Anti-Americanism in South Korea and the Future of the U.S. Presence

Abstract

The United States has been intricately involved in the politics of South Korea since the end of the Second World War. Today, more than 37,000 United States troops remain stationed in South Korea. The United States presence has been a topic of contention on both sides of the Pacific in the past. Current international events coupled with political-social changes in South Korea have made the future of the U.S. presence more critical. This paper presents an analysis of South Korean anti-Americanism. It traces the key current issues affecting anti-Americanism and looks at the sources of these issues. The paper then considers how anti-Americanism will be affected by generally accepted unification scenarios.