From July to September of 2017, South Korean news editorials discussed threats facing the country from three angles: 1) “Korea scaring,” referring to the latest set of North Korean provocations and deteriorating US-North Korean relations with severe implications for the South; 2) “Korea bashing,” referring to Trump’s increasing vexation with Moon’s talk of appeasement and continued Chinese retaliation against South Korea for THAAD; and 3) “Korea passing,” referring to speculations about a potential US-North Korean deal and unilateral withdrawal of US forces from the Korean peninsula. Domestic debate in South Korea reflected these concerns at various points, following chronologically: North Korea’s ICBM test in July, Guam threat and missile tests in August, and sixth nuclear test in September. 

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