With the rise of more fervent nationalistic political movements worldwide, the long shadow of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty looms over many countries and regions. Feelings of frustration have fed bitter resentment, and have, in many cases, erupted into hostility against foreigners, minorities, refugees, immigrants, women, people of differing religion, and other races. This year’s JELL theme “Nurturing Global Citizens within War and Violence Narratives” in tandem with 2019 ELLAK International Conference in Daejeon Convention Center, Daejeon, Korea, on 16-18 December 2019, was inspired by the current climate of rising nationalism and international hostility around the world, as evidenced in Brexit, Islamophobia, and the Syrian refugee crisis, to name a few of the major crises. The theme has never been so timely and urgent as it is today, as the Korean Peninsula is undergoing a transitional period from decades of hostility to a new period of peace. Then, we may ask the following questions ourselves: Why do we wage wars? How to heal the wounds of wars? How to prevent wars?

To answer these questions, one may examine the war narratives which depict and register violence and trauma. One can talk about Beowulf, The English Patient, and Atonement, from ancient to contemporary. One can include the works by Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, and Kazuo Ishiguro, from essayist through poet to novelist. This task will consider both political reasons for triggering wars and psychological factors of both victors and victims. In order to bring about a stable permanent peace without the threat of war, locally and globally, an ethical dimension may be considered seriously. Also, one may want to know what teaching methods are used and what pedagogical philosophies are achieved. To enhance further dialogues, JELL editorial collective welcome papers that explore all theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches. — Ed.