Here is the latest in regards to where South Korea stands in the global trade war with the Trump administration:
Calls are mounting for Seoul to refrain from signing a tariff deal hastily with Washington, as the leaders of Japan and other U.S. trade partners criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s letters threatening “reciprocal” tariffs he said will take effect on Aug. 1.
Amid the limited impact of the U.S. tariff threats on the stock market, speculation is also growing that the Lee Jae Myung administration will maintain a cautious approach — though it has ostensibly vowed to accelerate trade negotiations.
After receiving Trump’s letter Tuesday, Lee remained silent on the issue during public events. The presidential office also said Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, prioritized the national interest over immediate negotiations during an emergency meeting with relevant ministry officials that day. (……)
Rep. Kim Joon-hyung of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party, a former chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said in a radio interview Wednesday that Korea should be in solidarity with Japan to reject unilateral requests from the U.S.
Myongji University professor Kim Tae-hwang advised Korea to align with Japan and the European Union, both of which are key trade partners of the U.S.
These suggestions were backed by Trump’s inconsistency in the tariff deadline, which has been ridiculed with the term “TACO,” which stands for “Trump always chickens out.” According to Forbes, the U.S. president has flip-flopped 28 times regarding his tariff policy.
You can read more at the link, but Trump has actually brought Korean leftists in line with Japan due to the current trade dispute.
Kamakura is a beautiful area of Japan filled with various temples and shrines. It is not surprising to me that they would have a Korean shrine there as well. Good to hear the shrine is returning to its original home in Korea:
A building believed to be a royal shrine from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) has returned to Korea, about 100 years after it was taken to Japan.
The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation announced Tuesday that they had received parts of the structure, known as Gwanwoldang, under an agreement reached a day ago with Kotoku-in, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Japan.
The return was made possible through the decision of Takao Sato, chief priest of the temple, who concluded that the shrine should be preserved in its original home — Korea.
It marks the first time an entire Korean building located overseas has been repatriated. Previously, in 1995, 110 tons of remains from Jaseondang Hall of Gyeongbok Palace, discovered in a garden path at Tokyo’s Okura Hotel, were returned. However, those remains consisted mostly of stone components, such as stylobates and cornerstones.
You can read more at the link.
