ISC This Month

3rd Commemoration of the Death of Commander Hugo ChavezOn March 8, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’s Embassy in the Republic of Korea hosted its 3 year commemoration since the passing of Hugo Chavez. The Ecuadorean ambassador, the Bolivian consulate, the Dominican Republic’s consulate, along with the International Strategy Center were invited to attend. After a video about the life of President Hugo, Charges D’Affaires Yadira Hidalgo emphasized that “President Hugo Chavez’s thought and action were always directed towards welfare, participation, union leadership, and the people. That is why he worked to strengthen regional integration.” The ceremony concluded with a service by Pastor Juan Tapia.  

One Year Since Obama’s Executive Order Against Venezuela On March 2015, President Obama announced a presidential decree stating that Venezuela threatened US national security and foreign policy. A year later, US stance towards Venezuela has not changed. As part of an international effort opposing this executive order, the Venezuelan Embassy held the event “Venezuela is not a Threat, It is Hope.” The International Strategy Center expressed its solidarity by participating in the signature campaign. In the event, Charge D’Affaires Yadira Hidalgo read an official statement from Venezuela’s Ministry of External Relations. The statement explained how the US presidential decree was an attempt to shape international opinion against Venezuela, as a country that ignores human rights. This threatens not only the unity of the country but also the integration of the region by encouraging Venezuela’s right-wing in its attempts to overthrow the government. The statement was followed by discussion with participants. 

March Open Lecture: Korea-Japan Relations and the Sexual Slavery Issue Despite the Wednesday protests for the past 24 years in front of the Japanese Embassy in Korea demanding a resolution of sexual slavery by the Japanese military through recognition of Japan's war crimes, a truth investigation, and legal compensation, the South Korean and Japanese government, without consulting the victims, announced a “final and irreversible” agreement. This March, we invited Professor Hongsu Han to lecture on the context of Japan-South Korean relations and sexual slavery. Through supporting documents and history textbooks, Professor Han explained how starting with Japanese colonization and continuing after liberation, history has not been properly rectified.  It made me realize the importance of a proper history education. After the lecture, we visited the Girl Statue in front of the Japanese Embassy to learn about her various symbols and significance.

Day of the Sea Hosted by the Bolivian Embassy in Korea After the Pacific War with Chile in 1880, Bolivia became a landlocked country. Despite over a hundred years of negotiations with Chile to recover Bolivia’s maritime sovereignty, both countries have severed diplomatic relations. In order to resolve this issue through negotiation rather than militarily, Bolivia has brought Chile to the International Court of Justice. Since then, March 23 has been designated as Bolivia’s Day of the Sea. Representing Korean civil society organizations, the International Strategy Center read a statement in solidarity with the Bolivian government’s attempts to recover its access to the Pacific Ocean. Furthermore, we announced we would translate “Book of the Sea” into Korean, which has already been published in English and Spanish.