Relations between the current governments of the U.S. and South Korea are as good as ever, and South Koreans’ general sentiment toward the U.S. is very positive.

This was not always the case. In his new book Anti-Americanism in Democratizing South Korea, long-time diplomat David Straub notes that, between the late 1990s and early 2000s, Korean popular sentiment, fanned by sensationalistic media reports, suggested that the U.S. did not respect Koreans and its military was above Korean law.

Though relations have improved since then, Straub wrote the book because he considers this period worth remembering, because the past may