Why have some nations risen to global prominence through the sea, while others have declined or been left behind? This lecture explores how maritime power, trade routes, ports, shipping, and logistics networks have shaped the rise and fall of nations—from the great maritime empires of the past to today’s strategic competition. With particular attention to Singapore, Korea, and Asia, it explains why modern maritime success depends not only on ships and ports, but also on connectivity, technology, institutions, and leadership.
The lecture concludes by examining how geopolitics, climate change, energy transition, artificial intelligence, and new shipping routes may reshape the next Ocean Great Game.
Dr. Young-Tae (YT) Chang is a Professor Emeritus at the Asia Pacific School of Logistics, Inha University, Incheon, Korea. With over four decades of experience in maritime research, he has spent half of his career working for national think tanks and the other half in academia. Dr. Chang has published numerous papers in internationally refereed journals in transportation and logistics and has served as a guest editor for several journals. He has conducted extensive research on maritime and multimodal transportation, marine policy, and socio-economic analysis of ocean-related projects, acting as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on over 72 international and domestic projects.
He has also been actively involved in developing international networks for education and research, including as the Founding Secretary-General of the Global University 8 Consortium and a Founding Member of the Asia Logistics Round Table (ALRT). Additionally, he is a past President of the Korea Port Economic Association and served as the last President of the Korea Maritime Institute.
Lecture Theatre 7 (LT 7: NS1-02-03, North Spine, Level 2)