The first year of the presidency of President Joe Biden, who took office on January 20, 2021, with international interests, passed. Contrary to the initial high expectations, the current state report for President Biden's first year is not very positive. Although Biden had declared that the U.S. is back, the U.S. does not seem to exist at the core of international politics. Due to the global status of the U.S., the foreign policy of the U.S. is not just a policy of the U.S.; it has an important global impact. South Korea, which is an ally of the U.S., also has various problems with its relationship with the U.S., so it is time to pay attention to U.S. policy trends.

Chapter 1 of this book deals with the Biden administration's foreign policy tone. President Joe Biden strongly emphasized the restoration of U.S. global leadership and cooperation with allies and partners as the keynote of overall foreign policy. Based on Biden's own philosophy and Democratic foreign and security tendencies, the two pillars of Biden's foreign policy are multilateralism, alliance networks, and values and normative diplomacy. But the Trump administration's hardline stance on China continues. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, attention is being paid to how Biden's global leadership will recover. 

In Chapter 2, Dr. Lee Dae-woo delves deeply into Sino-US relations. U.S.-China relations have deteriorated since the inauguration of the Biden administration, which inherited the Trump administration's hardline policy toward China. The Biden administration emphasized strengthening the alliance to keep China in check. In particular, the Biden administration regards allies (NATO, Australia, Japan, and Korea) as the most important strategic assets of the U.S. and strongly expressed its willingness to strengthen democracy with its partners.

In Chapter 3, Dr. Woo Jong-yeop reviews issues related to the ROK-U.S. alliance and policies toward North Korea. President Biden's efforts to restore and strengthen relations with the alliance are not just aimed at improving bilateral relations but at the global strategy of U.S. policy toward China, which could be burdensome. In terms of policy toward North Korea, the Biden administration seems to have no intention of preemptively lowering the threshold and proceeding with negotiations unless North Korea actively participates in negotiations during the rest of its term.

In Chapter 4, Professor Lee Wanghwi examines the Biden administration's trade and trade policies. Like the Trump administration, the Biden administration, which aims to restore the middle class, has adopted protectionism as the keynote of trade policy. The Biden administration's new trade policy provides both a crisis and an opportunity for Korea-U.S. trade relations. Korea's investment in the U.S. will help both Korea and the U.S. reduce their dependence on China by diversifying the supply chain of strategically important industries. In addition, job creation in the U.S. will not only prevent trade friction but also have a positive impact on the overall relationship between Korea and the U.S. 

Since the early 2010s, the international situation has been in turmoil due to North Korea's continuous ballistic missile launches and Ukraine's crisis. Attention is given to how the Biden administration will deal with diplomatic and security issues abroad. I hope this book will help the Biden administration predict foreign policy and understand pending foreign and security issues related to Korea. 

Volume No: 2021-1 

Issue Date: 2022. 02. 04. 

Page: 163 pages​