Survey Reveals: 80% of South Koreans Seek Friendly Ties with China

Online edition of Global Times’ parent media, Huanqiu Shibao./Huanqiu Shibao.

On the 18th, the English edition of Global Times, an affiliate of Huanqiu Shibao, the sister newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper Renmin Ribao, reported that this was the result of a public opinion poll conducted by the Global Times Institute (GTI) from the 4th to the 10th targeting 1,045 Koreans. The survey was known to have been conducted among men and women aged 18 to 70 living in 17 provinces in Korea, including Seoul.

According to the survey results, 57% of the respondents answered that the recent relationship between South Korea and China has become distant or hostile compared to the past. Of these, 26% said it became more hostile, and 31% said it became more distant. In contrast, only 11% responded that the relationship between South Korea and China has become friendlier and closer.

Da Zhigang, Deputy Director of Northeast Asia Research Institute, Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Science, analyzed in an interview with Global Times that Koreans feel the relationship between South Korea and China is becoming difficult./Huanqiu Shibao.

In an interview with Global Times, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, stated his analysis, “South Koreans generally feel that the relationship between South Korea and China is becoming increasingly tense,” adding, “They feel distant in their relationship with China due to issues of perception towards China, conflicts between South Korea and China, and the influence of other countries.”

Global Times reported that over half of the respondents believed that the United States could have been or was a significant factor in hindering the establishment of a friendly relationship between South Korea and China. Furthermore, 80% of the respondents believed that “The U.S. pressure on South Korea not to export semiconductors, etc., to China has harmed the Korean economy.”

Nonetheless, Global Times argued that most Koreans recognize the importance of the relationship between South Korea and China and want to improve it. This is evident from the fact that over 70% of respondents answered that “the relationship between South Korea and China is important for South Korea’s future development,” and over 80% responded that there are things Korea can learn from China.

According to the report, a considerable number of Koreans also showed a preference for traveling to China. 72% of respondents said they “want to visit China in the future,” half of them hoped to visit within the next three years, and 93% of them wanted to visit China for tourism reasons.

The survey also found that 76% of South Koreans are familiar with Fu Bao, the giant panda that recently returned to China. Responses indicating familiarity with popular Chinese foods such as hot pot and tanghulu also reached 68%.