Korea in the 21st Century
Published Date: February 1, 1996
The Commander, Seventh Fleet, asked CNA to assess the security environment of the Asia-Pacific Region between now and 2010. This research memorandum focuses on the most probable evolutionary trends for Korea during this period. For Korea the development of an Asian nation-state system comes at a time of historic power relative to anything of the past century. The problem for the Korean people, historically, was that Korea was a weak state surrounded by strong empires in China, Russia, and Japan. The economic development of Korea over the past 30 years is a remarkable success story, although this development took place in a peaceful stable environment. The problem facing Korea is whether it can successfully continue its economic progress in a world that is more competitive, more wary of exploitative economic practices, any more dominated by large countries who have in the past been enemies.
