BOOK REVIEWS123 These volumes are more than just a welcome addition to the burgeoning literature on contemporary Korea; indeed they are virtually required reading on contemporary affairs, for rarely has so much material of quality been available at a reasonable cost. One awaits the next volume; the standards set have been high, but there is every evidence that they will be maintained. David I. Steinberg Georgetown University Alliance Under Tension: The Evolution ofSouth Korean-U.S. Relations, by Manwoo Lee, Ronald D. McLaurin, and Chung-in Moon. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, Seoul: Kyungnam University Press, 1988. viii 229 pp. Cloth, $35.00. This book consists of eight articles on the general subject of Korean-American relations. While it does not cover every aspect of the relationship—a notable absence is that of culture—it does contain some interesting and illuminating chapters. My own favorite is the first chapter, by Manwoo Lee, which expresses in somewhat anecdotal fashion the thought of some of the more radical students who lead anti-American, anti-government demonstrations. Lee's discussion of minjung ideology, for example, explains much to Americans who wonder why the U.S. is blamed for the division of Korea, the poverty of Korean workers, a succession of military dictators, and the 1980 massacre at Kwangju. Lee also contributed the second chapter, in which he argues that the United States has provided "double patronage"—democracy and security—with the latter always superseding the former. Even the most liberal president, Jimmy Carter, subordinated human rights considerations to those of security. My own research on this issue during the Carter presidency tends to confirm Lee's conclusion. Lee notes that in the latter half of the Reagan administration—one not known for aggressive campaigning for human rights—there was, ironically, increasing criticism of Korea for shortcomings in this area. In his chapter on trade friction Chung-in Moon argues that one source of tension in the alliance is American pressure for liberalization of Korea's import market and for a 20 percent appreciation of the won to address the growing trade imbalance. Moon predicts that with the American domestic climate favoring protectionism , trade conflict is only beginning, and that the future is likely to include greater economic pressures on Korea. Certainly one of the least-discussed, and therefore most interesting, issues is that of U.S. arms sales to Korea and their relationship to Korea's defense industry. Korea has not only become virtually self-sufficient in conventional weapons but has also become the fifth largest arms exporter in the Third World. But since much of what Korea produces comes from American military technol- 124BOOK REVIEWS ogy and is therefore licensed by the United States, the U.S. can and does prohibit the sale of much of this hardware by Korea to other Third World countries (mostly the Middle East and Latin America), hurting Korea's defense industry. Korean arms are up to U.S. standards, are cheaper, come with no strings attached, and are not subject to the usual political constraints under which the larger powers operate. Moon argues that curbing arms exports hurts both nations. He places the blame for this source of tension at the doorstep of the United States. In the fifth chapter, Moon looks at the Korean lobby in the U.S., whose main focus has shifted from the security concerns of the Tongsun Park days to the economic concerns outlined in the earlier chapter on trade friction. Korea's enlisting of Reagan administration deputy chief of staff Michael Deaver suggests that the Koreans have opted for the "power approach" in trying to persuade the American government to go easy in pressuring Korea for trade liberalization. It would have been interesting if the author had hazarded a guess as to whether Korea's lobbying efforts have been successful. Moon and Ronald McLaurin's Chapter 6, on U.S. foreign-policy issues, structures, and processes, argues that Korea understands the American decisionmaking system. Moon and McLaurin suggest, moreover, that relations are generally good despite the frictions which serve as the focus of this book. They note that the U.S. is not about to withdraw its forces, disrupt trading patterns...