CEASG Blogs

As part of the Netherlands Asia Honours Summer School (NAHSS), a group of 30 students from all over the country including myself took off to Beijing, the capital of China. Before departure I didn’t have many expectations, only a few. Some good and some...

The iconic pedestrian scramble in front of Tokyo's Shibuya Station must be the world's most famous diagonal zebra crossing in the world, but the intersections outside the main gate of our partner institution Pusan National University (PNU) boast no less...

Since the phrase entered common usage around two decades ago, both the concept and practice of public diplomacy have gained increasing attention. Various actors have come to explore its potential, and public diplomacy has become prominent in many...

Ever heard of the Great Liao? Or the Da Liao? Perhaps the Liao dynasty? As opposed to the Tang, Ming or Qing dynasties, the Liao have been largely overlooked by most and remain largely unknown to this day. Yet the Liao conquered and ruled vast parts of...

I’ve been interested in East Asia for a long time. Since primary school I’ve been fascinated by Japan and in 2010 I participated in the International Geography Olympiad held in Taiwan, which sparked my academic interest in the entire region. When I got the...

A visit to Kyoto is time and again a great experience and a wonderful treat. My reason to come to Kyoto for the eleventh time is a very good one: my close colleague Naoya Katsumata is a professor of Jewish studies at Kyodai, the Japanese name of Kyoto...

Much has been written about China’s rise. Every day, there is some sort of article in the newspapers describing the marvel of its economic ascent, a feature of its increasing stature in global governance or, usually more negatively, its endeavors in the...

Na de megastad Beijing, de snelle Chinese luxetreinen en de alure van Yantai stad-aan-zee maken de afmetingen van de toekomstige UGY (University of Groningen Yantai) campus niet eens meer zo veel indruk. Met Groningse, Tanzaniaanse en Chinese studenten...

From 6-10 July 2016, Mongolia’s capital and largest city was host to over 100 students from 51 countries across Asia and Europe. Under the theme “20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity,” participants of the 7th Model Asia-Europe...

Last December, Yi-Han Wen (University of Groningen) and Douwe Meuldijk (University of Leiden) were selected by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to act as the Dutch delegation in theMIRAI program (MIRAI means 'future' in Japanese). This program,...