How Does the Location of South Korea Influence its Foreign Policy Aims and its Geographical Identity - Essay Example

? HOW DOES THE SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF SOUTH KOREA INFLUENCE AND INFORM ITS FOREIGN POLICY AIMS AND OBJECTIVES AND ITS GEOGRAPHICAL IDENTITY? by Student’s name Course + code name Professor’s name University name City, State Date of submission How Does the Specific Geographical Location of South Korea Influence and Inform its Foreign Policy Aims and Objectives and its Geographical Identity? John Feffer, the author of a well-known book about the specifics of the foreign policy on the Korean peninsula, is undoubtedly right saying: “Geography shapes destiny” (Feffer, 2011: 21). It is Korea, “a fingertip of land the size of Idaho”, that hosts two opposing states: communistic North Korea and capitalistic South Korea. Curling away from the mainland China to neighboring Japan, Korea has been the area across which invading armies have coursed back and forth. At the same time, the invasions did not prevent Korea from retaining a high degree of homogeneity in ethnic sense. This “Koreanness”, as Feffer calls it, makes the division in two states painful for citizens in either part (Feffer, 2011: 22). For South Korea, its geographic location close to North Korea is the major factor that shapes its foreign policy. At the same time, surrounded by water, this country is located around 200 kilometers from two Japanese islands of Kyushu and Honshu. Closeness to Japan and China has its own impact on the foreign policy of South Korea. As for the geographical identity of South Korea, it is conditioned by South Korea’s location on one half of the Korean Peninsula, the one that is southern and has a land border with the only state - North Korea. This paper investigates how geography of South Korea shapes and informs its foreign policy aims and impacts its geographical identity. First, let us explore the geographical location of Republic of South Korea in detail. While South Korea hosts more than 45 million people, its size is slightly bigger than that of Indiana in the United States and is similar to the size of Hungary (about 93.000 square kilometers) and Jordan (around 97.700) (AsiaInfo, 2013: no page). Its territory is 99.391 square kilometers (Davis, 1999: 7). This accounts for 45% of the overall territory of the peninsula. The capital is Seoul. The land of the country covers the southern part of the Korean Peninsula; it is surrounded by water on its three sides. The Korean Peninsula stretches to the South from the east coast of Asia. Its second half is occupied by North Korea. The territory of South Korea encompasses nearly 3.000 islands which are located predominantly around the sea known as the Yellow Sea. Few islands lie of the East Sea. The largest and most important islands in South Korea are: Ullungdo (in the East Sea, serves a key fishery base), Tokdo (hosts a major fishery base, too), and Chejudo (the biggest island in size, is located off the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula). Historically, the two countries on the Korean Peninsula used to be a single country under the name Korea. Yet, for political reasons, Korea got divided and became two countries. Specifically, with the end of World War 2, the overall territory got divided in two zones: the northern one got occupied by the military forces of the USSR; the southern part, in its turn, got occupied by the American army. The boundary between the two military zones was fixed at the 38th parallel. Back in 1953, the boundary was more or less fixed by the marked DMZ, which is 4-kilometer wide land strip running along the cease-fire lines from one coast to another (from the eastern part to the western part). That strip is around 241 kilometers east to west; it was fixed on a semi-permanent basis (AsianInfo, 2013: no page). The territory of South Korea is covered mostly with mountains and forests. Along its southern and western coasts, there stretch low and flat lands. South Korean climate is largely shaped by monsoons, which bring wet weather in summer season and dry weather in winter (Davis, 1999: 7). The geographical location of South Korea places its foreign policy into great dependence on its relations with the northern neighbor. While a semi-permanent armistice was signed long time ago (back in 1953), both countries continue their rivalry in proving which of them is the only true Korea. That has made them stand in sharp contrast to each other. Both want to dominate and get the power over the two parts of one nation. This fact has forced South Korea, as well as its northern neighbor, to develop their military power. For more than half a century, south and north have engaged in broad espionage, had occasional skirmishes near DMZ as well as across the boundary of a disputed area. They have thrust negative propaganda into each other and even lined up their allies through diplomatic persuasion and trade links. These days, South Korea, just as North Korea, continues to maintain a large army and big arsenal. It has made lots of efforts to make its army more technologically developed and better-trained. Based on this, the recent announcement by North Korea’s political leaders that the countries are in the state of war seems overtly alarming. Belonging to the same ethnicity and living on the same land has been the factor in South Korean politicians’ attempts to reunite the country and reach some warming in relationship. For example, on June 13, 2000 it seemed that the ice between South and North Korea melted away for some time. Kim Dae Jung, during his presidency, did much to direct the foreign policy of his state to the warming of inter-Korean relations. Shortly after Kim Dae Jung took office, he made his “sunshine policy” visible for the public. That policy actually meant that South Korea would forsake various attempts to reunify Korea via absorption of North Korea. While the policy was not about actually lowering its military guard, South Korea made efforts to promote every kind of social, cultural, economic, and other ties with North Korea. The two states came into agreement on reunification of families torn apart by the political divide. Next, the administration of Kim Dae Jung decided to give the go-ahead to a number of business ventures that were to take place in the North. One of the most successful projects on cooperation has been linked to the activity of the Hyundai corporation as well as other South Korean firms that have poured money into the development of telecommunications and software in North Korea. Also, engagement on a variety of fronts was encouraged due to loosened restrictions on various NGOs by the government of South Korea. Overall, Kim Dae Jung’s foreign policy in relation to North Korea embraced four major tenets: “tackle easy tasks first”, “separate politics from economics”, “encourage non-governmental organizations to establish the pace”, and, finally, “give first and take later” (Feffer, 2011: 50). Yet, after the sinking of the warship that belonged to South Korea back in 2010, South Korea cancelled all trade relations with the north and in November, 2010 officially stopped the so-called sunshine policy towards its neighbor. North Korea responded with abrogation of a pact of non-aggression (Voice of America, 2010: no page). Despite the fact that politically the states remain hostile and keep their tensions “sharp as blade throughput the peninsula and especially along the DMZ”, the (O’Neill, 2003: no page), Koreans remain ethnically homogeneous to a high degree. As Feffer points out, to be Korean, both in the north and in the south, means an ethnic assertion rather than a civic one. This is explained by the fact that there can hardly be found anyone in Korea who could not boast about a family lineage on the Korean Peninsula that is hundreds of years old. Remarkably, all Koreans share in the general national tragedies of division and colonization (Feffer, 2011: 21). Therefore, the geographic location of South Korea has exerted major influence on the formation of the geographic identity of Koreans. Two other important directions of South Korean foreign policy that are based on its geographic location have been based on the country’s relations with Japan, China, and the U.S. Historically, Korea had to defend its territory against Japanese invaders who came from the east and remain subordinate to the Chinese emperor in the west (Feffer, 2011: 22). South Korea maintains quite intimate economic relationships with Japan although there sometimes occur political tensions (Aremu. No date: 15). The issues that worry South Korean politicians in terms of relations with Japan are predominantly trade, conditions of South Korean minority, and how the relationship between the two countries is represented in academia and school manuals. Besides, Japan has always demonstrated disapproval of any warming between Seoul and Pyongyang. Once a Japanese colony, South Korea is firm in its position regarding the most controversial political issues between the two states: Liancourt Rocks. Geographically, the Liancourt Rocks, which are located in the waters rich in fish and with large natural gas deposits, are disputed between South Korea and Japan. Evaluating the geographic position of the islets, one may say that they are closer to South Korea than to Japan. Besides, historical evidence seems to work in favor of the South Korean version of the islands’ origin. Still, Japanese researchers maintain that there is enough legal basis as well as insufficiency of pro-Korean historical evidence in favor of the islands’ “Koreanness” to claim that Liancourt Rocks should be Japanese. Interestingly, North Korea, which is officially in war with South Korea, supports the Korean version. Thus, the islands’ sovereignty conflict between Japan and South Korea, which has had a negative impact on the foreign policy and relationships between the two countries, remains unresolved (Scanlon, 2005: no page). As for South Korea’s relationship with China, the diplomatic ties were set back in 1992. These days, they have quite close relations in various spheres. Moreover, both countries have promised to boost cooperation in the upcoming years. Just as South Korea has been People’s Republic of China’s long-standing ally, the latter made attempts to act as a mediator between North Korea, South Korea, and the States/Japan. Economically, geographical closeness to China continues to bring major benefits: a trade surplus of South Korea with China was $32.5 billion in 2009. Politically, China and South Korea recognize Japanese war crimes and retain a firm stand on them. This way, they join their forces against the current stand on the war crimes supported by Japan. Finally, due to excessive interest of the United States in the region, South Korea remains influenced by Washington to some extent, especially in the issues that are related to opposition to North Korea. U.S. military bases are a result of close military ties between the countries. According to President Obama, “South Korea is one of America’s closest allies and greatest friends” (US Embassy Seoul, 2009: no page). Economic ties are no less strong thanks to the U.S. interest in South Korea as its strong ally in this region (along with Japan). In conclusion, South Korean geographic location has shaped the destiny of its foreign policy as well as its geographical identity. Locked in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea borders only with North Korea on land. Historical and geographical ties, as well as ethnical homogeneity are factors that shape any positive changes towards two countries’ collaboration. At the same time, South Korea remains hostile to its communistic neighbor and does not recognize its sovereignty. Geographical proximity has fueled the desire of the state to reunite the countries under its political system. In addition, Japan and China are two important players in the foreign policy field. Disputes over the islands with Japan (clearly, a geographical issue) have led to sometimes tense relationships with Japan. At the same time, the relationship with China has been highly successful. As for the United States, South Korea considers its role in the region due to existence of numerous military bases and beneficial treaties that boost the country’s economy. Bibliography AsiaInfo. 2013. South Korea. Available from http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/about_korea.htm. Accessed 17 Apr 2013. Aremu, F.A. N.d. Trade, Asymmetrical Dependence and Foreign Policy Behavior: An Analysis of Japan and Korea’s Relationship with East Asian Countries. Apu.Ac. Jp. Accessed 17 Apr 2013. Davis, L. 1999. South Korea. Mankato: Capstone. Feffer, J. 2011. North Korea/South Korea: U.S. policy at a time of crisis. Toronto: Seven Stories Press. O’Neill, T. 2003. Korea’s DMZ: Dangerous Divide. National Geographic. Available at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/north-korea/dmz-text/1Accessed 17 Apr 2013. Scanlon, C. 2005. South Korean fury over island dispute. BBC. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4347851.stm. Accessed 17 Apr 2013. Voice of America. South Korea formally declares End to Sunshine Policy. Available at: http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-formally-declares-end-to-sunshine-policy--108904544/130750.html Accessed 17 Apr 2013. Read More