Recently, South Korea's Kookmin Daily commissioned a public opinion survey company to conduct an online questionnaire survey of the changes in the perception of the United States, China, Japan, and North Korea among about 1,000 South Koreans.
The results show that 51.7% of the respondents said that the "least favorite" is China, of which the "MZ generation" of the post-95s and post-00s generations has a negative perception of China as high as 60.3%. Meanwhile, the proportion of "least liked" Japan was 31.2%, and the proportion of "MZ generation" was 22.8%.
I believe that many people's reactions are the same as those of Xiaobian, and they are surprised by the conclusion of this survey - China and South Korea have close trade exchanges, frequent personnel exchanges, "you have me, I have you", how did China become the least favorite country of South Koreans?
From the analysis of the situation inside and outside South Korea, the main reasons for the change in the Korean people's perception of China are as follows:
1 Opposition presidential candidate Yin Xiyue lashed out at China.
The battle for next year's presidential election in South Korea has already begun. In order to strengthen the competition between neutral voters and young voters, reverse the "falling and falling" support rate, and thus achieve regime change, the conservative camp in the opposition fiercely attacked the "pro-China" posture of the Moon Jae-in government. South Korea's most popular opposition presidential candidate, former Attorney General Yoon Seok-yue, did not hesitate to revive the THAAD contradiction in order to stir up nationalist sentiment among voters.
△ Yoon Seok-yue even said that the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system is a national sovereignty act of South Korea and should not be interfered with. And this kind of immature diplomatic rhetoric has a big impact on voters, especially young voters. At present, Yin Xiyue's view of "THAAD" has already stirred up waves in his support layer. The "THAAD" contradiction that has been gradually forgotten and the memory of China's "restriction on Korea" has been revived, resulting in a sharp decline in South Koreans' liking for China.
2
Lee Joon-seok, head of South Korea's largest opposition party, the National Power Party, sympathizes with Hong Kong's "abolition of youth."
△ On June 11, 36-year-old Lee Joon-seok was elected as the head of South Korea's largest opposition party, the National Power Party, becoming an important standard-bearer of South Korea's "renewal". Of the six leaders of the National Forces Party, three are young people in their 30s and three women. The election reflects the aspirations of young people aged 20 to 39 for a new and old replacement, a push for innovation and political reform (a radical change in the "old party").
Lee Joon-seok's outspoken way of speaking, the concept of rejecting traditional political routines, and the style of the newborn calf who are not afraid of tigers are like a "clear stream", which makes the "new generation of MZs" in their twenties and thirties fanatical about him. For a time, the cheers of "Lee Joon-seok Whirlwind" and "Lee Joon-seok Phenomenon" rose up. South Korea thus entered the political era of "post-80s and post-90s".
Lee said that "fairness and competition are the core values of conservative parties", and the spearhead is directed at the Moon Jae-in regime. In addition, he has made controversial remarks on several occasions. For example, he has spoken out about China's practices on issues such as Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and expressed his "concerns" about Hong Kong to the Chinese ambassador to South Korea.
As the leader of the opposition party, Lee Joon-seok's remarks on diplomatic issues seem immature and inappropriate. However, due to the huge influence and wide appeal of Lee Joon-seok among the young generation of "post-80s and post-90s" in South Korea, his "View of China" will inevitably spread among young people, thus negatively affecting the perception of China among young Koreans.
3 Contradictions between China and South Korea in the field of culture blossom at many points.
South Koreans' nationalist sentiment is very strong, and the hidden worries that China's "Northeast Project" (generally referring to the series of research projects on the history and current situation of the Northeast Frontier) may cause South Korea to lose its cultural roots has intensified, and the "anti-China sentiment" has become increasingly strong, so that the contradictions between China and South Korea in the cultural field have arisen one after another and continued.
Recently, the chinese and South Korean people quarreled over kimchi, hanbok and other issues, which stimulated the sensitive nerves of South Koreans and greatly increased the antipathy and sense of crisis that South Koreans with strong cultural self-esteem and pride have against China.
At the end of last year, China's "kimchi" was certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard. South Korean media called it "the shame of the kimchi suzerainty." This greatly stimulated the hearts of Koreans and ignited the debate between China and South Korea over the origin of kimchi.
Since then, China's ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, has posted photos of hand-made kimchi, and Li Ziqi, a well-known Chinese YouTube blogger with 14 million subscribers, has also uploaded videos of making kimchi by hand and labeled it "Chinese cuisine (#ChineseFood)," leading to further fermentation of the controversy.
South Korea sent letters to Baidu Encyclopedia and Google protesting that "Korean kimchi originated in China", so that Baidu Encyclopedia and Google deleted this expression. South Korea even sent a letter to the Chinese online game company "PaperGame" to protest the hanbok dispute triggered by the company's dress-up game "Shine Warm" Hanbok suit.
The South Korean food broadcaster publicly claimed that kimchi and rice are taken for granted Indies, which triggered a "insult to China" controversy and a strong protest from Chinese netizens, resulting in its banning in China.
South Korea's SBS TV drama "North Korean Exorcist" uses props with a strong Chinese style, and typical Chinese foods such as mooncakes and peeled eggs appear. The "Chinese" element that appeared in it made many Korean viewers feel unhappy, and they demanded that the show be stopped, with more than 5,000 complaints, and spontaneously boycotted the advertising sponsors of the TV series. People condemned that "TV dramas also have to look at China's face".
Screenshot of Joseon Exorcist
Although this is a "fictional costume drama", it was still suspended for suspected distortion of history, and various companies have withdrawn advertising. Many South Koreans believe that "screenwriters affiliated with Chinese agencies distort Korean history with wrong stories, making us feel a strong sense of deprivation and anger", and worry that the Korean entertainment industry may also become a "vassal" of China.
4 The gap between China and the ROK in terms of development speed is widening.
Most young South Koreans grow up proud of their country's economic and cultural success. South Korea is the only economy to upgrade from a developing country to a developed country since the creation of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 1964, ranking 10th in the world in gross domestic product (GDP) last year and being invited to the Group of Seven (G7) summit for the first time.
According to Korean media reports, the top 10 countries in the world's GDP in 2020 are the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, France, Italy, Canada, and South Korea.
But China's development has been more rapid, with most of Its economic indicators catching up with South Korea in the past 30 years, with South Korea's nominal GDP increasing by 3.6 times, while China's growth has increased by nearly 29 times over the same period. The great achievements of South Korea's economic development have been eclipsed by China.
This sense of disparity between the Chinese and South Korean economies makes South Koreans always "short of heroes" when facing China.
And because the COVID-19 pandemic has blocked face-to-face communication between China and South Korea, it has increased the probability of misunderstanding.
For more than 50 consecutive days, south Korea's new single-day new confirmed cases of new crown have remained in four figures, the new crown vaccine is often out of stock, the vaccination rate has not been high, and the once proud "K epidemic prevention" model has failed. China's epidemic prevention strategy is still effective in the face of the Delta mutation virus, with more than 2 billion vaccinations. The contrast between the two also deepens the frustration of South Koreans in the face of China.
5 Overall, the current China-ROK relationship has sounded the alarm bell for the two countries.
South Korea's main conservative party, the opposition Korea National Power Party, has begun to exploit the anti-China sentiment of young voters to ensure that it wins the presidential election, and its China policy has been hijacked by election politics.
In order to win the support of millennials who are wandering voters, conservatives will continue to attack and create trouble on China policy issues.
Mr. Yin publicly criticized China at a news conference in Seoul in June.
The conservatization of Korean society deserves vigilance, and the conservative forces' tendency to neglect China, be suspicious of China, and even oppose China are gradually spreading in society and are in danger of becoming the mainstream.
The decline in South Korea's favorability toward China will also provoke a deterioration in China's favorability toward South Korea over time, and if a vicious circle is formed, it will not be a good thing for both countries.
This past August 24 marks the 29th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK.
On this day, the "Committee on the Future Development of China-South Korea Relations" was officially launched. The foreign ministers of Both China and South Korea issued enthusiastic congratulatory videos. It is not difficult to see that the two governments attach great importance to the future development of China-ROK relations.
However, it is worth noting that the dislocation of the government and the people in Sino-South Korean relations (official friendship, people's dislike) cannot be sustained forever, and in the long run, civil dissent may subvert official friendship and cause a comprehensive deterioration of China-South Korea relations from people to officials.
6 Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and south Korea.
As Sino-South Korean relations approach the end of their lives, South Koreans' liking for China has fallen to an all-time low, and in the face of the deepening of south Koreans' (especially young people's) negative views and growing antipathy towards China, China and South Korea should explore solutions from all levels.
In fact, there is no deep hatred between China and South Korea, and even the soldiers and soldiers during the Korean War can freeze the previous suspicions. These small problems that are now appearing can be resolved even if they stir up big ripples.
Image source/Visual China
The current disputes between China and South Korea stem partly from the "THAAD" divisive strategy used by the United States, and partly from the pursuit of cultural uniqueness in the process of cultural integration left over from history. Now that the crux of the problem is clear, China and the ROK should pay attention to it when handling their relations with each other.
From ancient times to the present, Chinese culture has influenced the Korean Peninsula for thousands of years. The "Han Wind" and "Korean Wave" stir and influence each other. The "people-to-people affinity" between China and South Korea has a broad and solid foundation. In 2009, the number of South Korean students studying in China exceeded the 60,000 mark for the first time, and since then, it has fluctuated, and in 2016, it increased by 3,749 year-on-year, making China surpass the United States as the largest study destination for Korean students.
South Korean students studying in China are the most understanding group of people who can do anything about resolving disputes between the two countries. Chinese students in South Korea should also assume the role of a bridge for Exchanges and Cooperation between China and South Korea.
Written by | Li Jiacheng is an associate professor at the School of International Economics and Politics, Liaoning University
Big/Home/Both/In/Watch
The Ministry of Education stressed that schools should not be divided into classes according to grades, and that paper-and-pencil examinations should not be conducted in the first and second grades of primary schools
The top Taliban leader will make his first public appearance
100 days, the latest image!
(Source: Baitong)
Editor-in-chief: Liu Qian
Editor-in-charge of this issue: Niu Huiying