earticle

영어

Calibrating foreign policy in response to changing dynamics of US-China relations is indispensable for South Korea, to maintain security and establish the groundwork for peaceful unification.This article investigates South Korea’s search for security and unification partnerships in the context of the US-China rivalry by analyzing a series of recent South Korean public opinion surveys on foreign and domestic security protocols. Some key findings from the analysis are as follows first, the bilateral security partnership between South Korea and the United States has matured significantly. Unlike in the past when anti-American sentiment strained diplomatic ties, the South Korean public does not appear to ‘blame’ the U.S. as the primary obstacle undermining its effortsto democratize, develop its economy, and reconcile with North Korea. Second, contrary to predictions that South Korea will accommodate China’s hegemony in Northeast Asia, there is no convincing evidence to suggest that South Korea is drifting closer to China. South Koreans have largely portrayed conditional and often moderately negative attitude towards the rise of China. As such, South Korea needs to pre-emptively cope with the dual danger of entrapment and abandonment that has been created as a result of escalating tensions between the United States and China.