Asymmetrical Alliance and Anti-Americanism in Republic of Korea

　　Associate Research Professor, Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

　　Abstract: The structure of the military alliance between Republic of Korea and the United States is highly asymmetrical. At the end of the Korean War in 1953, at the plea of the ROK, the US began to station its military forces in the Korean Peninsula. But after democratization in ROK, anti-Americanism within the Korean people has grown stronger by the day. In line with this development, calls for the withdrawal of US troops from Korean soil started to surface. The shifting attitudes of the Korean people are caused by rapid economic development in ROK and unprecedented level of nationalistic fervor as a result of political democratization. As the US military presence directly conflicted with Korean nationalistic sentiments, the asymmetrical nature of the ROK-US military alliance becomes a source of discontentment amongst the Korean people. Despite repeated attempts to realign the unbalance relations, both ROK and the US governments remained unsuccessful at quelling these discontents; indeed, these efforts were met with more resistance and anger within the Korean people.