‘No Trump! No China!’ — South Korea Walks a Tightrope as Rival Superpowers Arrive in Seoul
Protesters gathered in Seoul ahead of Trump’s arrival on Wednesday
Cries of “No Trump!” echoed through downtown Seoul on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters marched toward the U.S. embassy, their chants growing louder against a wall of police buses blocking the way.
Just a few hundred metres north, another crowd gathered near Gyeongbokgung Palace — this time shouting “No China!” and “CCP out!”. The simultaneous protests, though modest by South Korea’s spirited standards, captured the stark reality of a nation caught between two competing giants.
As U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrive in Seoul this week, President Lee Jae Myung faces one of his most delicate diplomatic balancing acts yet — hosting both rivals on his home turf.
South Korea’s ties with Washington run deep, forged “in blood” during the Korean War (1950–1953), when American troops defended the South against Northern invasion. Yet its economic lifeline runs through Beijing, its largest trading partner and crucial export market.
“It’s a particularly fraught moment — South Korea is caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Darcie Draudt-Vejares of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Year after year, it epitomises the dilemma of countries that are economically intertwined with both China and the U.S.”
That tension is on full display as Seoul hosts Trump and Xi for direct talks on Thursday — a rare opportunity that could determine whether their on-again, off-again trade war takes a new turn toward détente or deeper division.
For South Korea, the protests outside may just foreshadow the tightrope its president must walk inside the negotiating room.
