Shared culture links China, Japan and South Korea

Cultural cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea will be boosted by their deeply shared culture, as well as strong popular and economic support, said Fang Jiangshan, deputy editor-in-chief of People's Daily.

In the new era, cultural cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea is reaching a high point. The countries need to respect and trust each other, draw on each other's strengths, carry forward the Silk Road spirit, strengthen personnel exchanges, and give full play to the role of the media and strengthen media cooperation, Fang said.

He made the remarks at the 2019 China-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Media Dialogue held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Sunday.

With the theme of "China-Japan-ROK Cultural Cooperation Toward a New Era", the dialogue was hosted by People's Daily and undertaken by the Sichuan provincial government information office, the People's Daily Overseas Edition and Sichuan Daily Press Group.

Nearly 60 participants, including representatives from 23 mainstream media groups from China, Japan and South Korea, attended the dialogue, which discussed three topics: "Mutual Learning: Exploring a New Path for China-Japan-ROK Cultural Cooperation", "Integration and Innovation: Promoting the Building of a Harmonious Civilization in Northeast Asia" and "Keeping Pace with the Times: Contributing to the Wisdom of Asia".

Hwang Tai-youn, a professor who has taught political philosophy at Dongguk University in South Korea for 25 years, said Confucianism is a great shared cultural heritage for the three countries.

Chinese, Japanese and Korean intellectuals should restore their pride in Confucianism as a way to boost the "soft power" of their countries, he said.

"Good factors" in the West involved advanced technology, economy, freedom and equality. Scholars from the East and West had always held that "good factors" were inherent in the West, but in fact they all originated from Confucius' philosophy and Confucian culture that moved westward, he said.

"If we abide by Confucian morality in our lives for a long time, China, Japan and South Korea will maintain peace and common prosperity for a long time," Hwang said.