Boycott of South Korea Ill-conceived Proposal

To the editors:

It is easy to dismiss Ebon Y. Lee’s recent column, a call to “Boycott South Korea” (Column, Jan. 17), as an embarrassingly uninformed and needlessly inflammatory reaction to allegations of anti-Americanism in South Korea. But the fact that such allegations are coming from mainstream U.S. media is worrying. The recent candlelight vigils in Seoul for the two teenage girls accidentally killed by U.S. armored vehicles are interpreted as proof that the South Korean population is anti-American. Sure, the protests have allowed some South Koreans to vent anti-American feelings left over from the 80’s, but the main reason behind the protests was to call for the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that allowed the two U.S. soldiers responsible to go free.

The vast majority of South Koreans recognize the need for the U.S. troops; the protesters were not in fact calling for a pullout. But Lee toys with the idea of military withdrawal from South Korea “to give the protesters what they want,” discarding it only because it would send the wrong signal to the North. This only betrays Lee’s ignorance of the fact that a military withdrawal would be catastrophic for the interests of both nations.

The presence of U.S. troops on Korean soil is as unfortunate as it is necessary, however, because it is and has always been a constant potential source for friction between the two nations. The only difference is that South Koreans have a newfound confidence and are naturally becoming more assertive. Revision of SOFA is a necessary step in alleviating that friction and improving U.S.-Korean relations.

Lee’s column is soaked in the mentality that the U.S. is responsible for everything good that ever happened to South Korea. Such sentiment would be unwelcome in South Korea, where the unspoken sentiment is that South Koreans achieved democracy not because of, but in spite of the U.S., in the past an eager supporter of the military dictatorships and possibly a silent accomplice in the Kwangju massacre of May 1980 that put down a swelling pro-democracy movement.

There is a good reason that the U.S. and South Korea are traditional allies. Let’s hope that the recent strains turn out to be no more than minor bumps in the maturing of the partnership in the 21st century. Lee’s anti-South Korea ranting certainly does not help anyone (except possibly Kim Jong Il) and only helps to perpetuate the incorrect stereotype that the Americans are rude and arrogant.

Brian J. Park '05

Jan. 18, 2003