Lee gave Trump a specially gilded replica of an ancient Korean kingdom crown in a ceremony at Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju. The original crown, which is more than 1,000 years old, was excavated from Cheonmachong tomb in the 1970s and is considered a national treasure. A South Korean official explained to Trump that it “symbolizes the divine connection between the authority of the heavens and sovereignty on earth, as well as the strong leadership and authority of a leader.” The official added that Lee was gifting him the crown to commemorate his state visit and in recognition of a “golden age of the Korea-U.S. alliance.”
Lee also conferred Trump with the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, South Korea’s highest honor. Trump thanked Lee for the gifts, and while looking at the medal, which he became the first U.S. President to receive, said, “It’s really beautiful. I’d like to wear it right now.”
But while their government was apparently appealing to Trump’s fondness for gold and monarchical self-regard, some South Koreans protested nearby with chants including “No kings: Trump not welcome.”
The rallying cry echoes that of “No Kings” protests across the U.S. and comes as some South Korean civic groups, opposition politicians, and citizens have grown angry with Trump’s brash diplomacy, including high tariffs, harsh immigration policies, and demands for foreign investment—all of which Lee seeks to negotiate in high-stakes trade talks.
“It seems the U.S. is seeing and treating South Korea as its cash cow,” Kim Sol-yi, a 22-year-old college student who joined a protest in Seoul on Saturday, told the BBC. “Honestly, it makes me pretty mad and question whether the U.S. even thinks of us as an equal partner.”
Still, while only a third of South Koreans have confidence in Trump to do the right thing as a world leader, according to a June Pew report, a poll by newspaper JoongAng Ilbo and the East Asia Institute found that a majority of South Koreans see the U.S.’s rivalry with China as their country’s greatest threat. And 89% of South Koreans, according to Pew, see the U.S. as their most vital ally. Anti-China protests have also gripped South Korea as it prepares to host a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
It’s a delicate balancing act for Lee, who seeks to normalize ties with both rival superpowers.
“U.S. is the indispensable security ally; China is the indispensable economic partner,” Lam Peng Er, principal research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, tells TIME. “They don’t want to be caught in a binary situation where you have to cast a lot with just one side, because they really need good relationship[s with] both sides.”
