Anti-American sentiment in Korea
Anti-American sentiment in Korea began with the earliest contact between the two nations and continued after the division of Korea and Korean War. Despite this, as of 2011[update], 74% of South Koreans have a favorable view of the U.S., making it one of the most pro-American countries in the world.[1]
One particular focus of such sentiment has focused on the presence and behavior of American military personnel (USFK) on the peninsula. There have been a number of high-profile cases of American soldiers committing rape and assault on Korean people, with an example being the 2002 Yangju highway incident,[2] as well as the 2008 Camp Humphreys expansion controversy . The ongoing U.S. military presence in South Korea, especially at Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, remains a contentious issue. While protests have arisen over specific incidents, they may be reflective of deeper historical, anti-Western sentiment.
Within the last decade, many Korean dramas and films have portrayed Americans in a negative light, which may also contribute to the harboring of anti-American views among [South] Koreans.[3]
History
Pre-Korean War
After the Japanese defeat in World War II
The elections were
Korean War
No Gun Ri massacre
The No Gun Ri Massacre occurred on July 26–29, 1950, early in the
The civilian killings gained widespread attention when the Associated Press published articles in 1999 in which 7th Cavalry veterans corroborated survivors' accounts, articles that later won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. 7th Cavalry veteran Joe Jackman states, "there was kids out there, it didn't matter what it was, eight to 80, blind, crippled or crazy, they shot 'em all."[8] The AP also uncovered warfront orders to fire on refugees, given out of fear of enemy North Korean infiltration.[6] After years of rejecting claims by survivors, the Pentagon conducted an investigation and, in 2001, acknowledged the killings, but referred to the three-day event as "an unfortunate tragedy inherent to war and not a deliberate killing."[7] The U.S. rejected survivors' demands for an apology and compensation. Inconsistencies with the Pentagon's investigation led to Korean War veteran Pete McCloskey (who had been brought in to advise on the report) state, "the government will always lie about embarrassing matters."[8]
South Korean investigators disagreed with Pentagon findings, saying they believed 7th Cavalry troops were ordered to fire on the refugees.
Prompted by the exposure of No Gun Ri, survivors of similar alleged incidents in 1950–1951 filed reports with the Seoul government. In 2008 an investigative commission said more than 200 cases of alleged large-scale civilian killings by the U.S. military had been registered, mostly air attacks.[13] More documents detailing refugee 'kill' orders were unearthed at the U.S. national archives and point to the widespread targeting of refugees by commanders well after No Gun Ri massacre.[8] In August 1950 there were orders detailing that refugees crossing the Naktong River be shot.[8] Later in the same month, General Gay ordered artillery units to target civilians on the battlefield.[8] In January 1951, the U.S. 8th Army was detailing all units in Korea that refugees be attacked with all available fire including bombing.[8] In August 1950, 80 civilians are reported to have been killed while seeking sanctuary in a shrine by the village of Kokaan-Ri, near Masan in South Korea.[8] Other survivors recall 400 civilians killed by U.S. naval artillery on the beaches near the port of Pohang in September 1950.[8]
Sinchon Massacre
North Korea claims that US forces massacred 35,000 people at Sinchon between 17 October and 7 December 1950.
Geneva Conference of 1954
The armistice at the end of the Korean War required that a political conference be pursued where the question of a unified Korea would be addressed. Despite many proposals for independent national elections and a unified, democratic, independent Korea no declaration for a unified Korea was adopted. Some participants and analysts blame the U.S. for obstructing efforts towards unification.[14][15][16]
Military prostitution
U.S. military patronage of South Korean prostitutes has been a source of controversy for decades.[17]
During the early 1990s, former victims of forced prostitution became a symbol of Anti-American nationalism.
Role in the Gwangju Uprising
American Cultural Center arson
On December 9, 1980, in
On March 12, 1982, arsonists set fire to the American Cultural Center in Busan. They killed one and injured several others. Moon Pu-shik and Kim Hyon-jang were sentenced to death but later commuted to life sentences and then to 20 years.[24][25][26][27][28]
On November 20, 1982, arsonists fired American Cultural Center in Gwangju (ko) for the second time. In September 1983, Daegu's American Cultural Center was bombed (ko).[29] In May 1985 in Seoul, American Cultural Center was seized.[29]
On April 23, 2013, in Daegu, two anti-U.S. arsonists mistakenly attacked a cram school called the American Cultural Center.[30][31]
2000s incidents
Yangju highway incident
On June 13, 2002, a U.S. military vehicle fatally injured two 14-year-old South Korean girls, Shin Hyo-sun (신효순) and Shim Mi-seon (심미선), who were walking along a street in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. The incident provoked anti-American sentiment in South Korea when a U.S military court found the soldiers involved, who were sent back to the United States immediately after the decision, not guilty. This prompted hundreds of thousands of South Koreans to protest against the U.S Army's continued presence.[32][33]
PSY's anti-American performance
In 2002,
Apolo Ohno 2002 Winter Olympics controversy
In
In the 1500 m race, Ohno won the gold medal, with a time of 2:18.541. During the 1500 m final race, South Korean
"Fucking USA"
"Fucking USA" is a protest song written by South Korean singer and activist Yoon Min-suk. Strongly anti-US foreign policy and anti-Bush, the song was written in 2002 at a time when, following the Apolo Ohno Olympic controversy and the Yangju highway incident, anti-American sentiment in South Korea reached record high levels.[42]
Daechuri Protests
This Daechuri Protests section is missing information about the Daechuri Protests.(February 2024) |
From 2004 to 2008, a series of large protests against the South Korean and American armed forces plan to expand Camp Humphreys and the subsequent relocation of residents.
The Host
The 2006 South Korean
The director, Bong Joon-ho, commented on the issue: "It's a stretch to simplify The Host as an anti-American film, but there is certainly a metaphor and political commentary about the U.S."[45] Because of its themes that can be seen as critical of the United States, the film was actually lauded by North Korean authorities,[46] a rarity for a South Korean blockbuster film.
2008 US beef protest
Between 24 May 2008 and about 18 July 2008 in Seoul, mass protests were held in Seoul against the importation of American beef.[47]
2010s incidents
2015 attack on the USA Ambassador
At about 7:40 a.m. on March 5, 2015,
During the attack and while being subdued by security, Kim screamed that the rival Koreas should be unified and told reporters that he had attacked Lippert to protest the annual United States–South Korean joint military exercises.[48] Kim has a record of militant Korean nationalist activism; he attacked the Japanese ambassador to South Korea in 2010 and was sentenced to a three-year suspended prison term.[52][53][54][55] On September 11, 2015, Kim was sentenced to twelve years in prison for the attack.[56]
Japan–South Korea Comfort Women Agreement issues
On December 28, 2015, the
All South Korean liberal-to-progressive media believe the negotiations were forced by the United States. The reason is that the United States wants South Korea and Japan to work together to check economically growing China, rather than the human rights and justice of Japanese war crimes Korean-victims who are still alive.[58][59][60]
The Japan-South Korea Comfort Women Agreement temporarily increased anti-American sentiment among South Korean liberal-to-progressives. However, a year later, due to the
General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) issues
As part of the 2019 Japan–South Korea trade dispute, the Moon Jae-in government attempted to end GSOMIA, a 2016 Japan–South Korea military exchange agreement signed under the facilitation of the United States. This provoked negative reactions from American analysts and politicians, who claimed that the decision would worsen North Korean security threats.[66][67] Eventually, GSOMIA was maintained.[citation needed] Some left-leaning South Koreans, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions,[65] have described the U.S. as a violation of South Korean sovereignty and the deliberate ignoring of Japan's former colonization of Korea.[68][69]
Recent trends
Anti-American sentiment in South Korea is generally associated with the liberal or progressive movement, rather than the conservative.[61][70][62][71][72] However, anti-Chinese sentiment has increased significantly in South Korea regardless of political orientation since the 2010s, which led to a significant decrease in anti-American sentiment among South Korean liberals.[61]
While protests have arisen over specific incidents, they may be reflective of deeper historical,
In the 2020s, political anti-Americanism in South Korea is mainly seen by 'some' socialists and anti-U.S. nationalists, while liberals and conservatives may be at odds with the United States in part, but basically support political pro-Americanism. Socialists and anti-U.S. nationalists in South Korea have never formed a mainstream political force.[c]
Indigenous nuclear weapon issues
Since the 2020s, anti-American sentiment has emerged among supporters of indigenous nuclear weapons in the South Korea, mostly right-wing nationalist-conservatives. Anti-American sentiment among some conservatives in the South comes because the U.S. believes it cannot protect the South Korea from North Korean nuclear weapons. However, conservatives should be distinguished from the anti-American sentiment of 'far-left (NL) nationalists' because they have a stronger anti-communist and anti-North sentiment and are also pro-American in that they strongly oppose the withdrawal of U.S. troops.[75]
See also
- Anti-Americanism
- Anti-sadaejuui
- Anti-Korean sentiment in the United States
- Axis of evil
- Busan American Cultural Service building arson
- Demonstrations at Yongsan Garrison
- Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities
- United States–North Korea relations
Notes
- ^ Conservatives in South Korea often have weaker or less anti-Japanese sentiment than liberals. They are willing to cooperate with Japan because 'anti-communist' (anti-North Korea government and pro-American) sentiment is stronger than liberals.
- ^ Most South Koreans, including liberal-to-progressives, traditionally tend to be more wary of Chinese and Japanese than the Americans.[64] Anti-American sentiment among South Korean liberal-to-progressives comes mostly from the United States' disregard for South Korea's anti-Japanese sentiment and historical justice against Japan.[65]
- In contrast, Conservatives' pro-Americanism is hostile to North Korea because it is based on anti-communist sentiment.
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The Canadian representative, Ronning said:
The communists had come to Geneva to negotiate ... I thought I had come to participate in a peace conference ... Instead, the emphasis was entirely on preventing a peace settlement from being realized ... There was no excuse for closing the conference without a peace agreement. Molotov's resolution ... could have been accepted as a basis for a settlement by most of the Sixteen [states that fought under the UN flag]
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External links
- videoblog: South Korea
- Yun Geum-i murder Incident
- 주한미군범죄근절운동본부
- Kenneth L. Markle: Sadistic Murderer or Scapegoat?
- 윤금이 씨의 피맺힌 교훈 (자주민보) – Murdered picture by a US Soldier