By Bernard Rowan
This column concerns South Korea's status and efforts as a regional leader. I think Korea has the interests and abilities to serve as a critical force in preserving peace within the region. I also think doing so advances Korea's interests as a nation, economy and society. However, doing so implies certain of the present administration's stances are counterproductive.
South Korea is a middle power, so say many. I don't think the indices of "middle power," great power and superpower stand clear today. By many reckonings, South Korea is a middle power. Its economy ranks 11th in the world, according to statisticstimes.com for GDP.
Her armed forces rank seventh, according to army-technology.com and globalfirepower.com. These rankings don't sound like a middle power to me. Are all powers middle except for two or three superpowers? South Korea's population ranks 28th, according to United Nations statistics, but Korea clearly is a leading global power today.
Important stands the human capital of Korean workers and leaders of all ranks. Also consider the high literacy rate of the nation. South Korea places a premium on having the educated as leaders. I count Korea's geographic position between Russia, China, and Japan as a historical reason that favors her regional positioning for leadership. South Korea has survived and thrived through balancing relations with other regional partners, also powerful nations.
Now, though the Moon administration has overly focused on North Korea. All such efforts result in disappointment and deeper insecurity. Too much focus on Japan's past misdeeds and Dokdo results in disappointment. Korea should focus more on other regional partners, including Southeast Asian nations. I think it's less dramatic than demilitarizing Panmunjeom, but the Mekong or New Southern Policy will yield greater dividends for Korea and regional peace.
No one can deny China her ascent to perhaps the world's most powerful nation over the next 200 years. A similar trajectory for India may follow close on. However, for the needs of the Korean people and democracy, South Korea's continued development in concert with regional partners such as Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia among many others remains necessary.
The United States can't remain big brother or hyeong to all. It makes sense that South Korea's experience of development and the path to advancement in a digital, connected and sustainable society can be a model for others. The work of Park Eung-kyuk called "Korea: From Rags to Riches" provides many examples.
For reasons historical and present-day, China and Japan will remain rival regional powers. Nothing in the present context foreshadows anything different. The United States and China will remain regional powers in competition. Nothing in the regional or global dynamic predicts otherwise ― and pitifully. Russia will continue her path as spoiler until the post-Putin era.
In this disorganized and less stable mix, South Korea can navigate among the various regional and international players to make gains. In a sense this is the secret of Moon's peninsular security strategy. North Korea hasn't and won't to my prediction fulfill its end of the bargain, but China and the U.S. have seen South Korea take a leading role and followed. What that looks like depends more on context, interests and the stakes involved, among many reasons.
The continued modernization and development of South Korea's military will enable her to protect the South Korean people. It also contributes to the world's stock of nations ready to defend the democratic and global development of humanity.
South Korea's continued leadership in ASEAN and various other Asian organizations should exert influence for the Korean national interest and regional progress. Wikipedia lists nearly 70 such organizations to which South Korea belongs, an enviable set of bases for exerting influence on a world scale.
Gone should be the days when South Koreans abstain from leadership. Too many of my friends and colleagues still act as if South Korea is a small nation with few people and little economic power. The mention of poverty after the Korean War and difficulties of emerging to democracy are important touchstones. However, South Korea is no longer anything other than a leading world nation.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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South Korea is a middle power, so say many. I don't think the indices of "middle power," great power and superpower stand clear today. By many reckonings, South Korea is a middle power. Its economy ranks 11th in the world, according to statisticstimes.com for GDP.
Her armed forces rank seventh, according to army-technology.com and globalfirepower.com. These rankings don't sound like a middle power to me. Are all powers middle except for two or three superpowers? South Korea's population ranks 28th, according to United Nations statistics, but Korea clearly is a leading global power today.
Important stands the human capital of Korean workers and leaders of all ranks. Also consider the high literacy rate of the nation. South Korea places a premium on having the educated as leaders. I count Korea's geographic position between Russia, China, and Japan as a historical reason that favors her regional positioning for leadership. South Korea has survived and thrived through balancing relations with other regional partners, also powerful nations.
Now, though the Moon administration has overly focused on North Korea. All such efforts result in disappointment and deeper insecurity. Too much focus on Japan's past misdeeds and Dokdo results in disappointment. Korea should focus more on other regional partners, including Southeast Asian nations. I think it's less dramatic than demilitarizing Panmunjeom, but the Mekong or New Southern Policy will yield greater dividends for Korea and regional peace.
No one can deny China her ascent to perhaps the world's most powerful nation over the next 200 years. A similar trajectory for India may follow close on. However, for the needs of the Korean people and democracy, South Korea's continued development in concert with regional partners such as Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia among many others remains necessary.
The United States can't remain big brother or hyeong to all. It makes sense that South Korea's experience of development and the path to advancement in a digital, connected and sustainable society can be a model for others. The work of Park Eung-kyuk called "Korea: From Rags to Riches" provides many examples.
For reasons historical and present-day, China and Japan will remain rival regional powers. Nothing in the present context foreshadows anything different. The United States and China will remain regional powers in competition. Nothing in the regional or global dynamic predicts otherwise ― and pitifully. Russia will continue her path as spoiler until the post-Putin era.
In this disorganized and less stable mix, South Korea can navigate among the various regional and international players to make gains. In a sense this is the secret of Moon's peninsular security strategy. North Korea hasn't and won't to my prediction fulfill its end of the bargain, but China and the U.S. have seen South Korea take a leading role and followed. What that looks like depends more on context, interests and the stakes involved, among many reasons.
The continued modernization and development of South Korea's military will enable her to protect the South Korean people. It also contributes to the world's stock of nations ready to defend the democratic and global development of humanity.
South Korea's continued leadership in ASEAN and various other Asian organizations should exert influence for the Korean national interest and regional progress. Wikipedia lists nearly 70 such organizations to which South Korea belongs, an enviable set of bases for exerting influence on a world scale.
Gone should be the days when South Koreans abstain from leadership. Too many of my friends and colleagues still act as if South Korea is a small nation with few people and little economic power. The mention of poverty after the Korean War and difficulties of emerging to democracy are important touchstones. However, South Korea is no longer anything other than a leading world nation.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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