Reagan Faces Korea

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. Introduction: Ronald Reagan’s Foreign Policy

   • Chae-Jin Lee

   Pages 1-14

3. Embracing the Primacy of Alliance and Stability

   • Chae-Jin Lee

   Pages 15-57

4. Dealing with Tragedies and Crises in Korea

   • Chae-Jin Lee

   Pages 59-104

5. Kim Dae Jung: Exile in America and Its Aftermath

   • Chae-Jin Lee

   Pages 105-154

6. Protests, Succession Struggles, and Economic Relations

   • Chae-Jin Lee

   Pages 155-196

7. In Pursuit of Democratization and Engagement

   • Chae-Jin Lee

   Pages 197-255

8. Conclusion: The Legacy of Reagan’s Korea Policy

   • Chae-Jin Lee

   Pages 257-268

9. Back Matter

   Pages 269-278

   PDF

This is a unique and definitive study to reassess the complex dynamics of US-Korea diplomatic relations during the Reagan presidency. It examines the goals, methods, and legacy of Reagan’s policy toward Korea with emphasis on the realities of alliance politics and the tactics of quiet diplomacy. It questions a widely held view that Reagan showed simplistic, inattentive, and rigid approaches toward foreign affairs, arguing that his actual policy, as demonstrated in the Korea case, was more sophisticated, nuanced, and pragmatic than commonly assumed. Based on a vast amount of confidential diplomatic documents, especially in Korean, and interviews the author has conducted with US and Korean leaders, Lee sheds new light on Reagan's role in promoting democratization in South Korea as well as his engagement with North Korea.

• Ronald Reagan
• quiet diplomacy
• Chun Doo Hwan
• South Korea
• Democratic struggle
• KAL007
• Rangoon
• North Korea
• US-Korea relations
• presidential leadership
• foreign affairs
• diplomatic history
• Korean Peninsula
• foreign policy
• realism
• pragmatism
• moralism
• Nixon
• Carter
• Ferdinand Marcos

“Professor Chae-Jin Lee’s Reagan Faces Korea is an eye-opening page-turner. Anyone interested in South Korean history of the 1980s or U.S.-ROK relations cannot do without Lee’s objective and thoroughly documented work. It will stand as a classic for many years to come. I say that not only because of the book’s excellent quality, but because the 1980s was a turning point in South Korea’s transition to democracy. It required a scholar like Professor Chae-Jin Lee to cover it.” (Chong-Sik Lee, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, USA)

“A story goes, President Kennedy asked his Cabinet to read Barbara Tuchman’s Guns of August to prevent the United States from stumbling into a world conflict. Chae-Jin Lee’s Reagan Faces Korea: Alliance Politics and Quiet Diplomacy should be read by world leaders as a reminder and tonic to the political chest thumping environment we live in today. Dr. Lee’s efforts are as important to the scholar as to the interested student. It will be a must-read for years to come for people who are interested in Diplomatic History, Korean Studies, Democratic Transitions of Societies, and American Political Science.” (Patrick C. Coaty, Professor of Political Science, Orange Coast College, USA)

• Department of Government, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, USA

  Chae-Jin Lee

Chae-Jin Lee is Bank of America Professor of Pacific Basin Studies and Professor of Government (Emeritus) at Claremont McKenna College, USA.

Policies and ethics