Hiroshima & The DMZ: The Ethnology of Environmental Peacebuilding in Korea & Japan

Apr 5, 2016 | Peace Park Expeditions and Ohio University
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Experience the power and beauty of East Asian culture, language and ecology in the Hiroshima and the DMZ program. This summer will take students back in time as they learn about the practical and symbolic work of environmental peacebuilding in South Korea and Japan through the ages. The program includes a trip to the Korean DMZ where students will learn more about how the militarized border turned de facto zone is used as a tool for environmental diplomacy and the challenges of using it to promote peace between the two Koreas. Students can also look forward to visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan to discuss how the language of peace and the environment are utilized to promote healing and cooperation between the United States and Japan. This is a great opportunity for students who want a summer full of adventure.This year, the program will run from July 26-August 9 2016.

Just because a war has ended or that violence in a particular location has ceased does not mean that there are not lingering scars and painful memories from the conflict. The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, effectively ending World War II, but the people still recognize the devastation from that day and advocate for the end of nuclear weapons and war so nothing like this can ever happen again. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was constructed as a visual representation of “not retaliation, but reconciliation” (Miyamoto 13). The Korean War ended in the 1960’s, yet there are still strong tensions that exist between the North and the South, epitomized by the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) drawn between the two countries. Today, there is discussion on whether a peace park should be developed in the DMZ. This course will offer students the opportunity to learn about these conflicts in the classroom before travelling to both the Korean DMZ and the Hiroshima park in partnership with International Peace Parks Expeditions (IPPE), to experience the memories and emotions of the these conflicts for themselves. The goal of this course is for students to learn how environmental peacebuilding has the potential to mend these wounds through sustainable development, ecotourism, natural resource management and the development of peace parks designed to promote peace.  

Students will learn more about the historical context of the Korean War and its lasting consequences as well as the legacy of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in the classroom. They will then go to these places and experience the feelings and emotions associated with these conflicts and efforts for peace and reconciliation by visiting memorials and peace parks, learn about environmental peacebuilding as a method of obtaining lasting peace, and interact with the local community to experience their culture and history. Finally, students will finish this course by reflecting on what they have experienced during their expedition, compare it to what they learned before, and apply deeper meaning to the concept of peace and reconciliation in these contexts.

For more information, please contact Dr. Christopher Thompson 
thompsoc@ohio.edu.