Anti-Chinese sentiment among South Koreans, particularly among younger people, continues to grow, a new survey showed.
According to a survey released by the local Maeil Business newspaper on May 5, 65.7 percent of survey respondents aged between 20 and 50 said they dislike China. Among them, 27.7 percent said they strongly dislike China, while 38 percent said they dislike it. Another 30 percent said that their feelings toward China are neutral. Only 3.3 percent said they have a favorable view of China, and 1 percent said they strongly like China.
The survey showed that the majority of respondents saw anti-Chinese sentiment as stronger than anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea. 56 percent of the respondents said they believe anti-Chinese sentiment is about equal to or stronger than anti-Japanese sentiment. However, the respondents were split by age. Among those in their 20s, 34 percent thought that anti-Chinese sentiment is stronger, while 55 percent of those in their 40s said that anti-Japanese sentiment is bigger.
A large number of respondents, or nearly 80 percent of them, agreed with the fact that anti-Chinese sentiment is growing. The survey showed that 58 percent of respondents said that this sentiment is growing and another 28 percent said it is growing significantly.
The biggest reason behind anti-Chinese sentiment is Beijing’s attempt to distort history and exert cultural sway over South Korea.
According to the survey, 76 percent of respondents chose China’s Northeast Project as the main reason for the anti-Chinese sentiment. This was a Chinese government-run research project on the history and current situation of the frontiers of northeastern China. The project, which officially ran from 2002 to 2007, caused ire in South Korea for claiming that ancient Korean kingdoms in northeastern China were Chinese polities because of their location.
Chinese attempts to distort history have continued until today. The South Korean public also has been very sensitive about Chinese cultural infringement led by massive inflows of Chinese capital. Recently, South Korean public sentiment toward Beijing has worsened after some Chinese authors and scholars have said that Korean cultural products such as hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and foods like kimchi originated in China.
Six out of ten people cited fine dust and yellow dust coming from China as the main reason for growing anti-Chinese sentiment. Some blamed the Chinese for the Covid-19 pandemic, and 46 percent of respondents said the main reason for the negative sentiment was “Covid-19, which started in China.”
There were some who cited Chinese attempts to acquire domestically developed technologies (23 percent) and Chinese speculative funds in the domestic real estate and blockchain markets (16 percent).
Another 14.7 percent said their anti-Chinese sentiment grew due to the current Moon Jae-in administration’s servile attitude toward China. Multiple answers were allowed for this particular survey question.
In South Korea, anti-Chinese sentiment started to grow publicly starting in August 2016, when the South Korean government decided to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in the south. At that time, the Chinese government banned its nationals from visiting South Korea and South Korean TV shows from airing in its country. The South Korean tourism, gaming, and retail industries were hit hard by Beijing’s response, and many companies closed down their branches in China.
South Korean people’s ire deepened when the Chinese government released statements saying that they never officially imposed sanctions against South Korean companies.
The latest study is similar to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in October. According to the survey, 75 percent of South Koreans had unfavorable views of China. “Negative views increased by double digits over the past year in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, South Korea and Spain,” the Pew Research Center said. It surveyed 14,276 adults in 14 advanced countries. Those who have an unfavorable view of China in South Korea rose from 63 percent in 2019 to 75 percent last year. It went up significantly when compared to 37 percent recorded in 2015.
The Pew Research Center also noted that “The only country surveyed in which younger people hold more unfavorable views of China than their elders is South Korea.” In South Korea, 82 percent of those under 30 have an unfavorable view of China, compared with 68 percent of those aged 50 and older.
In addition, negative evaluations of Chinese President Xi Jinping rose by the most in South Korea compared to the other countries included in the survey. It showed that 83 percent of South Koreans have no confidence in Xi to do the right thing regarding world affairs, which rose significantly from 29 percent in 2015. South Korea and Japan saw the Chinese Covid-19 response most negatively, at 79 percent.
There are many examples that reflect this anti-Chinese sentiment among South Koreans. A construction project for a Korea-China Cultural Town in Gangwon Province in northeastern South Korea has at least temporarily been scrapped due to growing opposition. More than 660,000 people signed a South Korean presidential petition calling for the project to be canceled. One other example was the cancellation of the TV drama “Joseon Exorcist” after just two episodes because viewers were upset over the historical distortions of supposed Chinese over Korea in the show.
