ABSTRACT
In a world of extraordinary change, the challenges confronting Korea in its relations with others have shown elements of remarkable continuity. For centuries, Korea--united or divided-has attracted the attention of its big PacificAsian neighbors, and frequently their involvement in its internal affairs. Despite periodic efforts to isolate itself from the external world, Korea has inevitably been drawn into the geopolitics of the immediate region of which it constitutes the physical center. A shrimp among whales, a midget among giants, Korea has nevertheless been deemed important, whether to a regional balance of power or as a buffer state. History thus provides an appropriate background for the events that followed World War II.
