2022 may well be a decisive year that tests Korea’s resilience on all fronts. We’ve made it to 2022. While we faced considerable difficulties last year due to COVID-19 and other issues, the general view is that Korea’s international prestige has gone up a notch.

Since South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked the international community to support formally declaring the end of the Korean War during his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 21, the issue has been at the forefront of the government’s diplomatic efforts as Moon’s presidency draws to a close.

The US oversells its fear of China, which in turn pushes China into an almost hysterically aggressive posture of defence, only exacerbating the problem.

On September 15, the leaders of the US, the UK, and Australia convened in Washington, where they agreed to form a new security pact called AUKUS. Considering that the three countries have already been allies for quite some time, it’s striking that they would establish yet another partnership for sharing military technology. That represents an evolution of their alliance.

What would the people of Northeast Asia want in the field of peace and security ‘if only’ things were different? According to a Carnegie survey, the majority of people in South Korea believe that a unified Korea should continue to have an alliance with the United States after unification. A majority also feel that a unified Korea should have an alliance with China. A great majority hope that unification can be brought about by a peaceful compromise.

In order to not repeat the errors of Afghanistan, South Korea must reconsider the role the US military plays on the peninsula.