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By Sunny Lee
BEIJING — “The Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents revealed how China really sees the Korean Peninsula,” said Shin Young-soo, a well-known China expert who has lived in China for nearly two decades.
The two incidents were traumatic to South Koreans who wrongly believed Beijing would support Seoul in condemning North Korea’s belligerence. China did not. It simply called for “calm” in both Koreas.
“It’s natural that South Koreans were deeply dismayed. But the reality is that China has its own national interests on the Korean Peninsula. Now, the key question is what we’re going to do with that reality?” said Shin.
A graduate of Seoul National University with a Chinese major, Shin first arrived in China in early 1993, just a few months after Seoul and Beijing established diplomatic relations, as a correspondent for the Kyunghyang Sinmun newspaper. He has remained here since. As one of the first-generation China hands, who has witnessed China’s development and the Korean expatriate community’s expansion there, he is a sought-after figure by Korean diplomats and journalists who consult him to know “how China thinks.”
In Shin’s mind, understanding how the country thinks requires dropping one’s own cultural framework and seeing through its canopy to appreciate the embedded political code. For example, on the surface, today’s China looks very much like any other capitalist country in the world. Yet Shin warns against making a sweeping conclusion based on that observation.
“For example, Chinese textbooks still describe the Korean War as being started by South Korea, even though many people here know that it was actually started by North Korea,” said Shin.
The strong bond between Beijing and Pyongyang, based on the intimate relationship between the Communist Party and the Workers’ Party, still remains as a reality today, test-proven during the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents. From Shin’s view, the very expectation that China would support South Korea during last year’s two tragic incidents was a product of the incorrect reading of such a reality. And this misreading comes from Seoul’s lack of policy attention to Beijing.
“I am not sure how much effort South Korea put in to forge a policy framework for China,” said Shin. “We didn’t pay attention to this issue because the relationship in the past was very good.”
On the other hand, there is the view that the Lee Myung-bak administration didn’t pay enough attention to Beijing, as it was indulging in conspicuous infatuation with Washington. “The word ‘neglect’ may be the correct word to characterize the Lee administration’s attitude on China,” said Shin.
While South Korea’s security is primarily based on its alliance with the United States, Shin said, it is also important to strengthen its ties with China. “When you live right next to China, it is not an option. You have to learn to work with Beijing.”
For that matter, he sees the recent launching of a China research center under the foreign ministry’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security as a positive step in the right direction.
He recognizes the geopolitics surrounding the Korean Peninsula generates a situation in which both Koreas compete for China’s attention. He argues that South Korea should raise its stake by looking more attractive to China, so that Beijing can value Seoul over Pyongyang. “There is a story of a Chinese merchant who charges two different prices for the same product. So, one buyer protested: ‘How come you charge me 120 yuan, when you charge 100 yuan to the other person for the same product? That’s not fair.’ The merchant replied: ‘His value to me and your value to me are different. How can I then treat you two the same? That would be unfair.’” Shin emphasized that it is essential to understand how Chinese think.
Recently, a WikiLeaks memo sparked a debate on whether China can support unification of the Korean Peninsula under South Korea. Shin sees this as feasible. “Seoul should be able to show Beijing that unification under South Korea is also beneficial to China’s interests.”
Having said that, Shin sees the silver lining to the chilled relations between the two caused by the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents. “The incidents showed us where China stands. It’s an opportunity to confirm our differences and enhance mutual understanding. After rain comes fair weather.”
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