crisis in korea

If South Korea’s identity continues to remain dubious as it vacillates between socialism and capitalism, foreign investors will also be reluctant to invest here.

If the UN’s economic sanctions on North Korea are lifted and South Korea offers massive financial aid to the it, supporting 20 million destitute people there, the South Korean economy will no longer be prosperous. Of course, South Korea can take advantage of cheap labor in North Korea. But it will cost many local jobs here. Besides, there are other places for inexpensive labor in Southeast Asia already.

Our relationship with China, Japan, and the States, too, will affect our economy directly. We should always keep in mind that America’s primary concern is Japan, rather than South Korea, and China’s main concern is Pyongyang, not Seoul. Therefore, we cannot afford the luxury of having an illusion that both China and the US will take the side of South Korea over the North or Japan. That means we are all alone and can easily be isolated in East Asia, caught in the crossfire among our neighboring countries.

Our isolation will go deeper when Japan and the States choose to come to terms with North Korea directly without the mediation of the South, thinking that they could use North Korea as a leverage against China, like the US did with Vietnam. If so, South Korea will no longer appear useful in the eyes of Japan and the States. Many Koreans still naively believe that South Korea so is important strategically that Washington will never give her up. Unfortunately, however, this may no longer be true. It would be quite embarrassing for South Korea, and yet we should prepare for such a change, because that day will surely come in the near future unless we change the course of our nation that, according to many experts, is currently headed in the wrong direction.