Korea Policy
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Korea Policy Vol. 1, Issue 2About Korea Policy
Korea Policy is the premier journal for analysis and commentary on developments affecting the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Bridging scholarly insight and policy relevance, Korea Policy features original research and expert perspectives on strategic, political, economic, and other issues shaping Korea’s role in the world. In this way, KEI aims to inform academic debate, guide policy discussions, and foster a deeper understanding of the important partnership between the United States and South Korea. Contributions come from leading scholars, practitioners, and emerging voices across various fields.
Korea Policy is an open-source academic journal commissioned, edited, and published by the Korea Economic Institute of America in Washington, D.C
When South Korea released its “Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region” in December 2022—marking Seoul’s first-ever effort to develop a comprehensive regional strategy—early commentaries honed in on two seemingly contradictory observations. Many took note of the degree to which the core tenets of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) strategy strongly resemble those of the “Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States,” which was released in February 2022. A second set of observations stressed the ways in which references to China differ between the two strategies—with the U.S. directly calling out the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a growing challenge engaged in “harmful behavior” and Seoul identifying China as a “key partner” and emphasizing inclusivity in a clear effort to not antagonize Beijing. This article takes a deep dive into examining the similarities and differences between the ROK and U.S. Indo-Pacific strategies, highlighting the degree to which these initial impressions are generally accurate but incomplete. Specifically, the paper argues that the ROK strategy is less U.S.-centric in its overall orientation and more aligned with the U.S. position on China than these early observations suggest.