The Korean Odyssey

* The United Nations members who participated in the Korean War are standing.   @iStock   Il Young Jeong Research Professor_Institute of Social Sciences_Sogang University The Korean War did not end, but rather ‘concluded’ with a mutual cessation of hostilities. Under the armistice agreement, the Cold War endured on the peninsula with the trilateral alliance between the US, South Korea, and Japan on one side and the North Korea-China-Russia trilateral alliance on the other. While the dissolution of the Soviet Union may have ended the Cold War in Europe, the Cold War persisted on the peninsula.  In this chapter, we will look at how South Korea’s policies regarding North Korea have evolved since the end of the Korean War and how the US-ROK alliance has responded to the problems that have arisen in pursuit of these policies.   South Korea’s “Nordpolitik” Policy and the End of the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union As the Cold War between the United State...

  *A K2 Black Panther, the pride of Korea, practicing shooting. @iStock   Il Young Jeong Research Professor_Institute of Social Sciences_Sogang University Expectations for the K-defense industry have been rising recently. In July, 2022, the Korean government signed an export contract worth about $12.4 billion with Poland including K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 Thunder howitzers, FA-50 aircraft, and K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery systems. This contract alone amounted to more than Korea’s total defense industry exports in 2021. The K-defense industry has continued to gather praise both domestically and overseas. In addition to looking at expectations the K-defense industry’s future growth, this article will ask the uncomfortable question that need to be addressed when we think about the future of the industry.   The Opportunities presented by the Age of Peace for K-Defense Since the Korean War, Korea has been striving to realize its dream of ‘independent national defens...