security adviser to the South Korean president.
In his words, the Taiwan issue will have "no impact" on the summit.
On the eve of the meeting in Seoul, China sharply criticized Japan and South Korea for the fact that some deputies of their parliaments were present in Taipei for the inauguration of the new President of Taiwan Lai Qingde.
Completely different prerequisites for a meeting
In the last such meeting, it was held in the Chinese city of Chengdu in December 2019, attended by very different politicians.
Japan was represented by Shinzo Abe, who became the victim of an assassination attempt in July 2022 after his resignation from the post of prime minister.
China is the then head of the State Council of the People ’ s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, who died in October 2023 shortly after leaving politics.
South Korea was then President Moon Jae-in, now retired.
However, not only the participants of the summit, but also its prerequisites were now completely different.
With its alliance with Russia and its bullying of Taiwan, China, analysts point out, is increasing Japan ’ s and South Korea ’ s awareness of the crisis over its hegemonic ambitions.
In response, Tokyo and Seoul ended a dispute over compensation to Koreans for forced labor and sexual exploitation during the Japanese occupation and began working with the United States to strengthen the regional security architecture to militarily deter Beijing.
“The three countries (the United States, South Korea, and Japan) are pursuing a common geopolitical strategy.
It focuses on the Indo-Pacific region as a new geopolitical space in which to compete with China, "explains Sebastian Maslow, assistant professor of international studies in Japan at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Tokyo.
In his opinion, the trilateral meeting in Seoul is a signal that Beijing is concerned about this new geopolitical situation.
"The summit should be seen as an attempt by China to slow down the dynamics of security policy between Japan, South Korea and the United States," the German political scientist said.
What were the goals pursued by China, agreeing to participate in the summit?
According to the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun, China has in fact long resisted the request of South Korea - the permanent host of the summit - to set a date for trilateral talks, which were to be held annually.
Beijing was allegedly dissatisfied with the fact that Japan and South Korea are getting closer to the United States in matters of security policy.
In this regard, the summit, analysts note, was designed to drive a wedge between Tokyo and Seoul, on the one hand, and Washington, on the other.
Only in November last year, the PRC agreed to hold a trilateral meeting at the level of foreign ministers in Busan.
However, China postponed the date of the summit in Seoul due to the parliamentary elections in South Korea in April, before which it is believed that it did not want to support President Yong in this way, as well as before the inauguration of the new President of Taiwan.
Beijing rethinks the situation after the meeting at Camp David
The change in Beijing ’ s position is partly explained by the fact that Yong has consistently ignored pressure from China, while his predecessor Moon has always treated Beijing very carefully and attentively.
And also by the fact that in August 2023, the first and, therefore, historical, meeting in a trilateral format of Prime Minister Kishida, President Yoon and US President Joe Biden was held at Camp David, which caused alarm in the PRC.
However, Japan and South Korea also have their own good reasons for high-level talks with China.
Beijing is Seoul ’ s most important trading partner and Tokyo ’ s second largest.
Both countries, observers say, have to balance between economic interdependence and security policy interests.
In addition, Japan and South Korea are concerned about the development of North Korea ’ s nuclear missile program, which has gained self-confidence by strengthening relations with Russia.
Beijing, as Pyongyang ’ s most important trading partner, has a great influence on it.
“I assume that Japan and South Korea will discuss China ’ s role in relations with both Russia and the regime in North Korea.
And they will insist that Beijing takes a more constructive stance in resolving these security crises, "Maslow said.
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