Kyung Hee University Peace BAR Festival

“The Era of Urgency, a New Horizon for Political Norms”

Has an era of apocalyptic calamities dawned upon humanity? The answer still eludes us as the pale horseman of a global pandemic is wreaking havoc and unfolding suffering all over the planet earth. Humanity has united in one mind, yearning for “prompt resolution of the plague and the restoration of daily life.” But, the complete cure back to wholesomeness is not yet within our grasp.

The rise of another horseman that threatens our daily lives has been announced elsewhere. Earlier this year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the “Doomsday Clock” to mere 100 seconds before midnight, the closest ever in history. For the first time over seven decades of its history, the clock hand that warns humanity of their impending doom has been changed from a minute to a second. That humanity has only seconds before their obliteration so dramatically demonstrates how tenuous our existence on this planet currently is. In addition to the existing threat of nuclear annihilation and destructive cutting-edge technologies, the unprecedented acceleration of climate change in the recent years is the main actor that hastened the “Doomsday Clock” to the last 100 seconds. Compounded by the ongoing global pandemic, the dire global threat to humanity is an urgent crisis for all of us who live in this era.

Is humanity truly faced with the critical existential threat as lethal as proclaimed by the international society? Does humanity have no other choice but to “surrender or hope” as warned by the United Nations last year? Prior to answering that question, we must consider the fact that humanity is now entering a dreadful era of extreme uncertainty, that no human memory has experienced before, frequently referred to as the “Sixth Mass Extinction.”

On the 39th UN International Day of Peace, Kyung Hee University System will explore the political truth of these key global agendas. Building upon a clear understanding of the mechanism of the climate change, the fundamental issues of awareness and politics will be discussed: Why, despite the long standing objection of the academia and the constant warning of the international society, has the political leadership of the world collectively failed to act in a cooperative attempt to neutralize these common and genuine threats? Is it because of the national interest taking precedence over the survival of entire humanity? Or is the current political leadership structure simply incapable of dealing with global threats that far exceed the immediate domestic circumstances? Where is the social consciousness now heading, which often steered the force of history like a railway signaller when the political leadership is confounded?

Under the title of “The Era of Urgency, A New Horizon for Political Norms,” this year’s Kyung Hee Roundtable Conference in commemoration of the UN International Day of Peace will illuminate these questions. We look forward to the great participation and support of those who are interested in future society and the outlook for the young generation.