[장려상] The importance of the Alliance between South Korea & USA

6·25 60주년기념 수필 공모

I was so frightened and shocked when I heard the news that the navy vessel Cheonan of South Korea was attacked by North Korea and 46 soldiers in the vessel were lost. While the Korea government performed the examination of what caused the catastrophe, I saw the U.S. government help the Korea government all the while. It was so impressive that the two countries worked together. So I have thought about the alliance between the two nations and why it is so important.

The alliance between South Korea and U.S.A. has been strong and important in both history and in the present. When the Korean War took place from June, 1950 to July, 1953, approximately 36,940 American soldiers died trying to defend South Korea from communism. With the help of the American soldiers, South Korea could keep democracy and be a free country. Since then South Korea has developed economically and politically while North Korea still remained the same as a poor country under a dictator ship. If South Korea had been suppressed under communism, South Koreans would not have freedom of expression, religious freedom, any kind of rights, and they would be all equally poor and miserable. This time again in March 2010, when Cheonan was attacked by North Korea, the U.S. government supported South Korea in every side.

The strong alliance between South Korea and U.S.A. is still effective and supportive to each other. When the Hurricane Katrina hit the south-eastern coast of America in August 2005, there was a big disaster. The hurricane was one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. 1,836 people lost their lives and thousands of displaced residents were in desperate condition. But who came to the rescue? South Korea! South Korea provided displaced residents with money to recover and rebuild shelters.

South Korea and U.S.A. protect each other according to the alliance. Imagine this; if America is under attack by another country, South Korea would surely fight back the other country. Also it‘s vice versa; if South Korea is attacked by the communists of North Korea, America would fight back North Korea, too. If either country is in trouble, they would help each other. This explains why the alliance is so helpful.

The alliance between South Korea and U.S.A. also shows a good example to all other countries. In my mind I think it explains that every city, country, and continent should unite so that the world can be a better place. Cooperating is always better than competing, because like everyone always says, “Two heads are better than one.” So the two countries take part in building a better world through their strong alliance.

As in the videotaped message of President Obama at the Korea Society 2010 Annual Dinner in New York, he said, “the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is needed now more than ever… you have the full support of your friend and ally, the United States of America.” I believe it’s true. All we need to do is strengthen the alliance between South Korea and the United States of America. In this way both countries can exceed to greatness such as being world power leaders.