[Michael J. Seth, A Concise History of Modern Korea. From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present (Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), Volume 2, 356 pages]

REVIEW /  Jimena Villacorta 

Normally, when thinking about the Korean Peninsula, we emphasize on the divided region it is now, and how the Korean War (1950-1053) had a great impact on the two independent territories we have today, North and South Korea. We forget that it once was a culturally and ethnically homogenous nation, that because of its law, couldn’t even trade with outsiders until the Treaty of Kanghwa in 1876 which marked a turning point in Korean history as it ended isolation and allowed the Japanese insertion in the territory which had great effects on its economic and political order.

Michael J. Seth narrates the fascinating history of Korea from the end of the 19th century to the present. In this edition he updates his previous work, published originally ten years before, and he presents it as a “volume 2”, because his latest years of research have produced a “volume 1”, titled A Concise History of Premodern Korea, which follows Korea's history from Antiquity through the nineteenth century.

From falling under Japanese imperialism and expansionism to its division after the Second World War, this book explores the economic, political and social issues that modern Korea has faced in the last decades. The author provides its readers a great resource for those seeking a general, yet detailed, history of this currently divided nation in eight chapters. The first two chapters focus on what happened before the Korean War and on how neighbors and other actors. Russia had great influence in the region until its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Consequently, Korea became a colony of Japan until the Allied Forces victory during the Second World War. Japanese rule is described as harsh and detrimental for Koreans as they intended to force their own culture and system in the territory. Although, in despite of its aggressiveness, the Japanese contributed to Korea’s industrialization. Countries like China and the United States were also major players. From 1885 to 1894, China had a strong presence in the peninsula as the Chinese didn’t want other powers to take over the territory.

The rest of the book emphasizes on the war and the consequences it had, tracing the different course both countries took becoming contrasting societies with different political and economic systems. The reason for the great differences between the two Koreas is the difference in governments and influences they had after the war, a war that stopped because of a ceasefire, as to date they haven’t signed a peace treaty. Even if South Korea was under Syngman Rhee’s authoritarian and corrupt regime tight after the Korean War, it soon became democratized and the country began to quickly advance in matter of technology and human development leaving North Korea out in the open under a totalitarian dictatorship lead by Kim Jong-un. However, after the separation of the two zones, Kim II-sung was the founder of the North in 1948 and his family dynasty has ruled the country since then. During this period, South Korea has had six republics, one revolution, two coups d'état, the transition to democratic elections and nineteen presidencies. In terms of economics, they went from having a very similar GDP at the beginning of the 1970s to very different outcomes. While South Korea has progressed rapidly, becoming one of the world’s leading industrial producers, North Korea became stagnant due to its rigid state system. South Korea also has a high level of technological infrastructure. Moreover, North Korea became a nuclear power, which has been in its agenda since the division. But as he explores the technical differences of both states, the author fails to elaborate in historical debates and controversies regarding both regions, but he emphasizes on the fact that after sixty years of division, there are still no signs or reunification. 

Without a doubt, it is interesting to learn about Korea’s past colonial occupation and its division, but what I believe is the most captivating is to understand how North Korea and South Korea have evolved as two independent very different states because of the uniqueness and complexity of its history, while still sharing a strong sense of nationalism. As the author says, “No modern nation ever developed a more isolated and totalitarian society than North Korea, nor such an all-embracing family cult. No society moved more swiftly from extreme poverty to prosperity and from authoritarianism to democracy than South Korea.”

GLOBAL AFFAIRS JOURNAL #3 /  Enero 2021

[Descargar el PDF del Journal completo]

El globo rota unos grados más hacia Poniente

PRESENTACIÓN

Hubo un tiempo en el que el eje estratégico mundial estaba en Europa. Con la incorporación del Nuevo Mundo al orden global, el eje pasó a situarse durante mucho tiempo en el Atlántico, entre Europa y América. La consolidación de la primacía de Estados Unidos convirtió a este país en pivote del mundo. Con el desarrollo de los tigres asiáticos el peso específico del planeta se desplazó hacia el Pacífico, entre América y Asia. Después el concepto inicial de Asia-Pacífico fue perdiendo el sentido de espacio entre dos costas para con el tiempo remitir solo a la ribera donde se encuentra China, a medida que esta ha crecido como superpotencia y ha centrado la atención general. Ahora asistimos a otra progresión en la rotación del globo, de nuevo unos grados más hacia Poniente. Asia-Pacífico cede el lugar a la idea de Indo-Pacífico al incluir en la ecuación a India. Y es posible que, en el futuro, conforme se compacte Eurasia y África participe más en las decisiones internacionales, la forma de mirar el mapamundi sea teniendo al Índico en medio, como un Mediterráneo global.

Hoy, en cualquier caso, estamos estrenando el momento del Indo-Pacífico. Se trata de un nuevo orden mundial en el que China ya no ocupa el centro en el que aspiraba instalarse: el suelo se ha comenzado a mover antes de que pueda asentarse del todo. La misma prisa estratégica de Pekín ha provocado la movilización del entorno asiático, la cual se apoya en parte en una India que, por volumen demográfico y potencialidad económica, puede servir de palanca para el contrapeso continental de China. Global Affairs Journal aborda en este número la articulación de ese contrapeso, que gira alrededor de las iniciativas de un Indo-Pacífico Libre y Abierto y el llamado Quad, cuyos vértices son Japón, India, Australia y Estados Unidos, con implicaciones también para la ASEAN.

Índice

EL INDO-PACÍFICO COMO NUEVO EJE GEOPOLÍTICO GLOBAL 

Juan Luis López Aranguren [Introducción]

Profesor de Relaciones Internacionales, Universidad de Zaragoza

p. 6-11 [versión PDF]

PRESENT COMPLEXITIES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Shahana Thankachan

Researcher at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

p. 12-17 [versión PDF]

ESTADOS UNIDOS Y AUSTRALIA ANTE

LA EMERGENCIA DE CHINA COMO GRAN POTENCIA

Florentino Portero

Director del Instituto de Política Internacional, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

p. 18-27 [versión PDF]

FREE AND OPEN INDO-PACIFIC: UNA INICIATIVA JAPONESA

DE POLÍTICA EXTERIOR PARA LA COOPERACIÓN GLOBAL

Carmen Tirado Robles

Coordinadora del Grupo de Investigación Japón, Universidad de Zaragoza

p. 28-35 [versión PDF]

EL DILEMA INDO-PACÍFICO DE LA ASEAN

Fernando Delage

Director del Dpto. de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad Loyola Andalucía

p. 36-43 [versión PDF]

LECTURAS RECOMENDADAS

J. L. López Aranguren, S. Sánchez Tapia

E. J. Blasco, A. Puigrefagut

p. 44-46 [versión PDF]

REPORT / Jokin de Carlos Sola

Simplicity is the best word to describe this Baltic country. Its flag represents the main landscape of the country; a white land covered in snow, a black forest, and a blue light sky. And so is its economy, politics and  taxation. What a minimalistic artwork is Estonia.

Estonia is the smallest of the three Baltic countries, with the smallest population and a quite big border with Russia, concretely 294 km long. Even so, Estonia has a bigger GDP per capita (17,727.5 USD in 2016 according to World Bank) than the other two Baltic states: Latvia and Lithuania. It has a bigger presence in the markets and a bigger quality of life according to the OECD in a study done it in 2017.

Technology is a very important part of Estonia's  economy. According to the World Bank, 15% of Estonia's  GDP are high tech industries. Following the example of Finland, Estonia has made technology the most important aspect  of  their economy and society. But not just that, with the eyes faced towards the future, or as the Estonians call it “Tulevik”, this former part of the Soviet Union of 1,3 million inhabitants  has become the most modernized state in Europe.

The 24th of February of 2018 Estonia celebrated the 100th anniversary of the its independence, so it is interesting to see how the evolution of this small country is and will continue to be.

All this has been possible because of different figures  like Laar, Ilves, Ansip, and Kotka.

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