South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun recently made some highly controversial comments during his keynote address to the United Nations:
President Roh Moo-hyun, in his keynote address at the 60th plenary session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, said the world “must shake off the mindset and vestiges of imperialism that appear to linger in various forms.” He also called for vigilance against a resurgence of “self-centered” major powers. Countries leading the international order today must first undertake a thorough self-examination and reflect on their past and future, Roh said.
The presidential spokesman said the remarks were made with no particular country in mind. But it is not hard to guess which country is being targeted by the use of the word "imperialism" in the world order unfolding since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
It is interesting that President Roh will make such comments when his country relies on the current world order to maintain Korea’s current economic might. This is what the Chosun Ilbo had to say in regards to this reality:
Our country is the 11th largest economy and 12th biggest trading nation in the world. That is the outcome of our rapid growth in the past 60 years since our liberation from Japanese colonial rule, fully enjoying the benefits from the international order that stands on the axis of the United States. The cold reality we face leaves us no alternative but to stake our future on exports. It must have been that consideration that prompted the president to dispatch our troops to Iraq despite opposition from his supporters.
Yet the same president who took that step has now branded the international order we have relied on and have no alternative to relying on in the future as "imperialism,” in an international arena where the leaders of over 170 countries were assembled.
That sort of thing is usually done on the formal diplomatic stage by some South American and African countries. No wonder then that a number of people who listened to the president’s address said it reminded them of the Bandung conference in the mid-1950s, where some Third-World countries attacked both the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
President Roh should also keep in mind that this so called imperialism that he is accusing the US of, Korea is guilty of as well. Many consider the US imperialists because of the unchecked spread of American companies and culture backed by US military might. Using this definition it is easy to argue that Korea is just as guilty of imperialism as the United States. They just commit it on smaller scale since they are a smaller country.
Here are a few examples. First of all, Korea has continued to build it’s economic muscle throughout the world by using cheap sweat shop labor from China, Cambodia, Philippines, etc. to manufacture products for export. Also, Korean culture has spread unchecked led by the Hallyu phenomenon that has spread throughout Asia and beyond. If people are tired of having American music pushed on them, than I’m also tired of having Bae Yong-joon being shoved down my throat. Korea as well has used their military might when needed to back their own economic interests. The sending of Korean soldiers to Vietnam is the ultimate example of this. In recently released documents, former President Park Chung-hee even admits to deploying troops to Vietnam for mainly economic reasons:
President Park Chung-hee viewed the Vietnam issue pragmatically. After reading a Cheong Wa Dae report in January 1965 on troop deployment to Vietnam, Park left a hand-written note in the report saying, "Deploying troops may be unavoidable, but we will make sure we get sufficient compensation" from the U.S.
The most recent example of using the military for economic reasons is the deployment of the Zaytun unit to Iraq. The Korean politicians can spin the reason for the deployment as for humanitarian purposes all they want, but the bottom line is that Korea is in Iraq for economic reasons which benefit the national interests of their country. If Korea was in Iraq for humanitarian purposes than they would be doing more than installing a few toilets.
Nations use their economic, cultural, & military capabilities in a manner that best advances their national interests. Korea is no different. So President Roh can whine all he wants about US imperialism, but if he really wants to end imperialism maybe he needs to start looking closer to home.
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