Ukraine needs Korea's support

A soldier carries a bag as he helps a woman and a child fleeing from Ukraine, on their arrival at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, March 10. AP-Yonhap

By Scott Shepherd

Time goes past so quickly. Dear reader, you may not remember, but last month everyone was fixated on the Beijing Olympics. Look, she's wearing a hanbok! Hey, the referees are biased! Let's boycott the Games! It all feels like another age, an innocent time of relative peace when no world leaders were ominously hinting at nuclear war.

By now, most of us have probably forgotten all about all of February's controversies and fears. Back in those halcyon days, Russia's military build-up seemed to most, including me, to be nothing but a ploy to gain some kind of diplomatic concessions somewhere down the line.

Now, instead of worrying about who's allowed to wear the hanbok and wondering whether we should boycott people stylishly falling down snow, we watch with sinking stomachs as the world's largest country invades its much smaller neighbour to the west.

And we've been shocked as the apparently mighty Russian army has been all but stopped in its tracks by logistical problems combined with heroic resistance from the soldiers and people of Ukraine. It seems clear now that Russia's "special military operation" (doublespeak for "invasion of a sovereign nation") was poorly planned, poorly coordinated and based on obviously flawed assumptions. The fact that the invasion has been executed so badly almost makes it worse, since it may well lead to a greater loss of life and a more extended conflict.

However, while the world goes mad speculating about Putin's mental state and admiring Zelenskyy's Churchillian leadership, South Korea's response to the crisis has largely gone unnoticed.

Although the Moon Jae-in's administration was fairly quick to condemn the aggression, his government was far slower to actually act on it. They were slow to impose sanctions, and imposed them with far less obvious willingness than Japan. And then presidential-candidate Lee Jae-myung actually said that the invasion had "nothing to do with us" and went even further to suggest that the invasion was actually Zelenskyy's fault. So, though Korea did indeed join in on Western sanctions, it did so late and with little gusto.

This reaction is hardly a surprise. There are plenty of reasons for Korea not to get involved. It's none of Korea's business, the argument goes; Ukraine is far away while Russia is alarmingly close. It's hard enough getting by in this world without aggravating a huge nuclear nation on Korea's doorstep. Plus, Korea is in the middle of the biggest COVID wave the country's ever seen, the nation just had a presidential election, the economy isn't doing great, there's inflation, the dollar's so much stronger than the won and no-one's having any babies and so on and so on ad infinitum.

These are all good points. But they don't take away the fact that a sovereign country is right now being invaded by its much bigger neighbour. It is the duty both of nations and of individuals to stick up for the weak and oppressed when they are being unjustly attacked.

Obviously, direct intervention isn't always a great idea: There are plenty of American foreign policy disasters from the last century ― or even the last few decades. But no-one south of the DMZ is going to complain that the UN intervened in 1950 when South Korea's forces had been pushed all the way to Busan by the North's invading army.

The intervention, led by the United States and followed primarily by Britain ― but also including numerous other countries including tiny Luxembourg ― bought the Republic of Korea's independence at a great price. Approximately 37,000 American and 1,100 British soldiers died fighting for the South's independence in the Korean War, not to mention of course, the much lower figures from other participating countries and much higher figures for China and the Koreas. Two soldiers from Luxembourg, a country with a population in 1950 of roughly 300,000, died protecting South Korea's sovereignty.

It is true, of course, that it took many decades for real democracy to take hold in Korea. But take hold it did. I wouldn't be writing this article for this newspaper in this country without the sacrifice that others made for the sake of the Republic of Korea.

The lacklustre response to participating in sanctions, then, feels so wrong.

Nonetheless, the Korean War was self-serving, cry the nay-sayers; they just joined in to contain communism, not out of some kind of pure altruistic love. This is obviously true, but even from a narrowly self-interested Korean perspective, it is vital that Russia does not win this war. If powerful countries are seen to be able to invade their neighbours with impunity, the inhabitants of Seoul could have a lot more to worry about than falling stock markets and rising oil prices.

As a world, if we fail to impose costs on aggressor states simply because we don't want to pay the price, if we refuse to stand up when others are attacked, then we have no right to expect aid when it is our time of need.

And make no mistake, this is a direct, intentional attack on Ukraine's sovereignty. The humanity alone of the situation should itself be enough to spur us into action, rather than a lukewarm participation, a mere following of America's lead. Even for the more callous and self-centred policy-makers, this should be seen as a question of Korea's own sovereignty and security.

Obviously, Russia's nuclear arsenal makes direct military intervention unthinkable: No-one wants to start World War 3. And who knows how well sanctions will actually work in deterring Putin? A belated, weak response, however, sends the signal that we don't care. While the West has imposed incredibly stringent measures on Russia ― far more than anyone really expected ― Korea really could show more willingness to participate.

We can't simply forget this news after a few weeks. This is far too important. I hope that Korea's incoming president, Yoon Suk-yeol, recognizes that from both a humanitarian and a self-perspective, Ukraine needs Korea's support ― not some half-hearted, reluctant joining-in of sanctions, but real, meaningful action as part of an international order that stands up to Russia's brazen aggression.

There is hope for peace, but it won't come about through inaction. The world can be a scary place, and we must stick with those who are attacked. Though Ukraine is far away, though it has a very different culture and though others are already providing aid, we cannot see Russian aggression as someone else's problem. Just as the world stood with South Korea 72 years ago, it is the duty of the free and the strong to stand with Ukraine now. This is in Korea's own interest and ― more importantly ― it's the right thing to do. Slava Ukraini.

Dr. Scott Shepherd is a British-American academic. He has taught in universities in the U.K. and Korea, and is currently an assistant professor of English at Chongshin University in Seoul. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.