Gangwon Foreign Language High School holds a special lecture on Russian regional studies

On Monday, January 29, 2024, a special lecture on Russian regional studies was held at Gangwon Foreign Language High School in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do. In this lecture, which was conducted as part of the National Research Foundation of Korea's HK+ Project Regional Humanities Center project, Professor Hwang Seong-woo of the Russian Institute gave a lecture on the topic 'Russia-Ukraine War: Issues and Prospects, and Implications for the Korean Peninsula.'

 In this lecture given to high school students, Professor Seong-Woo Hwang attempted to increase students' understanding by explaining the complicated Russian-Ukrainian war in an easy and concise manner. In particular, Professor Hwang Seong-woo asked to pay more attention to the terms 'extension of the Donbas War', 'special military operation', and 'proxy war between the United States and Russia' among the various names that refer to this war that has been going on for nearly two years. In making the request, we analyzed biased perspectives at home and abroad, the tilted playing field, the failure of the diplomacy of the three major countries to prevent the war, and the process of reorganization of the international community after the war. And what this war means for the Korean Peninsula is that, above all, our country must pursue balanced, pragmatic diplomacy with the four major powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula, including the United States, China, Russia, and Japan, and must not be biased toward or distant from certain countries. emphasized.

Professor Hwang Seong-woo, who stated that there is no definite answer to the possibility of the end of the war, said that currently, Russia occupies a land similar to the size of South Korea, and a tiresome and wasteful offensive and defense continues. It is true that there is talk of the end of the war due to war fatigue, but pointing out that it is difficult to break the stubbornness of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who has lost land, he pointed out that in 2024, the Russian presidential election will be held on March 17 this year, the Ukrainian presidential election on March 31 (undecided), and He explained that the outcome of the US

presidential election in November could be the final straw in ending the war.