[칼럼] Korea Story 16 - Foreign Affairs and National Security 8 by Atty Jeong-kee Kim

(Newskorea=Seoul) Digital News Team =Korea  Story 16 - <Foreign Affairs and NationalRestoratio 8  by Atty Jeong-kee Kim>

● The US strategic map of East Asia with Japan as the focal point

Recently, as China rises, the military alliance of the continental powers, including North Korea, China, and Russia, has strengthened. In response, the maritime powers, including the United States, South Korea, and Japan, need to reinforce their security community. The United States has called on Japan to play a significant role, and Japan has shown enthusiasm for the Indo-Pacific strategy outlined by the U.S.

Domestically, Japan is actively trying to use this opportunity to revise its peace constitution to make Japan a country that can go to war. The United States is supporting the revision of the 'Defense Plan Outline', which opens the way for Japan, which was an enemy country during World War II, to become a military powerhouse against the threat of China. Will military tension eventually arise in the East Asian region?  What is the United States' role in this region. The answer can be found by looking at the history of the United States and East Asia. 

The turning point for the U.S. to become interested in East Asia was the victory in the Mexican-American War of 1848, which led to the forced annexation of several western states, including California, and opened the Pacific era. Subsequently, in 1853, U.S. Commodore Perry opened Japan to the outside world, and in 1856, the U.S., along with Britain, France, and Russia, semi-colonized the Qing Dynasty in the Second Opium War. In 1871, the U.S. attempted to open Korea through the Ganghwa Island Incident but, unlike Britain, France, and Russia, did not have territorial expansion ambitions in East Asia.
 
Japan, having succeeded in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, won the war against the Qing Dynasty, which had been the traditional hegemon of East Asia, in 1895. Japan neutralized Korea’s suzerainty, colonized Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, and secured interests in the Liaodong Peninsula, thereby emerging as a dominant power in the East Asian region. During this period, the U.S. was content with concession trade in China and acted as a mediator in peace talks for Japan during the Russo-Japanese War, while acknowledging Japan’s rule over Korea through the Katsura-Taft Agreement.
 
During World War II, the Pacific War began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the United States actively intervened in the East Asian region and ultimately led the war to victory. After the end of the war, the victorious United States strengthened its control over Japan and Korea by imposing military rule for seven and three years, respectively. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party, which received active support from the United States, retreated to Taiwan in a civil war with the Communist Party, and a communist regime was established in mainland China in 1949. A year earlier, with Soviet support, a communist regime had also been established in North Korea. As Japan and South Korea entered the U.S. sphere of influence, and China and North Korea entered the Soviet Union's sphere of influence, East Asia became a microcosm of the Soviet-American Cold War order that emerged after the war.   

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the world entered an era dominated by the U.S., the sole superpower. As of 2023, the U.S. still dominates the world. In East Asia, Japan and Korea are assured of security through the U.S.-Japan and U.S.-South Korea alliances but face the rising military threat from China and the fear of North Korean nuclear weapons. The original U.S. plan after the war was to reduce Japan to a third-rate agricultural nation, but with the victory of the Communists in the Chinese Civil War, Japan was chosen as the last bastion to protect liberal democracy and market economy in East Asia. MacArthur also made efforts to completely transform Japan during his seven-year military administration. During the Korean War, Japan's strategic importance grew as it served as a rear supply base. Of course, there must have been some minimal affection from the U.S. as the 'parent' who opened Japan with the black ships.

Regarding the Korea-U.S.-Japan relationship, the U.S. hopes for South Korea to cooperate militarily with Japan to establish a trilateral alliance to counter North Korea, China, and Russia. This is not an easy task. Japan’s colonial rule over Korea and the atrocities committed, combined with a lack of genuine atonement and reflection akin to Germany’s efforts, have prevented historical reconciliation and unity. Fortunately, after President Yoon Suk-yeol made a bold visit to Japan, South Korea and Japan are now demonstrating an excellent synergy as desired by the U.S.

☆ Author:  Atty Jeong-kee Kim ☆

● Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, State University of New York at Stony Brook
-  Doctor of Jurisprudence, Marquette University Law School
- Senior Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Research Scholar in North Korean Studies, Peking University

● Experience
- Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
- Commissioner General for the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
- CEO, Asia-Pacific Local Government Network for Economic and Social Development (CityNet)
- Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization(WeGO)
- Law Clerk, Milwaukee Circuit Court, USA
- Senior Attorney-at-Law, Dr & Aju LLC
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, World Economy Research Institute, Nanjing University
- Research Professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Peking University
- Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Political Science, Kookmin University
- Chair Professor, Graduate School of Business, Dongguk University
- First President of Soongsil Cyber University

● Publications
- Georo English Studies Series for College Students [10 volumes] (Georo Publishing)
- I Challenge the Possibility of One Percent (Chosun Ilbo)
- The Art of Negotiation (Cheongnyonneongsin Publishing)
- Korea and the World (Chekmidum Publishing)