South Korea has much to celebrate. It is among the world’s top ten economies, home to numerous innovative companies at the forefront of new technologies, and its pop culture has become a global phenomenon. South Korea can, and will, play a leading role on the international stage on important issues such as COVID-19, climate change, and global supply chain resilience. The country remains a linchpin in the U.S.-led alliance system that protects liberal democracy and fosters global economic growth. Close to home, however, South Korea faces major challenges—not just with North Korea but also in its relations with China and Japan. A rigid ideology and empty sloganeering won’t help deal with those challenges. What the country needs is pragmatism and a focus on problem solving.
As governor of Gyeonggi Province, which is home to more than a quarter of South Koreans and shares a border with North Korea, I learned that lesson again and again. A hub of manufacturers in Gyeonggi produce semiconductors and high-end displays for televisions and smartphones. Whenever there is conflict with North Korea, it is Gyeonggi that feels the reverberations first. Its western coast is a short distance away from China and the province is home to Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. power projection base in the Pacific. Residents of Gyeonggi know perhaps better than anyone just how interlinked South Korea’s future is to its relationship with neighboring countries and the United States.
