For one thousand years or more, Korea’s greatest fear has been geographic. Squeezed between China, Japan and Russia, it has had reason to fear invasion or domination. The closest European equivalent is Italy, which was threatened for several centuries by neighboring Austria, France and Spain.
But since 1945, geography has turned to Italy’s advantage, providing at least its northern half with booming markets, sources of industrial and technological cooperation and wider scope for Italian influence. South Korea’s great opportunity is to do the same, turning geography from a fear into a source of hope. It won’t be easy. Neither history nor geopolitics seems likely to smooth the way. But the chance is there.
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