The fourth Friday Event for the spring semester of 2022 was held by SIPA on Friday, May 6th. Prof. Ham Myungsik is invited to deliver a talk on the topic of A Turning Point or a Tipping Point? South Korea's Foreign Policy Change towards China under Yoon Seok-youl Administration.
Prof. Ham started with an important introduction about South Korea in the world moved on to the South Korea China relations throughout history from 1950 until today, after that he explained the dramatic turning points, Prof. Ham asked an important question: "Is the policy change a consequence of power shift or a reflection of changing social perception of China?", then he moved on to Transition from a Normal Partnership to a Contesting Relationship since Yoon elected, explain in detail the differences between turning point vs. tipping point, The evening continued, moving between the important points, all the way to Risks: South Korea's security dilemma.
The topic of the event was interesting while it contain explains in depth and in detail the understanding of Korea's Foreign Policy Change towards China under Yoon Seok-youl Administration which created a great resonance between the students and they praised the efforts of Prof. Ham for the detailed and interesting topic. More than 40 students attended the evening, which lasted for two and a half hours, and many questions were asked, which were discussed by Prof. Ham with the utmost patience and professionalism.
Prof. Ham is a Korean national, Ph.D. in History (History of International Relations). His main research fields are East Asian International Relations and Asymmetry, Korean Politics and Diplomacy, and China-Korea Relations. He graduated from Yonsei University in South Korea with a master's degree in East Asian Studies in 2000, graduated from the University of Florida with a master's degree in International Affairs in 2003, graduated from the University of Virginia in the United States with a master's degree in political science in 2006, and graduated from Jilin University, China in 2009. Prof. Ham is proficient in Korean, English, and Chinese. He has published several papers in domestic and foreign authoritative academic journals such as Modern China, Seosuk Social Science Review, and Colleted Papers of History Studies.
