1. Radioactivity Talks 

Hello. We are a couple who are initiating the ‘Radioactivity talks’ project.

I am YeongRan, a choreographer and artist-researcher.

I am Thore, a geophysics student and rock climber.

We are parents of our son Odin living between Denmark and South Korea.

Ran: Radioactivity talks started after we confronted a collision between us on the theme of Nuclear Energy and Radioactivity. As a couple, we found that each has a different understanding and knowledge of Nuclear energy.

It started when the Fukushima crisis happened in 2011, and two years after, I visited Tokyo to participate in the festival. I was very worried about radioactivity and forbade myself to drink the local water and eat fish. However, Thore told me it was unnecessary and that what I did was non-scientific. For many Koreans, the day of the crisis in Fukushima was a day of apocalypse. However, for him, that accident shows how stable and secure nuclear energy technology is in an extraordinary giant tsunami.

Thore: Another example is that I was very upset when Denmark was introduced as a green energy country in South Korea. Mass media presented that Denmark’s energy consumption can be fulfilled by wind energy. However, it is not true. It happens only a few days a year. Although Denmark puts a lot of effort into wind energy, it can only provide a maximum of 10% of the whole energy consumption. The rest relies upon gas and biofuels, burning imported wood pieces. And it doesn’t count its co2 release. (International Energy Agency, 2019)

Ran: For me, the extreme confusion in the current climate conversation is when we talk about solutions to tackle the climate crisis. Green solutions sometimes turned out to be Greenwashing, and solutions are contradictory to each other, even among activists, like what happened to us. When Greta Tundberg said, ‘listen to scientists, we do not know where to listen. Since the IPCC report* and EU** described nuclear power is needed. Many climate activists, including Greta, are opposed to it. And that is colliding with this activist man, Thore. 

* IPCC report has made some possible pathways to limit temperature change to the 1.5℃. Most, but not all, of the pathways have an increase in nuclear power globally to reach this pathway.

** In EU Green Deal set to enter into force on 1 January 2023, the Taxonomy Delegated Act will allow nuclear and natural gas-fired power plants to be marketed as green investments on financial markets. 

“The extreme confusion in the current climate conversation is when we talk about solutions to tackle the climate crisis. Green solutions sometimes turned out to be Greenwashing, and solutions are even contradictory to each other, even among activists.”

Thore: Therefore, in this project, I want to share scientific statistics proven information about nuclear energy. I will introduce it in my lecture; the prejudice and fear toward nuclear energy and its real impact on the environment compared to other energy sources. From that common ground, we want to collect various and even contradictory opinions and interpretations from different actors in our society, such as activists, social scientists, etc.

Ran: On a personal scale, this project is about understanding my partner’s view. Simultaneously, on a social scale, it is about listening to various actors in our societies. On the macro scale, we try to understand millions of years of earth from planetary perspectives with the help of scientists. For the same reason, we may listen to various local experts such as indigenous and locals to cooperate with various types of knowledge.

Thore: Therefore, this project is not about debating who is right and who is wrong. Rather, it continues the dialogue and collects various thoughts.

Ran: Thus, based on those thoughts preserved in our common bag, we can use our collective knowledge and navigate climate and environmental crises.

Thore: And it is also continuing to question how we can sustain the biodiversity of this planet and cohabitate with other species by cooperating with science and technology.

Ran: For me, this is a crucial part of our discussion. How much we accept the development of technology as a pursuit of human creativity and curiosity but prevent egoistic exploitation of the common resource of nature and humans. For that, we need to hear various concerns on technology, including Nuclear energy. And we need to ally with activists, artists, scientists, and technicians. But then, how about capitalists? Can we ally with a man like Alon Musk or Bill Gates?

Thore: Why not? On that part, we are open and hope to explore further how we can cooperate with science and technology, still centred on ecology, symbiosis, and cohabitation.