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On a Q&A platform, there is a very interesting question: "Why do Koreans hate China more and more?"
As a neighbor, South Korea has historically played the role of a mainland vassal country, with a common culture.
It stands to reason that the relationship between each other should be good, right, why do they hate each other more and more?
It wasn't until last year, when South Korea's trade deficit with China and the release of data on shipbuilding and car manufacturing, that we suddenly realized that it was all about money.
In the first 11 months of 2023, there is such an interesting data: South Korea's exports to China are $114 billion, imports are $132 billion, and the trade deficit is $18 billion.
As soon as this data came out, it was directly "fried" in South Korea.
This is South Korea's first deficit with China in 31 years.
Prior to this, South Korea had maintained a trade surplus with China for a long time, and even for a long time, China was the country with the largest surplus in South Korea.
How can this sudden "two-level reversal" not make South Koreans tremble.
And that's just the total difference.
What is even more worrying for Koreans is that this deficit is not an accidental phenomenon in terms of the development trend of various industries, but is showing a process of continuous expansion.
Taking the shipbuilding industry, one of South Korea's pillar industries, as an example, it will show the posture of being crushed by China in 2023.
According to the data for the whole year of 2023, the total volume of new ship orders is 41.49 million revised gross tons.
Among them, China won 24.46 million, accounting for 58.9%, while South Korea won 10.01 million, accounting for 24.1%.
In 2022, China and South Korea accounted for 49% and 38%, respectively.
In other words, in one year, the number of orders in China increased by almost 10%, while in South Korea it decreased by 14%.
Let's take a look at the data on car exports from China and South Korea.
According to the data, the number of exports from mainland China in the first ten months of 2023 was 4.24 million units, and it is expected to exceed 5 million units for the whole year.
And in 2022, the figure is 3.11 million units.
South Korea's auto exports will also grow in 2023, but they are also feeling the oppression from the overall rise of China's automaker.
In addition to the above-mentioned shipbuilding and car manufacturing, South Korea's traditional pillar industries, such as semiconductors, energy, steel, home appliances, etc., are facing the rise and competition of Chinese companies at different levels.
There is a saying that "taking a job is like killing a parent", and it is not surprising that South Koreans are increasingly hating China in a situation where South Korea's traditionally strong industries are almost fully coping with the encroachment of Chinese companies.
Even in 2023, it makes sense that South Korea will start to be more "pro-American", after all, he still has to eat, and he always has to find a backer.
But what makes South Koreans a little helpless is that China has shown strong stamina in various emerging fields, because China has a more complete industrial chain.
This means that the price of the same product in mainland China is likely to be lower than that of South Korea, and on the basis of equal quality, customers will inevitably choose the one with the lower price.
In other words, South Korean companies can almost only be passively beaten.
Once upon a time, South Korea was a high-frequency word in China, we used Korean electronic products, watched Korean idol dramas, and chased Korean stars.
But now, it all seems to have changed dramatically.
Korean elements are decreasing at home, while Chinese elements are more present in all corners of the world.
As some people say, in this world, big countries will eventually rise, and small countries that rise with the first-mover advantage of the times, along with the rise of big powers, will eventually return to their original positions, and this trend is irreversible.
Therefore, for South Korea, this process may be more painful and helpless, but this is the law and inertia of history.