Ambivalent Allies?: A Study of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S. (Technical Report (RAND))

Have South Korean attitudes toward the United States deteriorated? To answer this question RAND researchers compiled and analyzed SOuth Korean public opinion data from the past decade. Have South Korean attitudes toward the United States deteriorated? To answer this question, RAND researchers compiled and analyzed public opinion data on those attitudes and examined selected periods in U.S.-South Korean relations to identify the sources of anti-U.S. sentiment. They found evidence of a downturn in favorable sentiment toward the U.S. but also of a more recent recovery. They recommend ways to improve South Koreans' perceptions of the U.S. and address their long-standing grievances Preliminaries......Page 1 Preface......Page 3 Contents......Page 7 Figures......Page 9 Tables......Page 11 Summary......Page 13 Acknowledgments......Page 19 Acronyms......Page 21 1. Introduction......Page 23 2. The Past as Prologue......Page 29 3. Key Trends in South Korean Attitudes Towards the United States......Page 64 4. The Sources of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S.......Page 88 5. Implications, Recommendations, Conclusion......Page 142 Bibliography......Page 147