Foreword

FOREWORD With this issue, Asian Perspective becomes a quarterly jour­ nal. Within just a few years we have moved from publishing twice annually to three times and now to four. The reason is sim­ ple: Asia-Pacific has changed dramatically in the 1990s, global­ ization has become a multidimensional reality (not just economi­ cally, but also environmentally, socially, and demographically) with great meaning for all the region's countries, and thus important developments that demand thoughtful analysis are an almost everyday occurrence. As part of the change, Asian Perspective will also be looking to do two other new things. One is to have a guest editor from time to time, with the idea of focusing an entire issue on a partic­ ular theme. In 1999, Professor Samuel Kim of Columbia Univer­ sity will be heading a distinguished group of scholars who will assess the impact of globalization on then or so Asian countries. Second is to expand the list of international indexes in which Asian Perspective articles appear. As Asian Perspective has grown, not just in size but also in coverage, we have been pleased to receive many favorable com­ ments from our readers. Comments of all kinds are important to us; we take them seriously, and try to incorporate them in future issues. We hope readers will continue their habit of writing us, and submitting articles, so that we may continue staying abreast of these fast­ moving times. Jae-Kyu Park, Publisher ...