This study analyzes the factors that influenced South Korean views of the United States in the early 1990s and their historical implications for subsequent South Korean perceptions of the traditional ally. The main observations can be summed up as follows. In the early 1990s, many South Koreans shared new stirrings of national pride arising from their country’s remarkable achievements in many fields. The increase in South Korean national pride profoundly influenced their perception of the United States. South Koreans resented the role of “apprentice nation” and “little brother” that their nation had played following the Korean War and prompted South Korea and the United States to readjust their alliance relationship to reflect the changed status of the former nation. The enhanced national pride of the early 1990s was further strengthened to the extent that South Korean perception of the United States underwent fundamental changes in the 2000s. This is the historical implications that the increased South Korean national pride has for subsequent perceptions of the United States. The collapse of the Cold War in the early 1990s considerably influenced South Korean perceptions of the United States and the ROK-U.S. alliance. Specifically, it had profound impacts on South Korean views of the U.S. military presence in their nation. “Post-Cold War mentality” that formed in the early 1990s further evolved into “alliance fatigue” in the 2000s. This is the historical implications that the coming of the post-Cold War era has for subsequent South Korean perceptions of the United States. Historically, the North Korean military threat has most influenced South Korean perception of the United States. It has justified the ROK-U.S. alliance and the presence of U.S. forces in South Korea. With the emergence of the North Korean nuclear crisis in the spring of 1993, many South Koreans were seriously concerned about Washington's North Korea policy. Thereafter, it functioned as an important source of so-called “South-South conflict” between the “conservatives” and the “progressives” in South Korean society. This is the historical implications that the North Korean nuclear crisis of the early 1990s has for subsequent South Korean views of the United States.