Report of the Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT) Working
Group On “Enhancement of Cultural Exchange in East Asia.”
May 1-3, 2009, Seoul, Korea

I. Introduction
1. East Asia is composed of diverse cultures, traditions and nations. Peace andprosperity of East Asian Community, therefore, is contingent on understanding ofcultural diversity and common vision for community as well as the coordination ofpolitical economic interests within the region. Countries in East Asia have increasingly
identified the importance and necessity of cultural exchange in the process of building
East Asian Community. Towards a humanistic regional community, this working group
has dealt with general issues of cultural exchange and explored various ways to enhance
cultural exchange in East Asia.
2. This working group appreciates the spirit of 1998 ASEAN Plus Three Summit
meeting that made a statement on Asian identity, human exchanges, mutual culturalunderstanding, and so on. Following the spirit, NEAT recognized the importance ofbuilding East Asian socio-cultural community in 2004 annual conference and thenecessity of building East Asian identity in 2005 annual conference. To implement therecognition, 2006 NEAT annual conference proposed a working group that would
discuss the issue of ‘enhancement of cultural exchange in East Asia.’
3. The first meeting of the NEAT “Working Group on Enhancement of CulturalExchange” was held on June 8, 2007 in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province in the Republicof Korea. It was sponsored by the Korean Institute of Southeast Asian Studies(KISEAS), the Country Coordinator of NEAT Korea. A total of 18 participants from all
13 ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries attended the meeting and engaged in aninteractive and productive discussion.
4. As a result, the 2007 NEAT Working Group on Enhancement of Cultural Exchange in
East Asia reached an agreement to hold a series of annual meetings for the next 5 years.
Each year is supposed to focus on one priority area: the Media (2008); Popular cultureand cultural festivities (2009); Education (2010); People-to-people exchange (2011);1and Performing arts and cultural exhibition (2012).
5. In accordance with the agreed schedule, the second meeting of NEAT “WorkingGroup on Enhancement of Cultural Exchange” was held on June 13-15, 2008 in Seoul,
the Republic of Korea, with “media” for its priority area of discussion. It was sponsoredby the KISEAS (the Country Coordinator of NEAT Korea), and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) of the Republic of Korea. A total of 18 participants from 12
ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries (a delegate from Brunei was absent) attended themeeting and engaged in an interactive and productive discussion.
6. In accordance with the agreed schedule, this year’s priority area of discussion was“popular culture and cultural festivities.” The meeting (the third meeting of the NEAT“Working Group on Enhancement of Cultural Exchange”) was held on May 1-3, 2009
in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. It was sponsored by the KISEAS (the Country
Coordinator of NEAT Korea), and the MOFAT of the Republic of Korea. A total of 17
participants from 11 ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries (delegates from Brunei andMalaysia were absent) attended the meeting and engaged in an interactive andproductive discussion. The meeting brought up diverse and important issues and ideason the popular culture and cultural festivities as follows.
A. Identifying the concept and function of the popular culture and cultural
festivities in East Asia
B. Examination of current cultural exchanges in popular culture and cultural
festivities within East Asia
C. Exploration of agenda and measures for more cultural exchanges in EastAsia
D. Policy implications

II. Key Issues and Suggestions
1. As a general principle, all the participants in this WG
a. Recognized the importance/necessity of “cultural exchange through popular culture2and cultural festivities” in East Asian Community (EAC) building process.
b. Agreed that “popular culture and cultural festivities” could be an excellent meansof promoting ‘regional identity’ among East Asian people.
c. Suggested that “cultural exchange/cooperation through popular culture and culturalfestivities” should be enhanced in the 2nd decade of APT process.
2. Some participants pointed out the importance of “popular culture” inmutual understanding in East Asia, emphasizing following viewpoints:
a. Popular culture has become a part of our daily lives.
b. Popular culture including television drama, film, and music can be lessnationalistic than other forms of popular culture.
c. The growth of popular culture has expanded collaboration in cultural exchanges.
3. Some participants expressed the concern of uneven or unidirectional flow of pop
culture and addressed the issues such as:a. How to correct the imbalance in the flow of cultures between countries.
b. Especially, how to reduce the gap in terms of media development level between
developed countries and less developed countries in the region.
c. How to respond to the Westernization of cultures with growing domination ofmarket forces in media industries.
d. How to help policymakers to realize the importance of popular culture incultural exchange.
4.

Some participants expressed the concern of traditional culture in the modern era,emphasizing following points:
a. Traditional cultures, which are sources of fraternity and national identities, aredisappearing, being driven out and under-represented in the modern era and in
the process of industrialization.
b. Some governments have marginalized traditional culture considering it asretardation of economic development and modernization.
c. The marginalization of traditional culture leads to the loss of local identity.
d. Traditional festivals are recently being revitalized, however by market-driven
forces and local governments.

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5. In addition, participants also addressed various issues in dealing with popular culture
and festivities in the region. They are as follows:a. Asian societies share agricultural traditions which have produced diversefestivals.
b. Industry-produced pop culture is now an unavoidable phenomenon.
c. Cultural hybridity of traditional culture and industry-produced pop culture is
the way to reflect long-established identities as well.
d. Such hybridized cultural forms have changed long-lasting perceptions like
Islamophobia in Western societies.
e. It is important to address the existence of subcultures and diasporas.
f. The lessons of history can be reflected in the content of popular culture.
g. It is necessary to recognize the existence of ethnic cultures in rural areas,subcultures in cities, and diaspora cultures.
h. It is necessary to address the role of distributors and new media such as theInternet and satellite TV in transnational cultural exchanges.

III. Policy Recommendations and Proposals for Specific Measures
Based upon the key issues and suggestions addressed in the meeting, the working
group made some policy recommendations and proposals for specific measures andprograms as follows.
1. Some specific programs were proposed to promote or enhance the mutual
understanding of other cultures in the region such asa. East Asian Cultural Festival- organizing committee should be drawn from diverse backgrounds andsectors-to be held biennially and hosted by each Asian Plus Three countries in turnincluding conference on “evolving trends of popular culture in East Asia”
including film festivals focusing on East Asian films
including music and dance festival/competition4

- televised by public TV stations of APT countries and circulated within theregionb. Textbook of East Asian History and Culture- To promote mutual understanding of common history and culture from theelementary school level to secondary school levelc. East Asian Cultural Foundation- Coordinating and facilitating cooperation in terms of transnational exchangeof cultures among cultural practitioners in the region- Making decisions on issues pertaining to the promotion of cultural exchangeand cooperation- Commissioning projects to showcase the different cultures in East Asia
- Forming “research networks” promoting research on conditions of cultures,and cultural market data and consumers’ needs across East Asia. Thereafter,annual conference on specific cultural aspects will be held

2. Some specific measures were proposed to promote “cultural exchange throughpopular culture” in the region as follows.
a. Active engagement in biennales and triennales held in the region so that Asianpeoples can understand each otherb. Designation of East Asian Cultural Capitals following a cue from European
Cultural Capitals, whereby Asian cities take turns to showcase their cultures

3. There was a suggestion that it is necessary for governments to render support topractitioners of transnational cultural exchange and to provide human network andmaterial infrastructure for further collaboration in cultural exchange.

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