Increasing Distrust of the USA in South Korea
| Author | Suzanne L. Parker,Myongsob Kim,Jun Young Choi |
| Published date | 01 October 2006 |
| Date | 01 October 2006 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0192512106067363 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Increasing Distrust of the USA in South Korea
MYONGSOB KIM, SUZANNE L. PARKER, AND JUN YOUNG CHOI
ABSTRACT. The purpose of this article is two-pronged. First, it seeks to
identify the factors that seem to lower trust in the USA among South
Koreans. These factors weaken the traditionally solid Korea–USA alliance
and have led a US expert to call South Korea a “runaway ally.” Second,
this article empirically tests various explanations of trust using a
nationwide survey of South Koreans conducted in 2005. This article
employs multiple regression analysis to test the hypothesized relation-
ships. The results indicate that the following factors have a statistically
significant impact on trust in the USA: ideological anti-Americanism,
short- and long-term factors related to the activities of Americans or the
USA, national self-esteem, and American pop culture.
Keywords: • Anti-Americanism • Korea–USA alliance • Nationalism
• Trust
Introduction
The Republic of Korea and the USA have formed a strong and stable alliance
since their struggle against North Korea and China during the Korean War.
Without any peace treaty ending the Korean War de jure, the Korea–USA alliance
has been a cornerstone for stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia. According to
many observers, however, there are signs suggesting that this cornerstone is
becoming increasingly shaky. South Korea, which was considered relatively free of
anti-American sentiment during the cold war, is now one of the leading countries
raising its voice against the USA (Kim, Taehyo, 2004). In response to this rise of
anti-Americanism in South Korea, the USA has begun to express anti-Korean
sentiment and to call into question the basis of the alliance with South Korea
(Kim, Daejung, 2004; Kim, Seung-Hwan, 2002). A US expert on North Korea, for
example, characterized South Korea as a “runaway ally” (Eberstadt, 2004).
South Korea has a critical interest in maintaining its alliance with the USA for
the stability and prosperity it imparts to Northeast Asia as well as on the Korean
Peninsula. The alliance with South Korea is beneficial for Washington as well
International Political Science Review (2006), Vol 27, No. 4, 427–445
DOI: 10.1177/0192512106067363 © 2006 International Political Science Association
SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi)
because South Korea is geopolitically important in promoting US interests in
Northeast Asia. Despite this necessity for cooperation between the two countries,
an atmosphere of distrust has recently developed. Given that trust between allies is
a sine qua non for the successful maintenance of an alliance, this deterioration of
trust is an important reason for the crisis in a relationship that was once very solid.
Identifying the reasons for the attitudes of distrust between the two countries may
help in understanding the future of the relationship. The question investigated in
this article is what has led to the increase in distrust of the USA among South
Koreans. We evaluate several theoretical factors hypothesized to have influenced
trust using regression analysis and, in the process, also evaluate these explanations.
The following section will identify several factors that have been argued to have
an impact on trust in the USA among South Koreans. The third section discusses
how to measure the factors identified in the second section and presents research
hypotheses that are empirically tested. The findings from the regression analysis
are discussed in the fourth section. In the concluding section, the implications of
the findings for the future of the Korean–US alliance are discussed.
Description of the Factors Hypothesized to Affect Trust in the USA
For many years, most Koreans regarded the USA as their trustworthy sponsor who
saved Korea from the Japanese occupation, fought with them against a communist
invasion during the Korean War, and provided generous economic aid when it was
needed most (Gweon, 2004; Lim, 1994). There were South Koreans who even
regarded the USA as a big brother, filling a role formerly occupied by China,
which had taken care of Korea during periods of crisis, applying the traditional
Confucian point of view (Kim, 1992). A survey conducted in Seoul during 1965,
for example, clearly demonstrates Koreans’ positive opinions of the USA: in
responding to the question, “What is your favorite country in the world?” about 70
percent of the respondents picked the USA, while only about 1 percent of the
respondents indicated that they did not like the USA (Kim, 1992).
This South Korean esteem for the USA can no longer be taken for granted. For
instance, a survey conducted by the authors with college students in 2004 asked
them to locate themselves on the scale from zero (absolute distrust for the USA)
to 100 (absolute trust for the USA). The average trust level among the students
was 41.25, indicating that their opinions of the USA are negatively skewed (Kim
and Choi, 2004). This study identifies seven factors that have been said to
influence Koreans’ trust levels: ideological anti-Americanism, short-term incidents
or activities involving the USA, long-term factors related to the USA, the rise of
national self-esteem, globalization, American pop culture, and attitudes toward
North Korea.
Ideological Anti-Americanism
The advent of South Korean anti-Americanism in the 1980s was closely related to
radical student movements that reached their peak during that period.1These
groups supported violent strategies to topple the Korean military-authoritarian
regime, and they engaged in struggles against the defenders of the regime. With
assistance from leftist ideologues, they developed an ideology supporting and
justifying their actions that resulted in the birth of ideological anti-Americanism
(Chang, 1989; Kim, 1992, 2003; Lim, 1994; Moon, 2005; Shin, 1995).
428 International Political Science Review 27(4)
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