The world's consumer

The Los Angeles Times has an article discussing America's role as "the consumer of last resort" on which much of the rest of the world relies:

Many analysts see the U.S. already heading back down the free-spending path.

"Europe and Germany will pursue austerity. Asians will pursue exports. We will be the only buyer," warns Clyde Prestowitz, a former trade negotiator in the Reagan administration and author of a new book, "The Betrayal of American Prosperity."

Although the piece doesn't specifically mention South Korea, the ROK has for decades relied on American markets to sell its goods and is milking its enviable position as an low-cost or affordable provider of quality goods to keep the global recession demons at arm's length.