Indeed. South Koreans perceived that they owed their success to the generosity of the US. Technology, defense, economy, entertainment, culture, and education. South Koreans, especially the youths, try their best to become the most Americanized people in Asia. Evangelical Christianity, MLM companies, American-derived pop-culture, celebrating American holidays, fried chicken, etc. If it wasn't for their older generation, traditional Korean culture could have been lost in South Korea.For real, I was reading how there were pro-Yuan and pro-Ming factions in Korea even after Yuan was evicted out of China into the Mongolian plateau. Even when the Yuan empire was dead, the Korean King was a pro-Yuan boot-licker and ordered his general to attack Ming..... The General was like "that's suicide to attack Ming" and turned his troops against the King in a coup....
South Koreans are par excellence in serving the Great. It's actually unfathomable for them how China can develop without being a obedient lackey of West. At the start of trade war, South Korean commenter was like " China should give up, it shouldn't even try, it's going to lose to U.S." ... their identity as "Superior" is in tatters when China actually overcome all tariffs and tech bans. That's a huge shock to them, they refuse to believe it.
Today, South Koreans are getting perplexed and angry that supposedly the inferior Chinese are still advancing fast despite intense pressure from their American overlord. They feel that South Korea's glory days are gonna be numbered because of China's rise. So they wish very hard for their American overlord to put China back in its place. Back to below South Korea. Not gonna happen. Every time South Korea gangs up on China with the US and friends, it is actually weakening itself. Move smartphone production out of China, lose market shares in China. Block semiconductor exports to China, China becomes the new competitor. Belittle and insult Chinese citizens, lose tourists from China, SK's biggest source of tourism income. Blast Chinese K-pop stars, K-pop loses appeal in China, its biggest market. Threaten China's national security, lose even more market share in China, SK's biggest export market.
South Koreans have always failed to realize that China is not the enemy of the Korean people. Chinese and Koreans have fought side by side against Imperial Japan in WWII, and against the US in the Korean War. While South Korea ended up having its politics and economy dominated by Japanese collaborators, with the blessing of the US. By declaring that China is the enemy, South Korea is dooming itself to irrelevance as US power declines. China is beating South Korea in automotive, shipbuilding, R&D, sports, software, AI, and advanced science. Soon, China will catchup and surpass South Korea in semiconductors. By that time, South Korea will have no more true competitive edge against China, and its place in Asia will be downgraded even more severely.
China is proving to be everything that South Korea is not. It is not a nation that needs an imperial patron to develop. It is not a nation that can be bullied into stopping its development. China have historically stood up against the US, Soviet Union, and Japan. South Korea is in no position to bully China, no matter how angry and insecure it feels right now.
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