South Korea, US mark alliance with rap song, fashion and beer
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The US Embassy is marking the friendship with a limited-edition “Alliance Pale Ale”, made by a South Korean brewery with ingredients from both countries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – South Korea is marking the 70th anniversary of its US alliance with much fanfare, including a public information campaign featuring a K-pop-inspired rap song, with the partners extolling closer ties as global tensions rise.
The alliance was forged in the 1950-1953 Korean War. Some 28,000 American troops remain in South Korea, to the fury of North Korea, which defends its development of nuclear weapons, citing the danger of what it says is a US-South Korea plan to invade.
While no South Korean government has ever seriously questioned the alliance, and public support is solid if not overwhelming, former United States president Donald Trump caused consternation with a suggestion that US forces could pull out.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative, hailed the importance of the alliance on a visit to the White House in 2023, where he sang the hit song American Pie
The government’s information campaign for the anniversary features a video, broadcast on social media and in cinemas, that includes a clip of that sing-song, along with images of the two countries’ flags and the rap song.
“A perfect chemistry protecting freedom and solidarity, mutually advantageous for industry and the economy,” go some of the lyrics.
The information campaign is intended to “heighten the public’s understanding of the South Korea-US alliance”, the Culture Ministry told Reuters.
The South Korean Embassy in the US staged a fashion show in October marking the anniversary, with models in traditional Korean dresses featuring South Korean and US flags.
The South Korean Embassy in the United States staged a fashion show in October marking the 70th anniversary of the US-South Korea alliance.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Soft power
South Korea’s showcasing of its US ties comes after rival North Korea has been making much of its relations with its old partner, Russia.
Russia’s foreign and defence ministers have both visited North Korea in recent months, and its leader, Mr Kim Jong Un, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in September
South Korea’s spy agency suspects that North Korea has sent Russia more than 10 shipments of munitions
US forces, meanwhile, have held a series of military exercises in the region, including one in October with South Korea and Japanese forces
Dr Lee Gyu-tag, an associate professor of global affairs at George Mason University Korea, said South Korea is trying to tap pop culture to bolster support for the alliance but it risks a backlash.
“When soft power is so blatantly used for a purpose, people won’t like it and it might even backfire,” Dr Lee said.
While some online commentators praised the rap video, others said it is “cringey”.
Overall, about one in two South Koreans believes the alliance should be strengthened, according to a Gallup Korea poll commissioned by the government in September.
The US Embassy is marking the friendship with a limited-edition “Alliance Pale Ale” at its cafeteria in Seoul, made by a South Korean brewery with ingredients from both countries. It is packed in cans featuring Korean tigers and US eagles. REUTERS
