When I was a young boy, my elders would tell me stories about their childhood – how they chased after trucks carrying American soldiers, shouting the only English words they knew: “Give me chocolate.”
Seven decades later, South Korea is one of the world’s freest and most industrialized nations. It is a remarkable success story, a testament to what happens when the US leads with vision and strength.
What the US once gave South Korea, South Korea has been paying back – by paying it forward. While many countries avoided direct involvement in the Vietnam War, citing constitutional and domestic concerns, South Korea stepped up. Between 1964 and 1973, at the request of the US, South Korea deployed over 320,000 troops – the largest foreign military contribution after that of the US.
South Korean soldiers fought alongside Americans, sharing rations and battling communism. The cost was high: 5,100 South Korean soldiers lost their lives, while 11,000 were wounded.
Beyond Vietnam, South Korea has actively participated in UN peacekeeping missions in Somalia, East Timor, Lebanon, South Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan, among others. As a beneficiary of the US-led liberal democratic order, South Korea has consistently fulfilled its responsibilities as a committed member of the international community.
Many more lives have been lost in these missions, yet South Koreans continue to stand in defense of freedom—because they understand its profound worth.
US policy failures toward South Korea
Despite the strength of the alliance, the US has struggled to maintain a consistent and coherent policy toward South Korea. Two key missteps highlight this failure:
1. The threat of US troop withdrawal: During the first Trump administration, repeated threats to withdraw US troops from South Korea raised serious concerns among South Koreans. Although the feasibility of such a withdrawal remains uncertain, history provides a troubling precedent.
During the Vietnam War, South Korea’s deployment was based on an implicit understanding that, in return, the US would ensure South Korea’s security against North Korean aggression. However, President Carter pursued a unilateral withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula, and it sowed deep distrust in American commitments.
2. Reducing the alliance to a business transaction: The Trump administration also reframed the US-ROK alliance as a financial arrangement rather than a blood alliance built on shared values and sacrifices.
For decades, South Koreans have viewed the United States as a liberator from Japanese oppression and a beacon of democracy. However, Trump’s repeated complaints about South Korea’s economic prosperity, defense spending and trade policies began to erode that perception.
True leadership transcends mere business transactions. It embodies vision, mission and shared growth. South Korea has long believed in this ideal, but recent US policies have signaled otherwise.
If this trend continues, it could significantly weaken American influence in the region. If the US continues to treat South Korea as a mere line item in a financial statement, South Korea may be forced to do the same. What happens if China offers South Korea greater economic incentives than the US?
Korea’s geopolitical significance
Henry Kissinger famously observed, “Whoever controls Korea controls Asia.” With China and Russia across the border to the north and Japan to the east, Korea remains a critical player in regional security and power dynamics.
The US has long treated conflicts in Europe and Asia as separate theaters. Yet history tells a different story. During World War II, the US initially focused on Europe, underestimating Japan’s imperial ambitions. However, Japan’s signing of the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy proved that the fates of Europe and Asia were inextricably linked.
Today, history is repeating itself. North Korea is sending troops to Russia to fight in Ukraine – a development that mirrors past alliances that transformed regional conflicts into global wars. Given recent geopolitical shifts, with North Korea directly involved in the Russo-Ukrainian War, one might take Kissinger’s statement a step farther and make it read: Whoever controls Korea controls Asia – and shapes the world.
The US must recognize that its policies toward South Korea today will shape the balance of power globally.
Dangers of the America First policy
While the US now acknowledges China as a strategic competitor, it remains uncertain about how to counter Beijing’s growing influence effectively. This lack of strategic clarity, coupled with its treatment of South Korea as a mere business partner, leaves South Korea vulnerable and risks alienating one of the most steadfast US allies.
Yoon impeachment a foreign policy battleground
The first impeachment bill introduced by South Korea’s National Assembly against President Yoon cited his foreign policy as a primary reason for removal:
The Yoon administration has disregarded geopolitical balance, alienated North Korea, China and Russia and pursued an unusual Japan-centric foreign policy. Additionally, it has appointed officials with pro-Tokyo leanings to critical government positions.
Initially dismissed as a minor mishap, this statement alarmed astute international observers including policymakers in Washington. It provided clear evidence that totalitarian forces – backed by China – were attempting to shift South Korea’s political alignment.
More than just a domestic dispute, the impeachment episode exposed a deep ideological divide within South Korea, with leftist factions aligning with Beijing rather than Washington.
New threat
The liberal democratic world order is under siege, and unless the US and its allies rise to the challenge, its survival is not guaranteed. As Thucydides warned, “The strong do what they can.” To this, we might add: The newly strong do what they newly can.
This threat has gone by many names – communism, socialism, collectivism, people’s democracy – but at the core there is a common denominator: a system in which the collective subjugates the individual and freedom is sacrificed in the name of the so-called public good.
The US once had the moral clarity to recognize the existential threat posed by the Soviet Union. It confronted that challenge head-on – and won. However, the US has a history of oscillating between global leadership and isolationism. “America First” is a recurring theme in US foreign policy. When the US retreats, the void is filled by the rising contender.
Why South Korea needs the US
China has studied history and is exploiting US weaknesses, waging unrestricted warfare – not just militarily, but also culturally, financially, and technologically – to undermine the foundations of liberal democracy.
South Korea has come a long way – from a child chasing American trucks for chocolate to a nation proving that freedom and prosperity are possible outside the Western world. But South Korea cannot take on the growing behemoth of China alone. It needs international support.
Freedom, once lost, is nearly impossible to regain. The enemies of democracy understand this, which is why they do not attack openly but instead erode our values gradually, bit by bit. If we fail to recognize the gravity of this challenge, we may soon find ourselves ruled not by the best but by those who seek to dismantle our freedoms.
As Plato warned, “The price of apathy toward public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
The choice before us
The question is clear: Will we rise to meet this challenge, or are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?
Hanjin Lew is a political commentator specializing in East Asian affairs and a former international spokesman for South Korean conservative parties.
