Seoul,,,,, South Korea – The treatment of South Korean workers in Georgia immigration raids, the combination of legal measures taken by former sex workers against South Korean U.S. troops and the uneven tariffs on South Korean and Japanese cars has attracted attention to the possible resurrection of massive anti-Americanism.
Similar sentiments angered South Korea in 2002 and 2008, but since then, the US hatred for the US seems to be calm. Revival can shake relationships in delicate moments: the future of bilateral security alliances is under negotiation.
A suggestion for former scholars Seoul The government says there is fertile ground for anti-Americanism.
“South Korea The United States has been experiencing structural victimization: [The U.S.] He said: “Using its purchasing power as leverage, and the security umbrella as bargaining power.” South Koreabut I don’t know when it will explode. ”
South Korean workers at Hyundai LG construction site were tied and constrained by armed American immigration agents during an event in Georgia last week.
Many South Koreans view their country’s relationship with the United States as Tieclad, but actions by U.S. authorities seem to be unnecessaryly harsh on workers’ visa violations.
In addition, workers have precisely been engaged in the project that President Trump is trying to revive the U.S. manufacturing project: the establishment of a Hyundai LG battery factory for electric vehicles that will generate quality local jobs.
A Korean social media commentator likened the situation to “punching holes” between the U.S. immigration authorities and U.S. investment promoters.
316 workers returned home on a charter flight on Friday, but their unpleasant experience wasn’t the only test relationship.
This week, 117 former Korean sex workers were patronized by soldiers stationed in the United States South Korea The lawsuit accused them of being trafficked by Korean pimps and being treated brutally by GI clients.
They seek apology and compensation Seoul and Washington.
Regardless of the legal outcome, the hearing may seem to have a harsh revelation of the shabby treatment, which the “Camptown Women” or “Patriotic Prostitutes” accepted. To make money, they worked from Tawdry “Villes” outside South Korea from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Separately, Washington Preferential tariffs on cars exported to the United States have been approved: while Japanese cars suffer a 15% loss, South Korean cars suffer a 25% limit. South Korean media reported that this is a “state of emergency” for South Korean automakers.
South Korea It is a direct competitor to the vehicle, but due to emotional history issues, it is also a national competitor to Japan.
A field poll found that nearly 60% of South Koreans were “disappointed” with the U.S. action.
Outside the U.S. Embassy, about 70 people conducted a small demonstration. Another protest was an anti-Trump flag that greeted construction workers who returned home on Friday.
The timing of these tremors is hardly worse.
President Lee Jae-Myung successfully held a summit with Mr. Trump in August. However, details on the $350 billion investment plan and the future of the bilateral security alliance are still to be resolved.
Harmful actions
Mr. Li – the former leftist, he made it clear Seoul–Washington Relationship – Talk. He said at a press conference on Thursday that South Korean companies may “hesitate” to invest in the U.S., while companies there are “being confused.”
He is not alone.
“This incident has seriously damaged it South Korea Trying to contribute to the U.S. economy through massive investments,” edited by Chosun Ilbo, the best-selling conservative daily. “The basic question arises: What does the ‘an Alliance’ in the United States mean?
Lon Garwood is an American expat working for a Korean construction company that flies among professional teams around the world to build plants, which is harsh.
“Korean workers have no long-term or immigration risks, and they do professional work there, get their job done and return home,” he said. “Being tied up and lasting in a detention center for several days has never been part of their job description.”
He said the U.S. bureaucracy must upgrade “visa issuance procedures – whether by obtaining higher quotas or creating new categories for short-term technical experts.” “Unless this problem is addressed, there is a possibility that the U.S. will undermine projects aimed at creating jobs and strengthening bilateral industrial relations.”
Foreign Secretary Joe Xian urged visa reform at a meeting with U.S. Senators.
Critics also target South Korean conglomerates that own Georgia factories because they do not receive proper labor visas.
Tami Washington DGA Group, a consulting firm that previously led the American Chamber of Commerce in South Korea, said the ongoing developments “could cause a possible outbreak of anti-Americanism.”
“It depends largely on the actions of the U.S. government or inaction,” added the retired General Kang City Government, who advocates for bilateral alliances. “I know the United States is following its laws, but if someone’s authority says, “It’s an unfortunate situation, or “sorry,” that would greatly reduce the traction of South Korea’s anti-American future. ”
He warned: “We cannot accept it easily.”
Ms. Europe suffered an invasion and deliberate destruction of student activists during her 2002 tenure at Amcham, South Korea, noting that Mr. Trump had tried to calm down.
“I feel excited about President Trump’s seemingly recognizing that South Korea’s visa situation is different from some other ice raids,” she said. “He authorized South Korean citizens to be shipped without being handcuffed and bound.”
Anti-American roots
Massive anti-Americanism has been dormant for 18 years.
South Koreans know that evacuation of U.S. forces will require substantial increase in defense spending and potentially extending unpopular drafts.
What is little known is the US military South Korea Global borrowing costs and inward investment: Their presence helps underwrite the country’s sovereign credit rating.
However, there are multiple reasons for protesting emotions.
This sentiment was dangerous in the 1940s and 1950s: Seoul The leftist was massacred before and during the Korean War.
With the industrialization and enrichment of South Korea, Washington’s Support autocracy Seoul The regimes in the 1970s and 1980s incited student protesters, and some student leaders later entered politics and government.
After 1987 democratic politics, the message of American killing of civilians was suppressed during the Korean War. In 2002, a large-scale anti-American explosion was the mainstream.
In two road accidents by a US military judge, two female students died in a road accident, while the GIS involved was not charged, and huge demonstrations broke out, flags were burned and American personnel were attacked.
The election victory of the left-wing president has caused anger and the U.S. Secretary of Defense’s proposal to extract GIS from South Korea.
In 2008, demonstrations surged after South Korean TV reported that American farmers were exporting beef infected with the “mad cow” disease. The protests disappeared after the report was considered fake news.
Since then, hardcore leftists, unionists and peace activists have protested our base, but the mainstream remains calm.
Will that change? Experts don’t think so.
South Korea John Lee, editor of professional media professional Korean professionals, said that dependence on the security of the United States cannot be ignored.
“China is stronger and more influential than in the past,” he said. “Due to changes in the external environment South Korea This will be seen through diplomacy. ”
But the United States may suffer long-term costs.
“South Korea is more developed, more prosperous and demographically older,” said Daniel Pinkston, an international relations expert at Troy University. “Now, it’s the United States that is doing what the reputational cost comes with.”
This could include South Korean tourists, students and investors ignoring other destinations in the U.S.
“These aren’t something you can see – there is no Molotov in the U.S. Embassy,” Pinkston said. “But these are the real costs.”
