Anti-Americanism and Pro-Americanism - Literature review Example

Anti-Americanism and Pro-Americanism Introduction Anti-Americanism in Korea Anti-Americanism is a term that is commonly used to discredit and characterized a wide range of comments pertaining to the United States. There exists some controversy as to what exactly is the meaning of the term anti-Americanism and as such, there is no widely accepted definition of the term as any criticism of the United States can easily, and has been, smacked with this pejorative label. Anti-Americanism as a term has been use denote a particular attitude of aversion, distaste, intense hostility or mindset that is seen to have roots emanating from matters that are seen to be unrelated to the actual attributes or qualities of the United States foreign policy or American society. Anti-Americanism can also be seen to refer to a bias that happens to have a negative disposition towards the United States in addition to its also being exhibited towards the general American social arrangement (Kim and Lee 231) On the other hand, pro-Americanism is seen to be defined as the support by individuals, countries and groups towards the United States, its culture, society and policies. According to Lee and Kim (234), there virtually no discernable anti-American movements in South Korea during the 1950s. This is because most Koreans felt that they were greatly indebted to the United States as a result of its participation in the Korean war of 1950-1953. Most Koreans felt that by sacrificing the lives of numerous American Soldiers, the United States was successfully able to prevent South Korea from being taken over by the North Korean communists. This rather deep sense of gratitude to America was seen to continue through the post war recovery period of the 1950s as South Korea continued to receive and greatly benefit from and infusion of American grants and military aids. South Korea was also able to receive a technical and political advice from the United States whose support was widely deemed as being highly essential for the eventual recovery of South Korea form the devastating effects of the war. The first wave of anti-American sentiments in South Korea was seen to occur in 1960 when Syngman Rhee’s corrupt and despotic regime was successfully ousted by the April Uprising of journalists, urban intellectuals and students who immediately instigated a discussion of national unification (Kim and Lee 234). Main Issues and Arguments While the United States is seen today seen by some to stand as the most admired nation in the world, it is however also seen to stand as the most hated nation on the planet. Anti-Americanism has grown to emerge as a global phenomenon with the United States becoming a rather popular symbol for injustice, evil and corruption in many different parts across the world (Jinwung 36). Young (180) is seen to support the Kim and Lee (234) assessment that there was relatively very little anti-Americanism in South Korea prior to 1980 by pointing out that, although there had been some anti-American sentiments in Korea prior to the 1980s that mainly involved emotional, momentary and unorganized reactions to a number of diverse and rather sporadic political events that did not necessarily involve the United States, these Anti-American sentiments did not actually manage to organize into a systematic ideology until the 1980s. Some of the events that eventually resulted in the emergence of Anti-Americanism in Korea included, the nullification of the first treaty signed between Korea and the United states by the United States’ signing of the secret Taft-Katsura Agreement in 1905, American military administration of Korea that was seen to span over the country’s military, economic and political structures, as well as the acceptance by the United States of the May 16th coup of 1961 that served to overthrow the first ever democratically elected government in Korea (Young 180). The Anti-Americanism that developed in Korea during the 1980’s is seen to have displayed a rather distinctive ideological tendency that was seen to pursue a structural and fundamental change within the Korean social system that had been greatly around with a mainly anti-American revolutionary theory. This Anti-Americanism is seen to have primarily stemmed from both the events and aftermath of the Gwangju uprising. After the Gwangju massacre, many young Koreans became actively convinced that the massacre was only made possible by the extremely tacit consent of the United States which although having operational command over most of Korea’s armed forces did not try to stop it from moving to viciously suppress the uprising (Young 181). There develop widespread cynicism and skepticism of the United States that had previously endeavored to preach freedom, human rights and democracy, the United States was seen to have chosen to shelter the country’s authoritarian military dictatorship by not stopping it from committing the massacre (Jinwung 44). Resentment towards the United States is also seen to have been developed by a number of progressive-minded activists that believed that the United States actually happened to value anti-communism more than it valued democracy and human rights (Young 181-182). Over the recent years, anti-Americanism is seen to have grown to become increasingly more popular across the different social strata in Korea as a result of a number of newly emergent factors that variously include the fact that there has been ongoing dispute pertaining to the jurisdiction over the members of the U.S. military and especially so as regards to their committing of criminal offences that is seen to frequently generate public protest against the United States. An example of this is the 1962 shooting of two Korean wood workers by US soldiers that caused thousands of students to rise up in protest and seek to demand for a bilateral treaty to be established that would serve to regulate jurisdiction over any U.S. soldiers based in South Korea that happened to commit any crimes. This resulted in the creation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that was ratified in 1967. However, as a result of South Korean courts not having any jurisdiction over criminally liable U.S. soldiers, there was still some considerable discontent among many South Koreans. It is this discontent that caused for South Koreans to call for a second SOFA agreement, an objective which was finally seen to be achieved by the revision of the SOFA agreement in 1991 and 2001. While this revision ensured that South Korean authorities could now be able to prosecute suspicious U.S. soldiers, there is still some discontent among South Koreans who consider the agreement as being unfair (Kern 261). While the sunshine policy popularized by former president Kim Dae-Jung was seen to greatly improve the relations between the two Koreas in addition to aiding in the reunification of a number of families, as well as causing many Koreans to gain hope in there being a possibility of a Korea without the ever omnipresent danger of a sudden war and the possibility of a life without the National Security Law, President Bush’s rejection of this Sunshine Policy as well as his Jan 2002 axis of evil speech caused for there to emerge a great anti-Americanism stir in both South Korea and North Korea. The United States was held as being responsible for the subsequent failure in the establishment of confidence-building measures between the two states. This is widely considered to be a key recent factor that is seen to have resulted in the development of anti-Americanism in Korea (Kern 262). The dispatch of South Korean troops to Iraq during the Iraq was by the United States is also seen to be a major factor that contributed to the development of anti-Americanism within South Korea. With a dispatch of an estimated over 3,000 troops, South Korea was the third largest troop contingent after Britain and the United States, the Iraq war was soon to quickly become the object of very strong anti-American protests in South Korea. According to Ick (112), there are about five major American stereotypes that are seen to have been developed over a period spanning over the last 150 years and have helped in informing the current anti-Americanism in Korea, these are seen to variously include: America as a Country full of Robbers and Uncultured Savages: This stereotype is seen to have been the first stereotype formed by Koreans concerning the United States and was largely based on the traditional Eastern Asia world viewed which worked by effectively dividing everything under the Sun into the two unequal spheres of China and the surrounding non-Chinese barbarian territories (Ick 112). By virtue of the Fact that America was located outside the Chinese cultural sphere, Koreans regarded is as being a nation of Barbarians, beasts, and savages. America as a Wealthy, Powerful and Civilized Nation: The second Stereotype of the United States to emerge in Korea was the view that the United States was essentially the wealthiest nation in the world in addition to its having a significantly vast territory. This stereotype was further strengthened by the fact that the United States actively pursued a policy of constantly attempting to hold strong nations in check as well as attempting to assist the weak nations in-line with the established Christian altruism. This position caused America to be largely considered as being a wealthy, powerful and civilized nation that could be depended upon (Ick 117). America as an Imperial Aggressor: The development of the stereotype that America was an imperialist and capitalistic aggressor that could not be trusted or supported is seen to have first appeared among Korean intellectuals as a result of the United States’ colonization and subsequent occupation of the Philippines in 1898 as a direct consequence of its having won the Spanish-American war. Koreans became of the belief that they should guard their country against America and if possible drive American’s out of its country (Ick 128). America as a Racist Nation: Under Japanese colonial rule in the 1930s, there quickly developed the view that America was essentially a very aggressive nation that belonged to the white race. This stereotype that quickly spread to a number of sectors in society is seen to have primarily been based on pan-Asianism and the supremacy of the yellow race (Ick 134). America as a Nation in Terminal Decline: In recent times, the fifth stereotype of America that is seen to have emerged in Korea is based on a pessimistic view of the entire Western civilization. This stereotype compares the current American civilization to that of the Roman Empire and Perceives the United States as being a nation that is quickly spiraling into moral and spiritual bankruptcy (Ick 140). Conclusion The current anti-American protests in South Korea can be deduced to be as a result of a power struggle that is largely driven by strong antagonistic forces within South Korea’s societal subsystems. As a result of this, the United States has a very limited influence on the overall anti-American atmosphere in South Korea. As such, measures should be taken by both the South Korean and American governments to stop the spread and possibly alleviate the development of these anti-American sentiments in Korea. In addition to serving the interests of these two nations, the development of improved Korea-U.S. relations would also serve to promote regional/global stability and peace. Works cited Ick Lew. A Historical Overview of Korean Perceptions of the United States: Five Major Stereotypes. KOREA JOURNAL / SPRING 2004. pp 108-151. Jinwung Kim. The Nature of South Korean Anti-Americanism. KOREAN JOURNAL / SPRING 1994. PP 36-47. Kern Thomas. Anti-Americanism in South Korea: From Structural Cleavages to Protest. KOREA JOURNAL / SPRING 2005. pp 256-288. Kim Sunhyuk and Lee Sun. “Dynamics of Contention” in Democratic Korea: The Role of Anti -Americanism*. KOREA JOURNAL / SUMMER 2011. pp 229-255. Young Park. The Evolution of Anti-Americanism in Korea: Policy Implications for the United States. KOREA JOURNAL / WINTER 2007. pp 177-195. Read More