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Originally posted by onetime2
South Koreans are pretty fed up with US troop presence but they are certainly pretty happy to have them there when the North rattles its sabres. But anyway, you're right about the fact that it wasn't an importation of democracy and such that we saw in Japan. I never claimed it was. I claimed that their current status as a free and sovereign nation is a direct result of the security provided by the US for the last 5 plus decades.
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I wasn't really arguing with you about it, I just wished to point it out. I did indeed notice that you said "current freedom" (or something similar). I just had a feeling that people often think that the South has always been democratic country opposed to the nothern dictatorship. I also agree that US troops in South Korea have been essential to prevent North Korea from attacking, even if I am very sceptical towards US motives operating in various theatres, especially during the cold war. So let us just agree that it is good that US troops have been stationed in South Korea.
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The support, in military support and training, US military presence, favorable trading agreements with the US, etc, etc, etc is ongoing and one price that any country pays when it chooses to closely allign with another is offering support when the other country needs/wants it.
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Well, I partially could agree with you that alliances tend to bring duties aswell - but I'm not sure if I'm even in that case willing to accept that the will of the people in the democratic countries is "overriden" by politicians who say that "these things are too complicated to the people." If I'm not wrong, the Korean people opposed the Iraq war.
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At the end of 2003 South Korea had the world's 12th largest economy. That's better than Canada, Mexico, Spain, Australia and 219 other countries.
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I'm honestly surprised to hear that they are that big. Nice to know and I have to admit that I was a bit outdated about the growth of Korean economy nowadays. Though I abhor to think what kind of prices they had to pay in freedom when they built that up. Seems that their GDP is still dragging behind western countries, but not bad really.