Abstract
This chapter begins with a discussion of a new wave of anti-American movement in South Korea in 1985. 73 radical students occupied a USIS building in Seoul and demanded that the United States apologize for the Kwangju massacre. The Reagan administration rejected a proposal for using South Korean police and persuaded the students’ peaceful departure from the building. The United States was concerned about the escalation of violent struggles for political succession and of Chun’s extreme repressive measures. It expressed a particularly strong protest to the Chun government in regard to the allegations of torture. Impasse over the question of torture showed a limit to Reagan’s quiet diplomacy. Meanwhile, diplomatic tension between Washington and Seoul was further aggravated by the growing conflicts over bilateral trade. In a larger context of alliance politics, however, both allies managed to reach a compromise for mutually beneficial economic relations.
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Notes
- 1.
Richard Walker admitted his mistake made in an interview with a local newspaper, The State, in 1982. See his memoirs: Richard Walker, Hanguk ui chuok [Korean Remembrances] (Seoul: Hanguk munwon, 1998), 110–116.
- 2.
See Thomas P. H. Dunlop’s interviews in July, September, October, and November 1996 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (hereafter ADST), Library of Congress; Bernard Lavin interview in December 1988 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 3.
Author’s communications with Quinones, November 2017 and January 2019.
- 4.
The exchange between Dunlop and Ham was reexamined in Kyunghyang Shinmun, May 16, 2004.
- 5.
For the text of Walker’s letter, see The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement in Retrospective: A Critical Oral History, Briefing Book I (1985) (published in Seoul by The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History and The Wilson Center, 2017), 42. Also see Walker, Korean Remembrances, 94.
- 6.
Kyunghyang Shinmun, May 16, 2004.
- 7.
See the English text in The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement, Briefing Book I (1985), 42.
- 8.
For an outline of the joint statement issued on May 25, 1985, see Kim Dae Jung yonbo [The Chronology of Kim Dae Jung’s Activities], vol. 1 (Seoul: Yonsei University Kim Dae Jung Library, 2011), 444–445.
- 9.
See Paul Cleveland interview in October 1996 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 10.
Donga Ilbo, special issue, May 26, 1985.
- 11.
See the text of Reagan’s letter dated June 5, 1985, in The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement, Briefing Book I (1985), 83.
- 12.
For “Memorandum of Conversation” between Isom and Park Kun Woo on June 3, 1985, see “State Department Visitors to Korea” (declassified diplomatic documents: Korea National Diplomatic Archives) (hereafter KNDA), 1985, 21,015: 033–038.
- 13.
After serving in prison for three years, Ham Wun Kyung and Kim Min Suk were released in 1988. Other inmates involved in the USIS case had been released before 1988.
- 14.
Walker, Korean Remembrances, 95 and 127.
- 15.
As reported in New York Times, October 7, 1985.
- 16.
Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1985. Author’s conversation with Sohn Jae Souk in July 1987.
- 17.
Roh maintains that Huh Mun Do was a principal architect of the bill and that Lee Jong Chan (the DJP’s majority leader in the National Assembly) and Hyun Hong Joo (the DJP’s director of policy coordination) opposed the bill. See Roh Tae Woo, Hoegorok [Memoirs], vol. 1 (Seoul: Chosun News Press, 2011), 308.
- 18.
Walker, Korean Remembrances, 309–313.
- 19.
A partial text of Walker’s speech is in ibid., 312.
- 20.
As recalled by Kathleen Stephens in The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement in Retrospective: A Critical Oral History (Seoul: The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, 2018), 072. Stephens studied at Prescott College and Harvard University. After spending two years in South Korea as a peace corps volunteer, she joined the foreign service in 1978. She served at the US Embassy in Seoul for three years and at the consulate in Pusan for two years during the 1980s. Later she became ambassador in Seoul (2008–2011). Author’s interview with Stephens, June 2019.
- 21.
It was alleged that John Wickham Jr., USFK commander-in-chief, said in 1980 that Koreans were like “lemmings,” implying that they needed and followed a strong leader.
- 22.
Author’s conversation with student activists (one from Seoul National University and another from Yonsei University) during the 1980s, July 2019. They belonged to the so-called “386 generation”—age in the 30s (as of the 1990s), college experience in the 1980s, and born in the 1960s.
- 23.
Dunlop interviews in July, September, October, and November 1996 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST. For an excellent study of anti-Americanism in South Korea, see David Straub, Anti-Americanism in Democratizing South Korea (Stanford, CA: Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, 2015).
- 24.
William Clark Jr. interview in January 1994 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST. Clark studied at San Jose State University and University of Southern California Law School. He served as a naval officer during the Korean War and entered the Department of State in 1957. He was political counselor in Seoul (1977–1980) and DCM in Japan (1981–1985). He was deputy assistant secretary of state (1986–1989). Later he served as ambassador to India (1989–1992) and assistant secretary of state (1992–1993).
- 25.
See the text of “Anti-Americanism in Korea, Part III: Students and the Campuses,” in The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement, Briefing Book II (1986), 195–205.
- 26.
Cited in Korea and the United States Congress: 1945–2000 (Washington, DC: The Korean Embassy in the United States, 2001).
- 27.
For the English text, see ibid., 1133.
- 28.
See Lee Che Ju, Unron tongjae wa sinmun ui jehang [Press Suppression and Newspaper’s Resistance] (Seoul: Nanam chulpansa, 2003), 273–296. Author’s interview with Lee Che Ju, April 2018.
- 29.
Ibid., 290.
- 30.
Ibid., 5–11.
- 31.
Kim Kun Tae, Namyongdong, 5th ed. (Seoul: Chungwon munhwa, 2012). The first edition was issued in 1987 and became a best seller.
- 32.
See the cable Walker sent to the State Department on October 10, 1985, in The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement, Briefing Book I (1985), 17. Also see Straub, Anti-Americanism, 33.
- 33.
See The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement in Retrospective, 056. Author’s interview with Kathleen Stephens, June 2019.
- 34.
New York Times, October 20, 1985.
- 35.
Kim Kun Tae, Namyongdong, 31–32.
- 36.
The report “Trial Begins for Youth Activist Kim Kun-Tae: Kim Charges Inhumane Treatment” was written on December 24, 1985. See The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement, Briefing Book I (1985), 252–253.
- 37.
See the text of the Embassy’s prepared statement on June 30, 1986, in The 1987 Korean Democratization Movement, Briefing Book II (1986), 160–161.
- 38.
As quoted in Korea and the United States Congress, 1131–1133.
- 39.
As recalled in Paul Cleveland interview in October 1996 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 40.
Charles Stuart Kennedy’s view was expressed in David Blakemore interviews in November and December 1997, Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 41.
Dunlop, Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 42.
Author’s communication with an anonymous former diplomat, June 2017.
- 43.
See the text of Edward Kennedy’s speech on October 17, 1985, in Korea and the United States Congress, 1121–1124.
- 44.
According to the information about Kim Dae Jung’s activities, however, he met Walker at least twice in 1985. In March Walker visited Kim’s residence. Seven months later, Walker hosted a breakfast meeting with Kim Dae Jung, Kim Young Sam, and Lee Min Woo. See The Chronology of Kim Dae Jung’s Activities.
- 45.
For Isom’s meeting with Kim Young Sam, see Dunlop, Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 46.
For “Memorandum of Conversation” between Isom and Lee Sang Ock on December 6, 1985, see “State Department Visitors to Korea,” KNDA, 1985, 21,015: 201–207.
- 47.
See Dunlop’s briefings on Isom’s meetings with both Kims to Chang Sun Sup on December 5 and 7, 1985, in ibid., 21,015: 208–213.
- 48.
For John Kerry’s speech and the resolution, see Korea and the United States Congress, 1125–1128.
- 49.
Author’s interviews with SaKong Il, April 2018 and March 2019. SaKong graduated from Seoul National University and received a PhD from UCLA. He taught at New York University and University of Sheffield (UK). He served as president of the Korea Institute for International Economics and Trade and as vice president of the Korea Development Institute before becoming senior secretary to the president for economic affairs (1983–1987) and finance minister (1987–1988). Kim Jae Ick (BA from Seoul National University and PhD from Stanford University) served as director-general for Economic Planning on the Economic Planning Board.
- 50.
For the text of Kim Kyung Won’s address on November 9, 1987, at the University of Kansas, see Kim Kyung Won, “Prospects for Korea,” in Korea 1988: A Nation at the Crossroads, ed. G. Cameron Hurst III (Lawrence, KS: The Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas, 1988), 1–9.
- 51.
For discussions of US-South Korean economic relations, see Chae-Jin Lee and Hideo Sato, U.S. Policy Toward Japan and Korea: A Changing Influence Relationship (New York: Praeger, 1982), 152–181; and Chae-Jin Lee, A Troubled Peace: U.S. Policy and the Two Koreas (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006), 153–157.
- 52.
As cited in Lee, A Troubled Peace, 154.
- 53.
See James Lilley’s interviews in March and October 1998 and January and April 1999 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 54.
See a detailed report “2 Deaver Inquiries Are Reported Extended to Asia” filed for the New York Times, August 11, 1986. Deaver was investigated for his illegal lobbying activities.
- 55.
See “Health Experts Blast Promotion of U.S. Tobacco in Third World,” Washington Post, February 19, 1988.
- 56.
Il SaKong, Korea in the World Economy (Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, 1993), 133. Author’s interviews with SaKong, April 2018 and March 2019. I wish to thank SaKong and Chung Chul (vice president, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy) for giving me useful economic data.
- 57.
For the text of the letter and the list of 20 senators, see “Korea-US Tobacco Negotiations” (a set of confidential documents declassified in 2019), KNDA, 2015100038: 269–270.
- 58.
See the text of Kim Kyung Won’s earlier letter to 20 senators, in ibid., 2,015,100,038: 200–202.
- 59.
See the text of the ROU signed on May 27, 1988, in ibid., 2,017,110,078: 141–146. Since the South Korean government made substantial concessions to the United States, it took a low-key posture and tried to avoid much publicity.
- 60.
For Chun Doo Hwan’s letter to Reagan on August 29, 1984, see “Chun Doo Hwan’s Visit to America 1985,” (declassified diplomatic document in Korean), KNDA, 1985, 21,998: 005–007.
- 61.
For the text of Gaston Sigur’s memorandum to Robert McFarlane on September 7, 1984, in “Executive Secretariat, NSC: Country File—South Korea,” The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
- 62.
The New York Times report, “Reagan Seeks Cut in Steel Imports through Accords,” was filed on September 19, 1984.
- 63.
For the text of Brock’s letter, see “Korea-US Steel Negotiations” (a set of confidential documents declassified in 2019), KNDA, 21038: 269–270. Other major steel exporters shared the US market as follows: Japan (5.8%), EU (5.8%), Brazil (0.8%), Mexico (0.8%), Spain (0.67%), South Africa (0.42%), and Australia (0.18%). Also see Richard Pomfret, “World Steel Trade at a Crossroads,” Journal of World Trade 22, no. 3 (1988): 81–89.
- 64.
See the text of Shultz’s letter to Lew Byong Hion on December 24, 1984, in “Korea-US Steel Negotiations,” KNDA, 21038: 282.
- 65.
In 1986, for example, the VRAs caused the prices of imported steel in the United States to increase by 4.3%, US exports in steel-consuming industries to decrease by $673 million, and US imports in steel-consuming industries to increase by $992 million. See The Effects of the Steel Voluntary Restraint Agreements on U.S. Steel-Consuming Industries, USITC Publication 2182, May 1989.
- 66.
Upon UPI’s invitation, the author delivered a dozen lectures at Pittsburg in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For US staff he discussed South Korea’s cultural characteristics, decision-making processes, and domestic and foreign policies. For POSCO’s mid-level managers he explained the primary characteristics of American economic and political development. The lectures were designed to enhance mutual understanding between the two organizations.
- 67.
See “Memorandum of Conversation” between Shultz and Choi Kwang Soo in “Shultz’s Visit to Korea 1987” (declassified diplomatic document), KNDA, 1987, 21,614: 195–206.
- 68.
The Directorate of Intelligence issued “South Korea’s Economy: Booming Again” on February 6, 1987. It was declassified in part and approved for public release on March 19, 2012.
- 69.
Ibid., 6.
- 70.
For Shultz’s letter to Choi Kwang Soo on March 6, 1987, see “Shultz’s Visit to Korea 1987,” KNDA, 1987, 21,614: 242.
- 71.
For “Memorandum of Conversation” between Clark and Yoo Chong Ha on October 31, 1986, see “Visits by Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State” (declassified diplomatic documents in Korean), KNDA, 1986, 20,441: 102–106. Author’s conversations with Yoo Chong Ha, April 2018 and March 2019. A graduate of Seoul National University, Yoo entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1959. He served in the United States for several years and became director-general for American Affairs in 1979 and assistant foreign minister in 1986. Later he served as ambassador to the European Union and the United Nations and foreign minister (1996–1998).
- 72.
Gregg Brazinsky, National Building in South Korea: Koreans, Americans, and the Making of Democracy (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007), 245.
- 73.
For South Korea’s announcement on January 21, 1987, see “Shultz’s Visit to Korea 1987,” KNDA, 1987, 21,614: 164–165.
- 74.
For example, see “Statement by Deputy Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs Djerejian on the South Korea–United States Trade Policy, July 21, 1986,” in The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
- 75.
For Reagan’s statement and the White House Fact Sheet, see Department of State Bulletin, April 1988, 65.
- 76.
As candidly exposed in Paul Cleveland interview, Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
- 77.
William Clark Jr. interview in January 1994 for Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, ADST.
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Lee, CJ. (2020). Protests, Succession Struggles, and Economic Relations. In: Reagan Faces Korea. The Evolving American Presidency. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30500-0_5
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