Sneak preview of Asia-Pacific Forum ANU presentation

1. The North-South Korea predicament is the most likely source of major military conflict in East Asia that would involve the United States and its allies, South Korea and Japan. 
2. When the 1993-94 nuclear crisis provoked by the North Korea threatened to escalate to war, it had a huge impact on Japan and caused Tokyo to urge prudence in responding. 
3. This paper attempts to look at the change in security policy of Japan from pre-nuclear crisis until the occurrence of North Korean nuclear program in the 1990s, and how Japan perceives herself on the strategic stability of Korean Peninsula in relations to trilateral alliance with the United States (U.S.) and South Korea or Republic of Korea (ROK). 
4. One of two developments must transpire before a durable peace can be established on the Korean Peninsula. 
5. Either North Korea must be transformed or the United States and its allies South Korea and Japan must transform their policies toward North Korea.

I better finish writing my paper a.s.a.p. so that I can make the powerpoint slides!

Paper for ANU Asia Pacific Week 2010

I am now writing a paper that I'm going to present for 15 minutes during Asia Pacific Week at ANU, Canberra. I was told I'll be in The Japanese Studies group, so I am working on a Japan-related discussion on US-ROK security alliance on the Korean Peninsula, which will be part of my sub-chapter in thesis writing.

Hopefully I can get my paper done as soon as possible and reviewed by my peers and supervisor before I submit.

The style

Thanks to my mentor, who pointed out that I need to decide on a Style as soon as possible, (sorry for making you having a very hard time reading my writing T_T) or else I'm gonna be crying a river editing my thesis in the final year.

Also a BIG thank you for the help on my English.

Thanks mate!

Meeting with supervisor

One of the pictures that is hung on the wall along the corridor that connects mine and supervisor's office

This 40 minutes meeting is a very fruitful one. Keep me thinking and I am now more certain of what I'm going to do. Below are some advice and suggestions which are very insightful and useful.

• Target more interviewees, say 8-10 people for each category (20-25 is too little). You have lots of time in the field, try to get as many as possible. Target around 50?
  
• To includes MOFA officers as another category of interviewees. Defence officials/military personnel and MOFA officers may have a little different or starkly different view on the same issue. It would be great to include civil servants who work in the office of president or those who support the executives of the office. They may hard to get but they have more influence in national defence policy than military or defence officers.
• Methodology is confusing (I am very confused so my writing reflected it T_T). Content analysis is more mechanical, it is not purely qualitative. Describe what you do is enough.
• For non-academics interviewees, use plain language (prepare another set(s) of questions---rephrase them).
• Keep your questions very open.
• Ask more about the security alliance. You’ve stated that it is the main focus of your study (but I only have 2 interview questions related to it T_T). Ask about the dynamics of the alliance. What makes it tick? What makes it not tick? Korea is in only alliance in Asia-Pacific that is the least concrete (compared to US-Japan and US-Australia). What is it for? Who is it for? Seoul vs. Washington=?
• You may not ask about this, but keep 6PT in mind.

아자 아자 화이팅!

New year, new resolution

I always keep my resolutions to myself, while announcing a thing or two that I really wish to achieve/accomplish publicly so that there is no reason for me to fail :)

Right now I am focusing on refining interview questions and methodology writing. Luckily I have very good peers who are willing to read my works and comment on them.

May be it's time for me to reconnect with my co-supervisor as well---I know, I should have done that earlier. In relation to this, I hope I can improve my inter-personal skill this year. And that may mean to become a sociable person, which is quite a BIG challenge for a quasi-autism introvert person like me. May be it's time to change, now.

Yes we can :)

On another note, next up: writing a paper.