Korea: Unwilling pawn in superpower game

By Sohn Jie-Ae
CNN Seoul Bureau Chief

On South Korean streets, loudspeakers blare out tunes by U.S. pop singer Shania Twain, teen-agers line up to buy copies of the "Titanic" video, and U.S. pop culture staples like McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken are clearly visible.

So, a loving relationship with the West? Not quite.

Every once in a while, the slogan "Yankee Go Home!" still appears in college campus demonstrations. And part of the reason security is so tight around U.S. government buildings is that, not so long ago, they were routine targets of radical student attacks.

While reasons may vary, there is no denying a lingering resentment toward the United States -- one that has its roots in the Korean War.

It is, however, a resentment against outside influences that is not limited to the United States, nor to the Korean War.

Stop South Koreans on the street, and they will most likely say that were it not for the United States and the former Soviet Union, Korea would not be a divided peninsula.

Were it not for outside powers fighting their political and ideological battles here, Korea would not have had to suffer a bloody war that pitted brother against brother -- a war that left more than a million people torn from their families and hometowns.

Korea is no stranger to being a pawn to neighboring superpowers' games. Throughout its more than 2,000-year history, the Korean people have survived numerous attacks by outside forces, be they the Mongols, the Chinese or, as in more recent history, the Japanese. Hardly a single historic structure, whether a palace or a gate, has not been plundered or burned at least once.

But the Korean War left scars the likes of which had never been seen before.

In the process of the war, battle lines moved from one end of the peninsula to the other several times.

Seoul alone exchanged hands four times during the course of the war. No one remained unscathed.

Koreans have had little time since then to bemoan their fate. They have been too busy rebuilding their houses, cities and economy. Today South Korea is a global player in world markets, its capital a metropolis by any standard.

Politics also has changed dramatically since the war. While the United States is still Seoul's strong ally, China is also one of South Korea's biggest economic partners. Seoul also forged diplomatic ties with the former Soviet Union before its collapse.

And while the North is still a communist nation, its own economic hardships have caused it to change its outlook on the world. The North seeks to forge relations with its former foe, the United States. Americans visiting the North are surprised at the friendliness and lack of hostility toward them.

But even so, Koreans live every day with the knowledge that the war was never truly ended. Young Korean men on both sides of the border still go through years of mandatory military service. In South Korea, the 15th of every month is still devoted to various national defense drills. And don't forget the endless inter-Korean skirmishes, from shootings along the border to North Korean submarines getting caught in the South, conducting what is thought to be espionage activities.

Koreans also know the future can be different. Peace talks between the two sides are under way. There are questions about what direction North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Il, will take his government. And hopes for reunification remain strong on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone.

The Korean War and the division of the peninsula may have been instigated by outsiders. But ultimately, achieving real peace on the Korean peninsula will be the responsibility of the Korean people.