Abstract

Relations between the United States and South Korea have entered a crucial period. For more than fifty years, the two countries have shared a strategic alliance that has helped stabilize Northeast Asia and ensure the peace between North and South Korea. Recently, however, strains have developed in the relationship over disputes on how to resolve key issues of concern to both countries. Sharp differences have emerged on the North Korean nuclear threat, with South Korea stressing the continuation of its “Sunshine Policy” of seeking to build warmer relations with North Korea and resolve the crisis through negotiations. The United States, in turn, has labeled North Korea as a member of the “axis of evil”and has resisted negotiations until North Korea first makes changes. Both sides blame the other for the  recent escalation of the crisis. In addition, there has been rising anti-U.S. sentiment in South Korea brought about by generational change, perceived U.S. unilateralism in dealing with North Korea, and other international issues such as the Iraq War.

Relations between the United States and South Korea have entered a crucial period. For more than fifty years, the two countries have shared a strategic alliance that has helped stabilize Northeast Asia and ensure the peace between North and South Korea. Recently, however, strains have developed in the relationship over disputes on how to resolve key issues of concern to both countries. Sharp differences have emerged on the North Korean nuclear threat, with South Korea stressing the continuation of its “Sunshine Policy” of seeking to build warmer relations with North Korea and resolve the crisis through negotiations. The United States, in turn, has labeled North Korea as a member of the “axis of evil” and has resisted negotiations until North Korea first makes changes. Both sides blame the other for the recent escalation of the crisis. In addition, there has been rising anti-U.S. sentiment in South Korea brought about by generational change, perceived U.S. unilateralism in dealing with North Korea, and other international issues such as the Iraq War.

The proposed withdrawal over time of a significant number of American troops from South Korea, the result of shifting U.S. military planning and national security priorities in the post-September 11 world, has also caused concern in South Korea. While South Koreans are deeply apprehensive about the United States taking unilateral military action against North Korea, they are still reassured by the presence of U.S. troops as a protective cover from a North Korean attack. Recently, the United States transferred 3,600 U.S. troops from South Korea to Iraq and announced the planned withdrawal of one-third of U.S. troops from South Korea by the end of 2005 and the pullback of U.S. troops from the Demilitarized Zone to Pyongtaek, 70 miles south of Seoul, by 2008.

These measures call into question the future of the U.S. military presence in the country at a time when South Korea is reassessing its geopolitical future. While President Roh Moo-hyun has asked the United States to delay the withdrawal, he has also advocated greater independence for South Korea in its foreign and defense policies since coming into office in 2002. Diplomatic and trade ties with China have been strengthened. In 2003, China, for the first time, overtook the United States as South Korea’s number one export market. In turn, South Korea has attempted to leverage China’s influence with North Korea to push it towards a negotiated settlement.

Despite these strains, there is still a broad belief on both sides in the alliance’s value. South Korea has committed more than 3,000 troops to Iraq, the third largest force after the United States and Great Britain, to help in the reconstruction effort. While polls show that South Koreans were opposed to the war, the government recognizes the value that contributing troops has for maintaining good relations with the United States. The United States, in turn, remains committed to South Korea’s security, regional stability, and continued growth in economic and trade relations.

To ensure the continued success of a strong and vital U.S.–South Korea alliance in the twenty-first century, the bilateral relationship must evolve and refocus on the shared political, military, and economic interests of both countries. Both sides must be committed to adapting the alliance at a time of heightened regional tension and political transformation.

How Americans and South Koreans view the world and their relationship with each other will shape these policies and approaches and ultimately determine whether they succeed or fail. In particular, it is crucial to develop a better understanding of bilateral attitudes towards the alliance, the U.S. military role in South Korea, multilateral institutions, approaches to global security, and how to resolve the North Korea crisis. American and South Korean understanding of these critical issues is necessary to inform policymaking in both countries and foster support for continued dialogue and diplomatic engagement.

This report offers new evidence to answer some of these important questions. It is the result of a new binational partnership between The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (CCFR) in the United States and the East Asia Institute in South Korea. The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations has conducted one of the preeminent surveys of American public opinion on U.S. foreign policy periodically for three decades. This year, CCFR and EAI have joined forces to undertake an ambitious study that, for the first time, includes parallel surveys in the United States and South Korea.

The CCFR/EAI study seeks to contribute to the current debate on U.S.–South Korea alliance by providing new data and analyses. In an attempt to capture and compare American and South Korean public opinion in the new international setting after the world-shaking events of September 11 and the Iraq War, the surveys posed many of the same questions in both countries on a broad range of international and bilateral issues. The result is the most in-depth and comprehensive picture ever presented of the foreign policy attitudes of these two different but closely linked allies...(Continued)