The Metamorphosis Of U S Korea Relations

This book contends that the long history of America’s interaction with Korea started with the signing of the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation in 1882, and with the establishment of the Seward-Shufeldt Line. William Seward and Robert Shufeldt shared the same vision of achieving their American goal by opening Korea and extending the Seward-Shufeldt Line from Alaska to link it with the Philippines and the Samoan Islands, thus completing a perfect perimeter for the American era of the Pacific and for its dominance in the Asian market. Initiating diplomatic and trading relations with Korea was Commodore Shufeldt’s finishing touch on the plan for achieving American hegemony in the coming 20th century. In turn, the decline of Chinese sphere of influence over the Korean Peninsula and the fall of Russian power in the region, with the consequential rise of Japanese power there, which led to a change from the SS Line to the Roosevelts’ Theodore-Franklin Line, the colonization of Korea, the division of Korea, the Korean War, and has brought America back nearly full circle to that first encounter in Pyeongyang; the regrettable General Sherman Incident in 1866. This book argues that the United States must uphold its early commitment to peace and amity by now normalizing relations with North Korea in order to bring closure to the “Korean Question.”

This report covers the background and current state of the relationship of the United States with the Republic of Korea (ROK, formerly South Korea), including economic and trade issues, North Korea, naval, and military events. It is a general overview of the current state of relations with South Korea.

Using newly collected data from American and Korean newspapers, this book examines relations between the United States and South Korea from 1992 to 2003, a particularly contentious period in the history of the two allies.

US relations with North and South Korea have been characterized by profound asymmetries of power and perception which in recent years have led to increased tensions among the three countries. Bringing together twelve prominent experts on US-Korean and US-Pacific relations, this book explores the many dimensions of current and future US foreign policy. Charting new developments in North and South Korea, the contributors examine US-Korean relations through such prisms as nationalism, the media, regional relations and human rights issues. In relating the downward spiral in US relations with the Korean peninsula, thebook provides an analysis that runs counter to conventional interpretations, and offers clear and balanced policy recommendations for remedying the crises.The Future of US-Korean Relations is deeply incisive and broadly relevant as an ideal resource for students, teachers and policy professionals interested in security studies, East Asian politics and US foreign policy.

Built upon the highly successful volume One Hundred Years of Korean-American Relations, 1882-1982, this book describes Korea’s importance to the United States and the development of the current relationship. The ramifications of this relationship are evident by the facts that South Korea now constitutes America’s seventh largest trading partner and 37,000 American troops remain stationed there on alert. North Korea, however, continues to harbor a deep resentment of the United States and its southern neighbor and maintains the fifth largest standing army in the world, situated just north of the world’s most fortified demarcation line at the 38th parallel.