This article was originally published by YTN.
How do South Koreans view China?
According to a survey showing favorability toward neighboring countries, China was less favorable than North Korea and Japan.
When looking at survey results by age, the 2030 generation rated China only 20 out of 100, which is significantly lower than what other generations rated.
Another survey asked those in their 20s and 30s only.
When asked how much they favored the neighboring countries, China only gained 2.73 out of 10, lower than North Korea, with 2.89 points, and Japan, with nearly 4 points.
China’s attitude towards South Korea seems to have affected its favorability.
Nearly 50% of the respondents pointed out China’s claim that South Korea’s kimchi and hanbok originated in China.
Some may remember the kimchi controversy raised by China two years ago.
In China, claims that the origin of kimchi was “paocai” spread online as China applied paocai to the International Organization for Standardization.
There was also controversy over hanbok.
For several years, China has called hanbok “hanfu” and claimed it originated in China. Notably, it caused controversy when a young woman wearing the Korean hanbok was seen at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
While the 2030 South Korean generation viewed China negatively, many respondents also hoped for an improvement in the future.
75.3% of the respondents said that South Korean-Chinese relations should improve, and 78.8% responded that South Korea should cooperate with China for economic purposes as China plays an important role.
The 2030 generation pointed out the need for a change in China’s attitude to improve ROK-China relations.
More than 60% of respondents said China needs to change its attitude in pressuring South Korea with economic and security affairs.
Nearly 31% responded that China should lift the THAAD retaliation to normalize economic and cultural exchanges.
As most of the respondents viewed the economic aspect as most important, let us look at the current trade situation between South Korea and China.
After 30 years of establishing diplomatic ties between South Korea and China, bilateral trade has increased 47 times, and South Korea’s exports to China have increased 162 times.
However, the balance of trade with China is deteriorating. The balance of trade with China recorded a deficit for four consecutive months for the first time this year; thus, it is urgent to discuss countermeasures.
