August 14, 2025
SEOUL – Many political commentators these days point out that we are living in a world at war. Some say that the current situation of the world resembles that of the early 20th century when World War I broke out, and others argue that our times look more like the mid-20th century when World War II began. Either way, we are undoubtedly living in a time of unprecedented global crisis.
Just a few years ago, everyone on earth desperately fought a war against the COVID-19 virus that devastated the world, leaving heavy casualties of human lives. Now the pandemic is over and yet, war on earth still seems to be going on, due to territorial disputes, ideological clashes or trade frictions that have erupted into global crises.
Many of us can still recall times when we were full of hope for the future. When the Soviet Union collapsed and its satellite countries in Eastern Europe reinstated their sovereignty in the early 1990s, we were elated and relieved, believing that communism had come to an end at last. At the time, political analysts predicted that the world would enjoy liberal democracy from then on, thanks to the downfall of communism. But we were too hasty and optimistic. Communist leaders adopted the free-market economy to overcome poverty, but they never gave up their political ideology.
As is well known, it was America that played a decisive role in the above-mentioned monumental change. American politicians naively believed that economic prosperity in communist countries would topple communist regimes and bring forth liberal democracy instead. For that reason, they encouraged the “offshoring” of American manufacturing companies so they could be of help to boost the economy of communist countries.
Perhaps due to this so-called “American innocence,” American politicians could not perceive the attributes of communist ideology that would never change. They belatedly realized that they had created a monster that had supreme financial power. As a result, the earth is still divided into two radically different worlds: The Free World of liberal democracy and authoritarian, totalitarian socialist countries.
Inevitably, a second Cold War began and is currently underway. Unlike the first Cold War, which was a war of spies and espionage, the second one is a war of territories, trade and technology. Indeed, we are now witnessing heated international conflicts over territories, tariffs and semiconductors.
Territorial wars are now going on in Europe and the Middle East, as we can see in the Ukraine War, the Israel-Hamas War, and the Israel-Iran War. In East Asia, another war may or may not break out, depending on the future development of the territorial disputes concerning Taiwan. Experts have warned that if those territorial wars continue spiraling, the impact will eventually spread all over the world. Many experts have predicted that South Korea may be the next target of a territorial dispute if Taiwan loses its sovereignty.
The heavy tariffs recently imposed by the US constitute another type of war for many countries. Unlike territorial wars that use drones and weapons of mass destruction, a tariff war or a trade war is a silent, invisible war that requires peaceful negotiations or a truce. Instead of human casualties, it can damage the economy of the countries that depend on trade for their economic stability or prosperity.
These days, America seems to have determined that it will no longer tolerate other countries’ taking advantage of its long-standing generosity and magnanimity. America has a point, in a way, because it is undeniable that other countries have long depended upon or even taken advantage of America’s largesse. It may also be true that numerous undocumented immigrants have cost astronomical amounts of money, paid for by US citizens’ taxes.
Perhaps America has tolerated such things for too long while playing the role of a global leader and defender of liberal democracy. If America gives it up now, however, it will surely endanger its allies’ national security at a time when totalitarian socialist countries are aggressively attempting to expand their territories. In addition, such a change will inevitably alter America’s traditional image and identity.
We are also living in an age of technology wars. The Huawei controversy some time ago was a good example. The present competition over semiconductors and AI is another. Today, hacking other countries’ sensitive national intelligence, surveillance through electronic devices and stealing electronic technologies have become ubiquitous phenomena.
Many countries are now suffering from the above-mentioned wars in one way or another. South Korea is no exception. In fact, Korea is caught in the crossfire of all three types of war simultaneously: a territorial war, a trade war and a technology war. To make matters worse, Korea is also suffering from internal ideological warfare that has disrupted and dismantled the country for the past few decades.
While living dangerously in a world at war, we must figure out how to survive these hardships and bring peace to our “land of the morning calm.”
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. — Ed.
