During my visits to Seoul I was told to avoid the American Embassy as much as possible. It always struck me as disgraceful the way the embassy had to be protected with high walls, bomb netting, and riot police. I was also instructed to hide my passport and say that I was Canadian should anyone suspect I was an American.

Korea has gone from one of the world's poorest countries to one of the wealthiest in two generations. In the 1950s Korea was known as the source of adopted children; today it is known for its memory chips and flat-panel TVs. South Korea engineered this transformation with the help of the American government and its people. Americans like my father defended it, and Americans like me trade with it. We have done these things because we believed that the South Korean people shared our values of freedom and fairness. Evidently this has not been the case.

There is no excuse for the anti-Americanism that has become the norm in South Korea. As a businessman I have watched in disbelief as South Koreans blame America for nearly everything - including the increasingly irrational behavior of their neighbor to the North. I have seen Americans spit upon and beaten up. I have seen our flag shredded and burned.

I have seen enough. If you want Americans out of Korea, then we will take them out, and when we are ready - not according to Prime Minister Goh Kun's timetable. If you believe that you can handle Kim Jong Il without us, then so be it. Don't let us stand in the way of your "Sunshine Policy."

What many South Koreans may not understand is how Sept. 11 has changed America. The same grim determination which freed your nation is now being used to protect our own. Iraq and Al-Qaida are greater threats to us than North Korea. Those 37,000 Americans can be better used to do for Iraq what we did for your country 50 years ago. They can directly help us prevent another day like Sept. 11, when secretaries and clerks fell to the New York city pavement like rain.

America is not an occupying power. Since you don't want us we are leaving. You are getting what you wished for - an "equitable relationship" with the United States. You can stand on your own - just like we do.

Welcome to equality.

James Kirwin, Wilmington, Delaware, USA