Technology and Society

Pastreich Talk at KBS about the power of Korean Media.

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I gave a talk at KBS’s education center in Suwon on the topic of the Korean Wave and the future of KBS on July 24, 2012. The talk was intended for new employees of KBS and there were perhaps 150 young people, fresh out of college, who represent the future of Korean media.

The talk stressed the importance of Korean youth to take advantage of their remarkable cultural influence in the world to create a better future for us all. I gave examples of the impact that Korea can have in either a positive or negative manner, and drew attention to the great depth of the Korean cultural tradition, far beyond current K Pop, to inspire people around Asia and around the world to reach for something greater than consumerism and self-gratification.

The talk encouraged the next generation at KBS to imagine a unique global KBS that reaches beyond its limits, a medium that can go beyond CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera.

The response of the young KBS employees was quite enthusiastic and one even came up to me to tell me about her plans to learn more about China.

How Korean Science and Technology Succeeds in Global Competition

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My friend Iwabuchi Hideki, currently working for the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science & Technology, published a very interesting book this month in which he and his colleagues offer an interpretation of Korea’s success in science and technology aimed at a Japanese audience, suggesting, in a sense, that Japan think of a “Korea as Number One.”

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“The Rise of Consumption and the Demise of Causality” (essay)

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“The Rise of Consumption and the Demise of Causality”

 

Emanuel Pastreich

There are two enormous challenges today that seem unrelated and yet perhaps can be directly connected through a more profound consideration of the impact of technology on society: the rise of consumption culture and the demise of causality in our thinking, specifically with reference to the impact of our actions on the environment.

The first challenge is the challenge of greed and consumption. There is a deep need among people to consume that has assumed a crisis level in advanced industrial nations, reaching a level completely out of line with either the economic situation (which is dire) or human needs. That need to consume is spreading rapidly. It is common to attribute this situation to “greed” without much consideration for what it is that generates greed, how that act has its own social, historical and even physiological aspects.  

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Emanuel Delivers keynote address at Seminar “A Paradigm Shift for Science and Technology: Prospects for Administrative Regimes” at National Assembly (June 28, 2012)

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

“A Paradigm Shift for Science and Technology: Prospects for Administrative Regimes”

Korean National Assembly

 

I delivered the keynote address at a seminar at  the National Assembly of Korea entitled “A Paradigm Shift for Science and Technology: Prospects for Administrative Regimes” (과학기술패러다임의 변화와 행정 체제). The event was sponsored by

The event was sponsored by the Korean Congressional Research Service, the Korea Federation of Women’s Science and Technology Associations KFWSTA and Korea Advanced Institute of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology. 

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Technology, science and the odd case of evolution

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Here is a recent discussion at Asia Institute on the decision in Korea to permit a textbook that purposely omits evolution (see “South Korea Surrenders to Creationist Demands”) The point I try to make is the absolute difference between science and technology, as the great Rudi Volti stressed. Confusing the two is one of the tragedies of our age.

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한국 교육의 위기

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한국 교육의 위기

올해 들어 KAIST 학생의 4번째 자살 소식은 다시금 한국 교육시스템에 근본적인 문제가 있다는 것을 드러냈다. 이는 단순히 시험과정이나 학생들이 소화해야 하는 엄청난 교과 학습량의 문제가 아니다.

그동안 KAIST는 세계 대학순위에 있어 수직 상승으로 각종 언론의 주목을 받아 왔다. 하지만 그 이면을 들여다보면 인간적인 경험이나 정신적인 성장은 배제되어 왔다. 학교의 명성과 숫자에 불과한 대학 서열을 위해 학생들의 희생이 계속되어온 것이다. 학생들은 마치 품질 좋은 메모리칩이나 탄소나노튜브처럼 높은 효율로 ‘생산’되고 있다. 엄청난 스트레스 아래 높은 학점과 좋은 직업 외에는 아무 것도 생각할 여유가 없었다. 심지어 삶의 궁극적인 목적이 무엇인지는 모른 채 학교 당국의 목표에 끌려갔다.

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“과학기술 패러다임의 변화와 행정 ì²´ì œ” 시리즈1 패널 토론회

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“과학기술 패러다임의 변화와 행정 체제” 시리즈1 패널 토론회

“The Paradigm Shift for Science and Technology & the Future Administrative Regime”

June 28, 2012 2:30-5:30 PM

National Assembly Library, Basement, First floor

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