Korean-American Relations

This study will provide a review and critique of a collection of essays, One Hundred Years of Korean-American Relations, 1882-1992, edited by Yurk-Bok Lee and Wayne Patterson. The essays examine various periods and aspects of the relations between the two nations in the century after the 1882 signing of the Korean-American (Shufeldt or Chemulp'o) Treaty.

The purpose of the book is to show "where the relationship has been, where it is, and where it is heading" and the essays "show the relationship to be a complex one, with disappointments and triumphs on both sides" (1). The essays deal with numerous issues, as stated, but they all emphasize the "duality and dominance" of the relationship. The duality refers to the fact that there are two Koreas and, therefore, two perspectives on the relationship between the United States and South Korea:

On the one hand, the South Korean government tends to characterize the relationship as one of equal partnership. where both sides share identical aims and problems are virtually nonexistent. On the other hand, the North Korean government tends to characterize the relationship in extremely negative terms (1-2).

Another aspect of the duality---existent long before the split in Korea between North and South Korea---involves the conflict of interests between the United States and Korea. Korea has only its own interests at stake, but the United States has a concern for both its own and Korea's interests. When the two interests collide, the U

Related Essays

Key Events & Decisions of the Korean War .... was reacting to the then pending American peace treaty .... He believes the Korean War could have been avoided if .... neutralized in 1949-1950 and relations between the .... (3204 13 )

Soviet-American Relations in Post WWII Period .... invasion of South Korea by North Korean Communists, and .... out of fashion and the American people again .... human rights strained US-Soviet relations and culminated .... (1846 7 )

American Foreign Policy Toward CHINA .... this meant that the initial initiative for changing Sino-American relations would have to .... that the Chinese military intervention in the Korean War demonstrated .... (10272 41 )

BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS Chapter 3 Conclusion This .... in the current effort to defuse American-North Korean tensions over North Korea's nuclear program nor would it contribute to improved Sino-American relations. .... (1386 6 )

The Korean War .... the things that is striking about the Korean War is .... the United Nations for forces led by American generals. .... war is at least as much about relations between the .... (1006 4 )

The United States has been content to provide South Korea with a military presence and assurance against being attacked or overrun by North Korea. Debate has raged in the United States over the presence and number of troops in South Korea, but the situation remains the same---the troops, in reduced numbers, remain, and the security of South Korea is still the top priority in Korean-American relations. One issue which the essays do not explore in sufficient depth is the issue of the South Korean people themselves. Only the final issue deals significantly with this issue in its discussion of human rights. However, it is unfair to fault the book on this aspect because it was not included in the stated intent of the book. Human rights was not a prominent consideration until the late 1970s. However, the book is successful in fulfilling the editors' stated intentions. They seek to show how Korean-American relations were established and developed after the 1882 treaty, in all their complexity, marked by duality and dominance, and they have succeeded in doing so. Bibliography Lee, Yur-Bok, and Wayne Patterson (eds.). One Hundred Years of Korean-American Relations, 1882-1982. University, Alabama: University Of Alabama Press, 1986.

Category: Government - K