The ROK-U.S. Alliance— Our Investment in Our Future

By Lieutenant General (Ret.) In-Bum Chun, Republic of Korea Army

the US military is not able to grasp. It seems to me that the US military can win a fight but has problems winning the war.

It took me about 25 years before I was genuinely comfortable working with Americans and I knew that I could trust a US soldier anytime and anywhere. Soldiers do not include politicians and glory seekers in uniform.

tendency to translate, of what little they care to see, in their own terms. Most Koreans seem to go about their business and bother not to think about what they cannot affect. Instead, they worry and leave it to someone else to solve it and concentrate on making a living. This seems true for most countries but more so for a small country caught in the middle.

Myfirst encounter with Americans was in 1982 as a Second Lieutenant. Korea was just beginning a new stage in its history with the assassination of Park Chunghee and a new military government of President Chun Doohwan. Koreans weren't starving but we were still struggling.

I met my Americans in the field. They were in tanks. The US troops were well fed and far better equipped than the Koreans. I was proud of my service but envied what most Americans took for granted, like the warm stoves they all had.

In 1986, as a senior captain, I went to Yongsan as an action officer. That's a person who has to work. My Americans were kind and decent people. They were respectful of our culture but some were critical. But even the critical ones were motivated by a frustration to see Koreans become better and in most cases I agreed with their views. There were some bigots, and racism could be seen, but you could avoid them and most of my decent Americans didn't like them either. Still even the most casual comments revealed what Americans thought of Koreans. One day a US Colonel who was a really good person and excellent soldier said, "In-Bum, quit the Korean Army and join the US Army and I'll make you a captain.” I replied, "Sir, I'm already a Major in my Army. You should be offering me a promotion not a demotion.” That was 1995.

Lieutenant General (Ret.) In-Bum Chun is an expert in US-Korean military relations. Here he shares his early experiences working with U.S. soldiers. He mentions the socioeconomic and cultural barriers, as well as the discrimination, that impacted his ability to deeply connect with U.S. soldiers. His message below is that we must all make it a priority to invest in enhancing connectedness and understanding each other, to build our USFK community. He also speaks to opportunities for Korea to become more involved in the global community through partnerships and alliances.

It seemed the United States could do everything by itself but it soon proved that was not the case. By 2005, America needed allies. Koreans were capable and good at Civil affairs. Something even to this day

Among all my recognitions from the United States, from the Army Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, three Legion of Merits and a US Bronze Star medal, the one I cherish the most is my US Special Operations Command Medal for being a good leader of a combined force of Koreans and US Special Operators when I commanded the Korean Special Forces because not only is it hard to get, but because it was awarded without prejudice.

The most important thing to combined operations is to understand each other. It is astonishing that the two allies put a lot of lip service to this but is an afterthought rather than a priority.

The US has a rotation system that constantly changes its people. Those who remain for extended tours are the continuity or a collection of bad habits. This is the US excuse. On the other hand, the Korean excuse is still, to this day, uncomprehendable.

That is why I stay connected to try my best to enhance understanding between Korean and US military because for me it is a priority and not an afterthought.

A Frog in a Well

In the past five years, we have seen a polarization of the world where freedom and democracy are being threatened at its roots. An increase of the possibility of nuclear war and global conflict is a reality, not to mention a nuclear weapon armed North Korea. The Peoples Republic of China is consolidating its hold on its people and during this process, a very dangerous nationalism is giving rise in China that has the potential for a forced action against Taiwan. The QUAD, AUKUS and Indo-Pacific are concepts that are an effort to preserve freedom and stability, but Korea has been reluctant because of its wish to stay in the middle ground for as long as possible.

The world is in vortex and if you were to ask a Korean what he or she thought, it would depend on which Korean you were asking. The greatest problem of the Korean people is their narrow view of the world and the

Then there are the extreme Left and Right. Both factions hold a world view that is extreme and most times irrational such as to solve the disease you should not be scared to kill the patient. To advocate neutrality and peace as well as promoting anti-Japanese sentiment is an easy message to the Korean public but without a realistic view of the circumstances it puts Koreans in a dangerous situation. For the average Korean, they are more preoccupied with important matters such as, is it going to rain today and who won the soccer match as well as gas prices and the price of Soju.

To these people, the missile launches from North Korea is a concern that hopefully their elected political leaders can take care of, but trust in government is minimal at best and instinctively they are relieved to know that as long as American troops are on Seoul

Korean soil, that they are safe. A vast majority of the South Koreans believe that the South Korean military can deal with North Korea because we have a stronger military. This thought is projected by both the Left and Right for different reasons. The Left want to downplay the North Korean military so they can pursue detente and the Right marginalize the North Korean threat because the Right believe that the North Korean regime is brittle and needs but a little push.

The animosity coming from the US is uncomfortable because it is disrupting business. The warnings coming from a belligerent Chinese leader or the very threat that a new China is posing to the Korean way of life is not the immediate issue for most Koreans. This might be true of all societies and here is where leaders must set the course of a nation.

Moon set a course for peace, but it seemed as if he was saying it's better to be red than dead. Yoon on the other hand is setting upon a course that is opposite to the progressives. Unfortunately, he does this with a weak support base and lack of enough foreplay to establish a common understanding or support.

The reality that is upon the Korean people is a China being led by a dictatorial leader who is fostering Chinese nationalism that is endangering Korean sovereignty. The United States who is the lifeline to

Korean security is at odds with China and Chinese aspirations can collide with the United States at any moment.

Russia has started a War in Europe further polarizing the world and Iran and North Korean nuclear aspirations are continuing with new twists like the normalization of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia that was brokered by none other than China. Then there is climate change and emerging threats to human life like the Wuhan virus. All this spells one thing: rapid change.

The Koreans must understand this Tsunami and prepare and ride the waves. They must face the fact that we cannot hide from these events and although it is easy to say we need to keep an equal distance, that is not an option. But to many Koreans, staying neutral is still thought to be an option. This is propelled by politicians who advocate peace but might be leading Koreans into a vacuum where they have lost their window of opportunity to ride the waves of change like they did in the early twentieth century, where Korea became a colony of Japan.

Koreans have a window of opportunity to choose their future, but this window is closing. Koreans must not be a frog in a well who thinks the well that he dwells in is the entire world.