The seventh withdrawal: has the US forces' journey back home from Korea begun?

This article analyzes the reasons that led to the six UnitedStates forces withdrawals from South Korea between 1947 and2008 and the Republic of Korea's responses to these policies.The article discusses the local and global aspects of theseforces' functions and tasks and attempts to understand why Koreahas not prepared itself for the withdrawal of the US forcesthroughout the years. The article will argue that there mightbe a seventh withdrawal of US forces from Korea in the nearfuture, which South Korea and the USA should begin preparingfor. Received for publication December 20, 2007. Accepted for publication March 28, 2008.