Annual Forum NEAN 2009 held Yonsei University hosted the 2009 annual NEAN forum, gathering 200 students from over 23 universities in nine countries. The NEAN (North East Asian Network), a student organizing committee supported by the Yonsei Leadership Center, hosted another annual forum this year. The event took place on February 9-14, 2009 on the Yonsei campus. NEAN 2009 started off with a Keynote Speech from National Assembly member Choo Mi-Ae, who projected that China may enter into a competition of national security based on its strong economy, against the militarism of the U.S. and North Korea if the U.S. were to take the approach of associating the blockade policy against China and missile defense strategies with the North Korean nuclear issue. She also added that if the U.S. were to change its approach in regard to China and take a more flexible approach to North Korea, it will be more likely that North Korea will open up to join the global community. Ms. Choo also interpreted the impending visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton as an expression of the intent of the U.S. government to prioritize Asia in its foreign policy. The academic forum consisted of five sessions including politics, economy, culture, media, and a special session. The sessions invited many special lecturers both Korean and foreign, while the chairs of each session led activities and debates along with the delegates from more than nine countries all over the world. After the two days of academic programs, NEAN 2009 also provided the delegates with diverse cultural events such as City Tour/Field Trip, Gala Night, and Culture Night. The delegates had an opportunity to share their perspectives on global issues and also to build long-term friendships with other participants from different cultural backgrounds. The forum closed with Culture Night and Gala Night with congratulatory remarks from Kim Dong-Soo, Advisor of DuPont Korea. NEAN was held first in 2002, and this year’s forum has been the largest in scale, with the main theme of Mapping Asia in the Untold Future.