South Korea's Origins and Early Relations with the United States

South Korea's Origins and Early Relations with the United States
Author: Hyeonji Cha
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2022-04-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000578860

Bringing a fresh perspective to an understudied area, this book offers a critical, source-based examination and assessment of the roles of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (KPG) and the US during World War II in the rebirth of Korea as a nation state. Presenting original research from contemporary Korean and American sources, the first half of this book explores how the US policy regarding the independence of the Korean peninsula was articulated by the US, and how it aimed to prevent the domination of Korea by either China or the Soviets. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the US’s policy of utilizing Korean soldiers on the battlefield against Japan, and examines whether the KPG’s strategies of military diplomacy were effective or otherwise. Finally, Chapter 6 assesses the impact of the joint military training for the "Eagle Project" involving the Korean independence Army and the US Office of Strategic Services, and its impact on the development of the US-South Korea alliance. Throughout the book, parallels can be drawn from this geopolitical struggle with a more contemporary one – that between China and the US, which shows how the lessons learned in the 1940s are just as relevant to researchers and policy-makers today. This is an illuminating read for students and scholars of Korean modern history, political science and geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region more generally. The book will also appeal to public servants in the area of foreign affairs and military strategy.

The Evolution of the South Korea–United States Alliance

The Evolution of the South Korea–United States Alliance
Author: Uk Heo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2018-09-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108660983

In contrast to previous studies of the South Korea-United States alliance, Uk Heo and Terence Roehrig analyze the bigger picture, including the history, economics, security, alliance structure, politics, and the future of the alliance. Taking alliance theory as a starting point, the authors argue that the alliance provides an ideal case study to examine how the political development and economic growth of junior partners impact an alliance. As South Korea's capabilities and ambitions have grown, the alliance has evolved from an asymmetric regional security relationship to an economic partnership with global interests, while China's rise and North Korea's nuclear development mean that South Korea remains of strategic importance for American interests in East Asia. This book will be read both as a major contribution to Korean studies and the study of alliance politics and theory.

A History of Korea

A History of Korea
Author: Jinwung Kim
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 709
Release: 2012-11-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 0253000785

A history of the divided region, from prehistoric times to present day, examining at political, social, cultural, economic, and diplomatic developments. Contemporary North and South Korea are nations of radical contrasts: one a bellicose totalitarian state with a failing economy; the other a peaceful democracy with a strong economy. Yet their people share a common history that extends back more than three thousand years. In this comprehensive new history of Korea from the prehistoric era to the present day, Jinwung Kim recounts the rich and fascinating story of the political, social, cultural, economic, and diplomatic developments in Korea’s long march to the present. He provides a detailed account of the origins of the Korean people and language and the founding of the first walled-town states, along with the advanced civilization that existed in the ancient land of “Unified Silla.” Clarifying the often complex history of the Three Kingdoms Period, Kim chronicles the five-century long history of the Choson dynasty, which left a deep impression on Korean culture. From the beginning, China has loomed large in the history of Korea, from the earliest times when the tribes that would eventually make up the Korean nation roamed the vast plains of Manchuria and against whom Korea would soon define itself. Japan, too, has played an important role in Korean history, particularly in the 20th century; Kim tells this story as well, including the conflicts that led to the current divided state. The first detailed overview of Korean history in nearly a quarter century, this volume will enlighten a new generation of students eager to understand this contested region of Asia. “Using the latest sources, including recently declassified Communist documents, Jinwung Kim’s book holds promise of becoming the textbook of choice. Benefiting from his direct and intimate knowledge of the country, he writes with great clarity, providing rich and interesting descriptions of political, social, cultural, economic, and diplomatic developments throughout the history of Korea.” —James I. Matray, California State University, Chico “A clearly written, comprehensive, and impressively detailed work.” —Journal of Asian Studies

Eye on Korea

Eye on Korea
Author: James V. Young
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 1603447105

"Colonel James V. Young, one of the American military's first area specialists, spent almost twenty years in Asia, including fourteen in Korea. In this memoir, he writes with the expertise of an old Korea hand about a period that saw South Korea make the transition from an agrarian economy to a modern industrial state." "Young volunteered in 1969 for a new program aimed at creating area specialists within the military. In 1975, after four years of training in Korean language and culture, he witnessed how American diplomats convinced Park Chung-Hee, the South Korean president, not to develop his own nuclear weapons." "Later, from the perspective of a military attache, Young saw the mistrust that characterized U.S.-Korean relations during the 1970s. He provides new insights into the intrigue and behind-the-scenes efforts to derail President Jimmy Carter's troop withdrawal policies, and he argues that the United States was caught flat-footed by such crucial episodes as the coup of 1979 and the arrest of Gen. Chung Sung Hwa in what became known as the 12/12 Incident. He provides on-the-scene observations of the imposition of martial law and the Kwangju incident that followed, when security forces ran amok during protests in the city and killed and wounded hundreds of civilians. Further, his insider account of dealing with North Korean senior leaders in both diplomatic negotiations and business settings makes a unique contribution to understanding the internal dynamics within this secretive state." "Young's memoir straddles the line between military and diplomatic history. Those interested in the region, the issues, and military life off the battlefield will value this book."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Metamorphosis of U.S.-Korea Relations

The Metamorphosis of U.S.-Korea Relations
Author: Jongwoo Han
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2022-04-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1498582826

This book contends that the long history of America’s interaction with Korea started with the signing of the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation in 1882, and with the establishment of the Seward-Shufeldt Line. William Seward and Robert Shufeldt shared the same vision of achieving their American goal by opening Korea and extending the Seward-Shufeldt Line from Alaska to link it with the Philippines and the Samoan Islands, thus completing a perfect perimeter for the American era of the Pacific and for its dominance in the Asian market. Initiating diplomatic and trading relations with Korea was Commodore Shufeldt’s finishing touch on the plan for achieving American hegemony in the coming 20th century. In turn, the decline of Chinese sphere of influence over the Korean Peninsula and the fall of Russian power in the region, with the consequential rise of Japanese power there, which led to a change from the SS Line to the Roosevelts’ Theodore-Franklin Line, the colonization of Korea, the division of Korea, the Korean War, and has brought America back nearly full circle to that first encounter in Pyeongyang; the regrettable General Sherman Incident in 1866. This book argues that the United States must uphold its early commitment to peace and amity by now normalizing relations with North Korea in order to bring closure to the “Korean Question.”

South Korea’s 70-Year Endeavor for Foreign Policy, National Defense, and Unification

South Korea’s 70-Year Endeavor for Foreign Policy, National Defense, and Unification
Author: Sung-Wook Nam
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2018-10-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9811319901

This book brings Korea's finest foreign policy minds together in contemplating the risks and rewards of finally ending the 70 year stalemate between North and South Korea through reunification. While North Korea is in conflict with the United States over denuclearization and regime security, the South Korean government is focusing on economic development preparing for the day when the two Koreas are unified. This book will help scholars, activists and policy-makers from all over the world systematically understand the current diplomatic and security issues in the Korean peninsula.

Nation Building in South Korea

Nation Building in South Korea
Author: Gregg A. Brazinsky
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2009-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 0807867799

In this ambitious and innovative study Gregg Brazinsky examines American nation building in South Korea during the Cold War. Marshaling a vast array of new American and Korean sources, he explains why South Korea was one of the few postcolonial nations that achieved rapid economic development and democratization by the end of the twentieth century. Brazinsky contends that a distinctive combination of American initiatives and Korean agency enabled South Korea's stunning transformation. On one hand, Americans supported the emergence of a developmental autocracy that spurred economic growth in a highly authoritarian manner. On the other hand, Americans sought to encourage democratization from the bottom up by fashioning new institutions and promoting a dialogue about modernization and development. Expanding the framework of traditional diplomatic history, Brazinsky examines not only state-to-state relations, but also the social and cultural interactions between Americans and South Koreans. He shows how Koreans adapted, resisted, and transformed American influence and promoted socioeconomic change that suited their own aspirations. Ultimately, Brazinsky argues, Koreans' capacity to tailor American institutions and ideas to their own purposes was the most important factor in the making of a democratic South Korea.

To Save the Children of Korea

To Save the Children of Korea
Author: Arissa H Oh
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2015-06-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0804795339

“The important . . . largely unknown story of American adoption of Korean children since the Korean War . . . with remarkably extensive research and great verve.” —Charles K. Armstrong, Columbia University Arissa Oh argues that international adoption began in the aftermath of the Korean War. First established as an emergency measure through which to evacuate mixed-race “GI babies,” it became a mechanism through which the Korean government exported its unwanted children: the poor, the disabled, or those lacking Korean fathers. Focusing on the legal, social, and political systems at work, To Save the Children of Korea shows how the growth of Korean adoption from the 1950s to the 1980s occurred within the context of the neocolonial US-Korea relationship, and was facilitated by crucial congruencies in American and Korean racial thought, government policies, and nationalisms. Korean adoption served as a kind of template as international adoption began, in the late 1960s, to expand to new sending and receiving countries. Ultimately, Oh demonstrates that although Korea was not the first place that Americans adopted from internationally, it was the place where organized, systematic international adoption was born. “Absolutely fascinating.” —Giulia Miller, Times Higher Education “ Gracefully written. . . . Oh shows us how domestic politics and desires are intertwined with geopolitical relationships and aims.” —Naoko Shibusawa, Brown University “Poignant, wide-ranging analysis and research.” —Kevin Y. Kim, Canadian Journal of History “Illuminates how the spheres of ‘public’ and ‘private,’ ‘domestic’ and ‘political’ are deeply imbricated and complicate American ideologies about family, nation, and race.” —Kira A. Donnell, Adoption & Culture

U. S. -East Asian Economic Relations

U. S. -East Asian Economic Relations
Author: United States Congress House Committe
Publisher: Palala Press
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2015-09-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9781342219183

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