Mega-Asia: Establishing Asia Itself as the Unit of Analysis

Panel Convenor(s)

• 

  Ilhong Ko

  Seoul National University Asia Center, Republic of Korea

Panel Chair(s)

• SC

  Suhong Chae

  Seoul National University Asia Center, Republic of Korea

Panel Discussant(s)

• JK

  Jong-Cheol Kim

  ICAS Book Prize 2023 - Organiser and Sponsor Korean Language Edition
  Seoul National University Asia Center, Republic of Korea
• KL

  Kyung Hoon Leem

  Seoul National University, Republic of Korea

Presenter(s)

• 

  Ilhong Ko

  Seoul National University Asia Center, Republic of Korea
• BS

  Beomshik Shin

  Seoul National University Asia Center, Republic of Korea
• 

  Jungwon Huh

  Seoul National University Asia Center, Republic of Korea

Asian Studies has tended to approach Asia in terms of its parts, limiting the unit of analysis to countries or regions, rather than looking at Asia in its entirety. This has made it particularly difficult to explore commonalities and differences in the ways in which communities of distant regions in Asia have interacted with their natural and social landscapes, and in doing so have come to construct their identities. Researchers engaged with the Mega-Asia Research Project based in Seoul National University Asia Center (SNUAC), South Korea, have proposed the need for an analytical lens that allows a comprehensive observation of Asia in its entirety to take place, which can generate a comparative understanding of the phenomena emerging in Asia’s diverse regions. This paper presents 3 papers that demonstrate the efficacy of such a ‘mega-Asia perspective’. The first paper argues for the need to adopt Asia as a whole as a unit of analysis, and further maintains that, in addition to its usefulness as a methodological tool, ‘mega-Asia’ may also come to be regarded as an ontological reality of present-day Asia. The remaining papers present case studies that illustrate how, through the adoption of Asia itself as the unit of analysis, insights can be obtained on the universal and locale-specific realities of communities residing in urban landscapes or engaging with cultural heritage landscapes.

Institutional Panel by Seoul National University Asia Center (SNUAC) HK+ Mega-Asia Research Project

Presentations:

• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  Asia's World Heritage-scape: Components, Perspectives and Data
  

  Presenter: Ilhong Ko – Seoul National University Asia Center
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  Emerging Mega-Asia: A New Paradigm for Asian Studies
  

  Presenter: Beomshik Shin – Seoul National University Asia Center
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  Shared and Unshared Values Throughout Asia: Results and Insights from the 'Social Values Survey in Asian Cities'
  

  Presenter: Jungwon Huh – Seoul National University Asia Center