Trump’s Vanity and Cajoling

Published in Segye Times
(South Korea) on 29 April 2019
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Sean Kim. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
In a 2009 speech, former President Barack Obama said that American students lagged behind their Korean counterparts in science and mathematics. He brought up the Korean passion for education many times. Korea had provided a great deal of information to the White House staff in pursuit of Obama’s recognition.

Former President George W. Bush didn’t treat Korea that badly either. In 2008, when the Library of Congress renamed Dok-do “the Liancourt Rocks”* and designated it as a neutral zone, Bush quietly took Korea’s side. It seemed like Japan’s efforts were futile. This was not facilitated by any pro-American stance by the Korean government at this time.

In fact, this was during the term of President Roh Moo-Hyun, who asked, “So what if we’re anti-American?” It was only possible to turn this around through painstaking diplomacy. The United States was so close to Japan that Bush flew the soon-to-retire Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, out to Graceland on a private plane just to throw him a farewell party.

President Donald Trump’s philosophy of looking down on South Korea is a chronic disease that cannot be easily cured. Yesterday, he brought up Korea’s share of its defense costs again, saying that he “made them pay $500 million with one phone call.” This statement, which emerged from a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, angered many Koreans. Any third party could reasonably wonder at how submissive Korea must be to hand over $500 million after one phone call.

This is not the first of Trump’s exaggerations. In a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 12, he said, “They [South Korea] agreed, at my request. And working with Secretary Pompeo and John Bolton, they agreed to pay, yesterday, $500 million more toward their defense.” In El Paso the day before, he said that “they [South Korea] were paying us a year… $500 million. I said, ‘You are about to do more. You have got to do more.’ Anyway now they are open to $900 million. That was in like two phone calls.”

On Feb. 3, during a CBS News interview, Trump said, “We have 40,000 troops in South Korea. It’s very expensive.” There are actually 28,500 troops. The president of the United States has trivialized his country’s alliance with South Korea to mere telephone deals. It has become business that can be conducted with just one phone call. Even so, we still keep our mouths shut. Even the act of making sure more news like this doesn’t get out is diplomacy.

*Editor’s note: The Liancourt Rocks is a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan, administered by South Korea; Japan also claims sovereignty over them.





버락 오바마 전 미국 대통령이 2009년 연설에서 미국 학생들의 과학·수학능력이 한국 학생에게 뒤처진다고 했다. 그는 여러 차례 한국의 교육열을 거론했다. 오바마가 그렇게 인식하도록 한국 측에서 백악관 참모에게 관련 정보를 제공했기 때문이다.

조지 W 부시 전 대통령도 한국에 그리 나쁘게 대하지 않았다. 미 의회도서관이 2008년 독도를 ‘리앙쿠르’로 표기를 바꾸고 중립지대로 표시하려고 했을 때 조용히 한국 손을 들어주었다. 일본은 헛물을 켠 셈이 됐다. 당시 한국 정권이 친미적이어서 가능했던 게 아니었다. “반미면 어떠냐”고 했던 노무현 대통령 때였다. 눈물겨운 외교 노력이 있었기에 뒤집기가 가능했다. 부시는 2006년 은퇴하는 고이즈미 준이치로 일본 총리에게 전용기를 내주고 엘비스 프레슬리의 생가로 날아가 작별파티를 할 정도로 일본과 가까웠다.

도널드 트럼프 대통령의 ‘한국 우습게 알기’는 좀처럼 고쳐지지 않는 고질병이 됐다. 그는 그제 “전화 한 통으로 5억달러를 내게 했다”며 한국의 방위비 분담금을 또다시 거론했다. 아베 신조 일본 총리와 만난 뒤 나온 발언이어서 한국인의 가슴에 불을 질렀다. 제3자가 들으면 ‘어떻게 전화 한 통에 5억달러를 내놓을 정도로 꼬리를 내렸냐’고 평가할 법하다.

트럼프의 과장은 처음이 아니다. 그는 지난 2월12일 백악관 각료회의에서 “내 요구로 그들(한국)이 동의했다. 폼페이오 장관과 존 볼턴이 했는데 어제 그들(한국)이 방위비로 5억달러를 더 내기로 동의했다. 전화 몇 통으로 5억달러다”고 했다. 트럼프는 그 전날 엘파소에서 “한국이 연간 5억달러를 낸다. 내가 더 내라고 했다. 이제 그들이 거의 9억달러로 올렸다. 그건 전화 두 통으로 했다”고 했다. 지난 2월3일 CBS뉴스 인터뷰에서는 “한국에 군인 4만명을 보냈다. 비용이 매우 많이 든다”고 했다. 2만8500명이다. 미국 대통령이 한·미동맹을 ‘전화 거래’로 전락시킨 것이다. 이제는 전화 한 통으로 가능한 비즈니스가 됐다. 그런데도 우리는 입을 다물고 있다. 이런 얘기가 더 안 나오게 하는 것도 외교력이다.
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