KJC Korea
Journal Central

In the global society in the era of de-globalization and digitalization, the hegemonic competition between the United States and China creates new ideological conflicts, causes countries to coalesce with a new bloc logic, and eventually creates an international order for a new Cold War. International relations in the post-COVID19 era are characterized by ‘solidarity within the bloc (networking)’ and ‘confrontation between blocs (competition/conflict)’. The international order will be reorganized into a confrontational structure between the coalition that prioritizes values ​​and the coalition that prioritizes interests. The group of value-sharing countries with the United States can be confirmed as the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Australia, and Korea (9 countries). Value-sharing countries with China can be limited to China, Russia and Turkey (3 countries). In the competition structure based on shared values, it can be seen that the United States has an advantage over China. However, it can also be seen that the bond is weakened compared to the Cold War. The US alliance is ahead of the Chinese alliance in terms of military hegemony, but the balance of terror between the two alliances is maintained in the nuclear confrontation structure. It can be seen that China has trade hegemony, financial and monetary hegemony is the United States, and economic hegemony considering all these factors is still in the United States. Therefore, it is difficult to say that China has an advantage over the United States even in the context of competition for hegemony between the United States and China based on “benefit-sharing”. Today’s international order is taking place in a confrontational structure between the US network and the Chinese network. Considering the capabilities and solidarity of both alliances in terms of value sharing and profit sharing, it can be predicted that the US alliance is ahead of the Chinese alliance, and that power transition from the US to China will be difficult in near future. In this situation, our strategic choice has no choice but to focus on the profit-sharing network based on the premise of value sharing, even if it does not exclude any one network.

For 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China, China has transformed from a country seeking help and advices from South Korea to a competitor and now into a clumsy hegemon that seeks to achieve its national interest through interference and pressure to the former mentor. A regression analysis was conducted on the bilateral relationship between South Korea and China based on the importance to understand the dynamics of Korea-China diplomacy and the necessity to provide an appropriate policy suggestion to cope with China’s transformation. As a conclusion, the main variables in Korea-China relations are reciprocity, changes in the international order, and the systemic balance of power between the US and China. Regarding the role of the United States in Sino-Korea relations, it can be said that the three-way threat hypothesis works. In other words, the U.S. affects China’s foreign policy toward Korea in terms of the Korea-China bilateral relations, which are neighboring countries in East Asia. The policy proposal to be presented as the conclusion from the statistical analysis requires South Korea’s oppressive and aggressive diplomacy to China and the ROK-US alliance with China in the fields of industry, economy, and technology.

In recent years, there is strong tendency for nationalism and patriotism in China. This article examines the masculinities in Chinese nationalism and patriotism, and tries to interpret them in socio-cultural context of modern China. In many societies, there are some stereotypes of ‘manhood’ or ‘womanhood.’ In fact, however, masculinity or femininity is not something fixed, but is constantly changing and exists in plural forms in every society. In ancient China, masculinity is categorized by the dichotomy of wen(scholar) and wu(warrior) and during the socialist revolutionary era, the image of a man with devotion and sacrifice was respected. In the context of nationalism and patriotism, an image of ‘strong man’ is emphasized while ‘effeminate masculinity’ tends to be excluded. The image of strong man is closely related to the Chinese dream, which aims to realize the ‘great revival of the Chinese nation.’ In particular, the Chinese dream which links the development of a strong nation with individual prosperity of Chinese people, reveals the traditional patriarchal attitude that a man as a breadwinner need to have ability and responsibility for his family and his country. The masculinity that is reproduced in nationalism and patriotism is located at the point where national ideology and gender ideology meet. Unfortunately, the emphasis on strong masculinity in Chinese society may be a social structural problem that has already been established. If the relationship of patriotism and masculinity is more regarded as important, it would be possible that some internal issues like gender politics in China are less considered seriously.

This study aimed to analyze the institutional characteristics of China's long-term care insurance pilot project, clarify its achievements and limitations, and present desirable institutional measures ahead of the nationwide expansion of long-term care insurance in 2025. This study targeted three areas (Shanghai, Qingdao, Shandong, and Nantong, Jiangsu) and compared institutional characteristics in terms of allocation, benefit, delivery system, and finance. The three regions implemented long-term care insurance for all basic medical insurance subscribers, but Shanghai limited local subscribers to those aged 60 or older. Long-term care benefits are provided by home care, nursing care at nursing institutions, and medical care at medical institutions, and the benefit level differs between regions at 50-90% of basic living expenses and long-term care expenses. The three regions selected respectively a government-operating type, a private enterprise consignment type, and a state-owned enterprise consignment type in the delivery system. In terms of finance, the financial resources for the long-term care insurance fund and the insurance premium rate differed by regions. Next, this paper evaluated the achievements and limitations of the long-term care insurance pilot projects in terms of the comprehensiveness of subscribers, the adequacy of benefits, the accountability of delivery system, and the financial stability, and based on these, four desirable institutional measures were proposed. First, it is necessary to include residents in rural areas and establish standards for evaluation of loss of living ability. Second, the coverage rate of long-term care insurance should be set at 80% and home care service must be at least 3 hours a time. Third, it is desirable to select the government-operating type of Shanghai, and the government should strengthen its role as a regulator for the provision of care services by private institutions. Fourth, the government’s financial support should be limited to personnel expenses of the operating institutions.

The purpose of this article is to examine how North Korean defectors from Ryanggang Province perception of inequality differs according to the characteristics of their residential areas in North Korea. For this study, 115 direct North Korean defectors were set as targets for analysis, and a Independent-Samples T-test were conducted using the recovered questionnaire of 40 people. As a result of the analysis, it was found that respondents living in ‘dong and eup’ where the residential area is close to the city and downtown had higher inequality perception scores than those living in ‘ri-gu’, which can be called surrounding areas or rural areas. These results suggest that changes in North Korean society are affecting the urban-rural gap and the gap between the rich and the poor between urban residents.