The History and Future of Korean Geopolitics

The news likes to talk about North Korea, mostly due to the shock factor it gives viewers. However, there is a lot more going on in the Korean peninsula than North Korea's nuclear antics, and today's video aims to give a wider view of what could happen there.

A video about a post-Putin Russia:

#korea #northkorea #southkorea

[protestantwarrior]

South Korean constitution: Article 3: The territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean peninsula and its adjacent islands. Article 4: The Republic of Korea shall seek unification and shall formulate and carry out a policy of peaceful unification based on the principles of freedom and democracy.

[CairnsG]

First comment from Scotland! Alba gu bràth! (Scotland for ever)

[prunprun]

The conciliatory approach to Japan is entirely based on the expectation that the United States and Japan will help unify the Korean peninsula.

If the United States give the control of the northern peninsula and 25 million brothers to a communist country, South Korea could rather break away from this pointless alliance and start negotiating with China alone.

The U.S. and Japan have actually made several such attempts, which fuels South Koreans' suspicions of an alliance.

[SnghoHan]

Thank you so much on covering North Korea on its proper significance level. As a Korean who likes to browse international stances on regional issues for neutral points of views, I'm just sick and tired of those westerners making "oH nO, sCarY nOoK tEsT OmG" videos. Koreans are more mad about issues like Japan denying past atrocities and the Kimchi Poacai dispute aka the international version of false YouTube copyright strikes performed by China aimed at Korea.

[joncarter]

Перший коментар з України (First comment from Ukraine)

[K.Maroon]

I think you overrate the Korea-Japan hatred towards each other. There is no tensions between them right now. They have an embassies in each other countries. There don't like each other, but they need eachother to oppose dprk and prc regimes.

[hong-inlee]

If the cultural ties to west make South Korea and Japan end their dispute, US could bring Taiwan independence and the end of North Korean regime. Without such reconciliation, South Korea would go neutral and China could absorb Taiwan and possibly North Korea.

[NUCLEARxREDACTED]

Damn that sucks Japan and South Korea hate eachother so much. Im mean im an american, and I think both countries and their people are awesome. But I also understand, bad blood doesnt die so easy. I hope that they can heal their past wounds and support each other in the future. The whole world would be better for it.

[protestantwarrior]

Also, SK doesn't need US presence (which US needs to check on China), SK is already nuclear latent power with hundreds of ballistic missiles ready to be nuke-tipped. It also has the most extensive anti-ballistic missile system in world.

[cathalgray]

First comment from Ireland, thiocadh are la

[roberthoyt]

I hope things between South Korea and Japan go for the better, even if the two have hated each other since 1910.

[jwhan]

Some good points, like the theoretical scenario in 6:20, but generally too naive. This flaw, however, is understandable due to the lack of previous studies on the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula.

The most significant fault of this video is that it lacks scrutiny of each of the 6 players' geopolitical strategic stances.

Even if China fail to "restore(in their terms)" the east part of Siberia, they would still find that they cannot dominate the Yellow Sea, the coastline forming the corridor from Beijing to Shanghai. If they want to be a maritime power, they have to make the peninsula a part of China, which 19th-century Chinese policymaker Li Hongzhang noticed. "A part of China" chant, you can find it from Xi Jing Ping's "lecturing" on the history of the Sino-Korea relationship to Trump.

For Japan, the peninsula is the path to mainland Asia or the path from which the continental power's threat is coming. Japanese rhetoric is sophisticated. They tend to exaggerate "the threat from the continent through the peninsula", such as "the knife aiming the heart of Japan" etc. But when they really invaded the peninsula twice, both of the real reason was to seize the path to Continental Asia.

Russian position today is far less important not because they have no distinct position but because they are far less influential than any other powers in the region.

The American position is the most significant and complicated one among all 6 participants in the region. Even American elites and pundits find it hard to understand. When I talk American position on the peninsula, I draw three causes. Since one of the three, what I call "Wilsonian cause" has nothing to do with geopolitics, I would like to present the rest two here.

The first one is what is sometimes called "The Fortress America". Imagine the US as a fortress. It has two moats: Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. on the opposite side of the moats, you have two barbicans: the Great Britain Islands and Japanese archipelago. But the problem is, Japanese archipelago is vulnerable if you don't hold Korean peninsula. Dean Acheson failed to understand this so let American occupying troops leave the peninsula and drew so-called "Acheson line". And this gave North Korean and Chinese communists a false signal, so they decided to invade the South. And when the invasion took place, American elites found that they cannot defend Japan without the peninsula.

I call the second reason "Hamiltonian cause" because it is closely connected to the Hamiltonian tradition in American foreign policymaking. It is now what I invented but, in fact, an expansion of the "Grand Area Theory, " the framework designed by the Councils for Foreign Relations in the early 20th Century. According to this strategy, the future of the US economy is on trade, in particular, with the area called "Indo-Pacific" today. In order for the US to project power and maintain sustainable sealines of communication, the US needs to dominate the Western Pacific and the Far East of Asia. The key components for this are rim-land Asian nations including Singapore, Philipines, and Japan. Again, if Americans want to firmly hold the "Cornerstone" of their domination of the Indo-Pacific area for peace and prosperity, they need the "Linchpin." And the "Linchpin" is now called Korea.

What is two Koreas' position? Well, both Koreans are nationalists in different formats. And nationalism is all about sovereignty and prestige. You assumed too naively 5:02 "Once China does not need North Korea to exist anymore, they will gradually absorb the country" That is one of the reasons why the North Korean regime developed the nuclear program. And for the South, if the North were absorbed by China, they would have been mad and begun their own nuclear program, because they understand very well that it is hard to defend the southern part of the peninsula (the territory they now control) without the northern part. Annexation of North Korea by China is, for South Koreans, a sign that Chinese will invade and colonise them. The entire Korean peninsula, from Korean strait to Yalu river, must be seized by one single political entity. This geopolitical security idea has designed in the late 900s and achieved and maintained since the 1400s by so-called "Sejong the Great".

[zinedinezethro]

Well since cultural connection is important, ig Japan and SK will be with the US for some time. I mean, Anime and KPOP.

[andrewchoi]

Make Korea Japan China Vietnam Philippines and other countries and nations 100% strong smart bright renewable ageless beautiful eco friendly green sustainable solarpunk immortal utopian resilient peaceful safer healthier anachronistic future ❤

[ytnb]

Seems you don't know anything about NK.

[УтренняяПочта-до]

Холодная Война идёт не Законно! Нюрберский Кодекс! Венская Конвенция! 👻👻👻👻👻🚷👎.

[takyon]

I'm Korean, but I like Japan for many reasons❤