Asia | Asian geopolitics

South Korea has America in its face and China breathing down its neck

Yoon Suk-yeol can expect an awkward conversation in the Oval Office on April 26th

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers remarks to the U.S.-Korea Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
Image: Reuters
|BUSAN

Yoon Suk-yeol entered office last May with an ambitious vision for his country’s place in the world. He promised to make South Korea an assertive champion of freedom and human rights “not just for ourselves but also for others”. He spoke of it as a “global pivotal state”, pushing liberal values in developing and developed countries alike. Such rhetoric was unusual in a country that traditionally considers itself a shrimp trapped between whales.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Peninsula under pressure”

From the April 29th 2023 edition

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