Curious Case of South Korea

In 1920, Southern Korea might have been the worst place to live in Asia.

Under a brutal Japanese military occupation, it was one of the poorest places in Asia. Infrastructure was non-existent, education backward, and public health appalling; the infant mortality rate was one of the highest in the world. The Japanese took the land, and destroyed Korean culture.

Thirty years later, the Korea peninsula, divided into two countries by the Soviets and the U.S., experienced a devastating war with a higher proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War.

The South Korean nation that emerged from the rubble has experienced one of the most dynamic economic transformations in the world. Today it’s the 11th largest economy, and home to some of the most innovative companies in the world.

It’s making other contributions, too. In April, a South Korean movie won the Academy Award for best picture — the first foreign film to ever be so honored.

So why are there dark clouds on the horizon?

South Korea faces one of the troublesome threat matrixes of any country in the world.

It’s Northern neighbor invaded it in the 1950s, is run by the same totalitarian family regime, and has an arsenal of the most dangerous weapons of mass destruction.

It sits a short boat ride from China — a rising power that seems to want its neighbors to kow-tow to Beijing like they did to Chinese Emperors. South Korea is allied with the United States, a country with China seems to be on the verge of a new cold war.

And trade is proximity. South Korea’s biggest trading partner by far is China. Factor in trade with Hong Kong, and South Korea sends more than twice as much to China as the its second largest partner, the U.S..

Maintaining what South Korea has built requires preparation, vigilance and recognition of reality. Something South Korea’s grandstanding politicians sometimes forget. As does a public often more focused on 1920 than 2020, let alone 2120.

The curious case of South Korea:

Part 1: The Past: How South Korea’s limitless future may be bound by it’s past

Part 2: South Korea and North Korea. You only make peace with your enemies. But you must have an enemy you can make peace with.

Part 3: China wants its empire back. Does South Korea want to be its vassal? Or worse?

Part 4: If China is the new global villain, South Korea needs the United States more than ever. Many South Koreans don’t agree.

Part 5: Nowhere does South Korea’s past poison its future more than with Japan. Bad because if China’s a problem, Japan is part of the solution.

Conclusion: South Korea’s choice: having freedom and democracy or not having freedom and democracy.