◇Middle East Insight: The world is changing/Written by Lee Se-hyeong/474 pages, 22,000 won, Deulnyeo
Aramco, Neom Project, Hamas, war in Gaza, Education City, 2030 Riyadh Expo… .
The new book provides a realistic analysis of Middle East issues that have recently been covered heavily in international news. The book is full of live information and stories, like ‘live fish at the early morning fish market’. It contains both serious and serious issues and soft and fun topics. It is also a good book to use as a ‘reference’ whenever new events and changes occur in the Middle East.
The book vividly captures the voices of local people when analyzing the long-standing conflicts in the Middle East, such as the ‘conflict between Israel and Palestine’ and the ‘competition for hegemony between Saudi Arabia and Iran’.
The ‘Gaza Strip War’, which still shows no signs of ending, is also dealt with in great detail. It is critical of Hamas, which ignores human life and carries out an armed struggle without an alternative, but explains in detail the emotions of Arab people who have another level of anger toward Israel. At the same time, the background to Israel’s shock and persistent retaliation due to Hamas’ attack in October last year was also viewed from various angles. The reasons why Sunni Arab monarchy oil-producing countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have no choice but to fear Iran, a Shia suzerain country under a theocratic republican system, were convincingly explained through various examples.
Another attractive point of the book is that it contains a wealth of content related to the ‘post-oil era’, which is a more realistic concern in the Middle East than ‘conflict’. Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco’s unprecedented investment in 4th Industrial Revolution technology, the reason why Egypt is building a new administrative capital to replace Cairo, a city of tradition and culture, Dubai’s economy that was revived by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s cutting-edge science and technology industry, It contains stories that have realistic implications for the Korean economy and companies, such as the strategy of increasing the influence of Middle Eastern oil-producing countries through sovereign wealth funds and the Neom project, which is considered the Saudi Crown Prince’s ‘building a pyramid’.
The author served as a Cairo correspondent for the Dong-A Ilbo and Channel A and deputy director of the international department, and also worked as a visiting researcher at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), a think tank in Qatar. He is the only Korean reporter to cover on-site events such as ‘Saudi Tourism Opening’, ‘Aramco’s 4th Industrial Revolution Technology Research and Development (R&D) Center’, and ‘Saudi Future Investment Initiative Forum (aka Davos Forum in the Desert)’. did. He also reported on-site large-scale issues such as the ‘Dubai economic crisis’, ‘the severance of diplomatic relations with Qatar’, ‘the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East’, and ‘peace negotiations between the United States and the Taliban’.
The author emphasizes, “Being interested in the Middle East helps you understand the international situation and develop a ‘global mind.’” This is because countries that can influence the situation on the Korean Peninsula, such as the United States, China, Japan, and Russia, are all interested in the Middle East. Furthermore, among the countries with great influence in the so-called international community, such as the UK, France, and Germany, there is no country that is not interested in the Middle East.
The author has published the books ‘Middle East Rivalism’ and ‘Qatar as It Is’, and is serializing ‘Lee Se-hyung’s Closer to the Middle East’ on Dong-A Ilbo Digital Contents and Shin Donga.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.