ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of Sino-Korean relations during World War II and how the breakdown of those relations acted as a catalyst for the subsequent close US-Korea ties. Korea during the sinophile Joseon dynasty had been a part of the Sinocentric world order and the Kuomintang (KMT) government of China continued to view Korea as a would-be satellite state of China. In the early 1940s the Korean Provisional Government sought close ties to the Chinese KMT and adopted the policy of prioritizing KMT recognition over recognition by other Allied powers. However, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (KPG) soon became disillusioned with the Chinese due to excessive Chinese interference in the affairs of the KPG and the KIA (the Korean Independence Army). The Korean exiles feared that after independence Korea would be subjected to either KMT or Soviet domination and in order to counter this perceived threat they turned to the nation which they were certain (due to its geographical remoteness from Korea and its democratic values) would not threaten Korean independence, the US. The chapter also highlights how the KPG was dominated by anti-communist Korean nationalists, who for ideological reasons also favoured ties to the US.
