Expert: Korea, China And Japan Should Give Up Nationalism, Create an Asian Community

Corrado Letta (65), a senior advisor to the president of Kobe University in Japan, who also has reputation for great connections in the international political circle, gave a lecture on the ASEAN+3 Summit at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center on Tuesday.

The professor, who graduated from University of Pisa in Italy, has been working as an advisor to many country leaders and international organizations including kings of Saudi Arabia and Cambodia, presidents of Liberia, Cameroon, and Indonesia, the World Bank, the Asia Development Bank and the ASEM organizing committee.

He also served as a fellow at the Sejong Institute in 2003. Over his 35-year career as an international scholar, he has been concentrating on the comparative study of various continents and cultures.

At a conference hosted by Italian Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday, he said, “Because of past history, Korea, China and Japan still remain nationalistic. To achieve the goal of creating an East Asian community, they should first address nationalism and the rivalry between China and Japan.”

Ho-Gab Lee gdt@donga.com