Kim argues anti-Americanism belongs to a category of political opposition which may be divided into orthodox dissent and unorthodox dissent: the former involving "efforts to improve the existing system in keeping with its underlying ideological values," while the latter is mainly concerned with the change in political and socioeconomic structures.

In the South Korean context, orthodox dissent is the conservative-rightist whereas unorthodox dissent the progressive-leftist. While sometimes criticizing the U.S. on selected issues, the conservative-rightist accounts cooperation with the U.S. crucial for keeping North Korea from provoking military actions against the South. On the other hand, the progressive-leftist regards the North Korean regime a partner to live together and unification with the North most valuable, transcending ideologies and systems. The progressive-leftist naturally regards "dependence" on the U.S. being against its national autonomy, and in the extreme, the U.S. an obstacle to its unification with the North.

This talk brings its focus on anti-Americanism derived from the progressive-leftist or unorthodox dissenting argument, and its influence on the ROK-U.S relations.

Hakjoon Kim is a visiting scholar at Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford and is the Chairman of Dong-a Il Bo, South Korean newspaper.  He was the President of Korea Political Science Association and Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations.  Kim was Scholar at the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation in Germany, and Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

James Traub is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, where he has worked since 1998. From 1994 to 1997, he was a staff writer for The New Yorker. He has also written for The New York Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic and elsewhere. His articles have been widely reprinted and anthologized. He has written extensively about international affairs and especially the United Nations. In recent years, he has reported from Iran, Iraq, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Vietnam, India, Kosovo and Haiti. He has also written often about national politics and urban affairs, including education, immigration, race, poverty and crime.

Most recently, Traub authored the critically acclaimed book, The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power. His previous books include, The Devil's Playground: A Century of Pleasure and Profit in Times Square, which was published in 2004, and City On A Hill, a book on open admissions at City College that was published in 1994 and won the Sidney Hillman Award for nonfiction. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

This talk will examine the challenges and problems that South Korea faces on its way to full-fledged democracy. The ideological composition of Korean society, the role of political parties, civil society and media as well as the attitude of public intellectuals will be assessed.

Se Il Park is a 2008-09 visiting scholar at APARC’s Korean Studies Program, and a professor of law and economics in the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University. He is the founder and the chairman of the board of Hansun Foundation for Freedom and Happiness, an independent, non-partisan think tank based in Seoul devoted to providing innovative and practical public policy recommendations to South Korean society at large.

Park is the author of many books, including Communitarian Liberalism (2008); National Strategy for Sunjinwha in Korea (National strategy to make Korea a world-class nation) (2006); Blueprint for Tertiary Education Reform in Korea (2003); Strategy for Presidential Success: Authority, Role, and Responsibility (2002); Growth, Productivity, and Vision for Korean Economy (2001); Reforming Labor Management Relations: lessons from the Korean experience: 1996-1997 (2000); and Law and Economics (2000).

Park served as Senior Secretary to the President for policy planning and social welfare in the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea from 1995 to 1998, and was a member of National Assembly of the Republic of Korea from 2004 to 2005. He also worked at the Korea Development Institute as a Senior Fellow from 1980 to 1985. Park received his B.A. from Seoul National University and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.

This event is supported by the generous grant from Academy of Korean Studies in Korea.