China to the rescue? Not so fast, says South Korean.

A New York Times article suggests that emerging markets could be the engine of recovery in this global economic downturn. But at least one prominent figure in the South Korean business world is not so keen on the idea of China supplanting the United States:

“China cannot replace the U.S. economy as the engine of global growth,” said Chang Dae Whan, chairman of Maeil, a South Korean newspaper company. “We’re going to need a huge stimulus package from the United States, on the order of $2 trillion, to get the global economy out of the financial crisis. So far, we’ve only seen about $700 billion. As a result, next year I expect to see more pain and fear.”

For those at the Marmot's Hole and elsewhere in the Korea blogosphere who think that all Koreans are caught up in a pro-China love fest, this ambivalence toward China's economic rise is not at all uncommon.