ABSTRACT
The China-Japan-South Korea triangle tested if East Asia could forge a community through robust economic complementarity and shared cultural traditions. But identity gaps aroused sharp tensions, economic ties hit roadblocks, and security threatened to derail the substantial level of economic cooperation achieved. Most responsible was China, which repeatedly stirred emotions against the other two. South Korea hoped it would be at the center in a joint endeavor to transform North Korea with trust in ROK-Chinese relations; however, it drew the ire and social media scorn of the others. On security, tensions over China compounded those over North Korea. Economic vulnerability reached a point for Tokyo and especially Seoul that Beijing could make them pay a hefty price. The narrative of the Korean War, Cold War, and liberal order versus communism gained ground in China, potentially uniting Tokyo and Seoul versus Beijing if they fixate on it, not on pre-1945. Bilateral relations are more asymmetric, but the weaker states were at odds. Bipolarity is draining the lifeline of triangular amity. The only viable identity for South Korea is as part of the liberal, international order. This realization intensified, especially under a conservative president in the context of deepening alarm over China as well as Russia in 2022.
