More on the Busan paradigm

HERE’S WELCOME NEWS: Some people in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula recognize that continuing to strengthen millenia-old regional ties will be more beneficial to them and their neighbors in Kyushu than allowing themselves the emotional luxury of periodically becoming unhinged over the Takeshima islets.

It was announced last week that 24 universities from Fukuoka in Kyushu and the city of Busan in South Korea will be sign an agreement on 25 September to create what they are calling a consortium for academic exchange. Kyushu University will serve as the representative of the 13 Fukuoka schools to be involved, and the Japanese office will be located there. Busan National University in Busan will perform the same function for the 11 Korean schools.

As part of the agreement, students at any of the schools will be able to take courses at any of the other schools and transfer the credits they receive. Professors will also be available for lectures at all the consortium members. The people involved say they hope it becomes a model for Japanese-Korean ties.

Here’s the best part: The agreement was originally scheduled to be signed on the 29th during the Fukuoka-Busan Forum, but that event was moved back due to South Korean dizziness over the failure of the Japanese to relinquish their Takeshima claims. Yet the schools involved were eager to get the project started and didn’t want to wait two more months.

That in itself says more than I could.

It’s no accident that both Kyushu and Fukuoka are heavily involved with activities of this type. The agreement will be signed coincident to Asian Month in Fukuoka City, which has become an annual event. Fukuoka City also has one of the world’s few museums devoted to Asian art. Located nearby in Dazaifu is one of Japan’s four national museums, equivalent to the Smithsonian in the United States. The Fukuoka museum focuses on the history of regional interaction with Asia. Links to both facilities are on the right sidebar.