It is not unusual or strange to feel a sense of belonging to the country in which people were born. This is all the truer for generations who have grown up being educated to feel a sense of belonging to their country. When people feel a sense of belonging to a specific group, it is easy to feel hostile to alien groups. People of South Korea, which have historically frequently clashed with neighboring countries, have complicated feelings regarding their strong neighboring countries. In particular, on the Internet, people can see many Koreans expressing negative feelings about China, which has emerged as the world’s second-largest economy in the 21st century.
The younger generation of Korea, who are the most active on the Internet among the other generations, are directly expressing their feelings about China. Students have an opinion, that is, either “I hate China” or “I like China.” However, sentiments about China are not simplified only by likes and dislikes. Those who have an opinion that “I hate China” may not hate everything about China, and those who opine that “I like China” may not be affirming all aspects of China. Therefore, opinions about China vary from person to person, but the current pattern observed on the Internet is focused on “dislikes.” In a poll conducted by Sisa IN and Hankook Research, people in their 20s expressed antipathy not only to the Chinese Communist Party but also to everything in China, including cultural heritage. The UOS Times aims to find out the aspects of these social trends and analyze why anti-China sentiment has emerged on the Internet nationwide.
Anti-Chinese sentiment refers to dislikes regarding not only China but also its people, society, and culture. Moreover, it is not just that anti-China sentiment is emerging only as a Korean social trend. China has the largest population in the world and has the world’s fourth-largest territory. The financial gap with the U.S., the greatest economic power, is also narrowing. As a result, anti-China sentiment has also intensified as more and more countries are becoming wary of China emerging as a powerful country. However, anti-China sentiment in Korea has its own social contexts.
First, Koreans have identified China as the cause of the fine dust problem, which has become serious since the 2010s. Korea is situated in the westerly belt, where the wind blows from west to east; thus, the air is bound to be affected by China in the west. China is the world’s largest industrial country, and fine dust generated from factories operating in China flows into Korea as the wind blows. There is also a lot of fine dust generated in the Korean territory, but “made in China” fine dust accounts for up to 80 percent of the overall fine dust observed in the Korean sky.
Second, it was after the controversy over the deployment of THAAD in 2016 that anti-China sentiment in Korea has risen enough to be identified as a social trend for the first time. The U.S. forces deployed THAAD in South Korea. Then, China, which was against the U.S., protested, saying such measures were aimed at it. China described Korea as a “small country” and has imposed economic retaliation. As a result, criticism came from Korea, which has close relations with the U.S.
Third, some media actively reported the Chinese authoritarian government’s oppression of Hong Kong’s democratization movement and suppression of human rights for minority groups, such as Tibet and Uighur, have shocked Koreans, who consider that they are citizens of a high-level democratic country. Koreans cannot understand the conduct of the Chinese Communist Party to suppress its citizens by advocating “One China,” as they believe in the value of freedom and human rights.
Finally, the most specific anti-China sentiment that has recently emerged is hostility stemming from Chinese netizens who show ultra-nationalism which makes other country’s people annoyed. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics stoked the fire over issues such as ultra-nationalism, including the controversy over hanbok (Korean traditional apparel, in English) at the opening ceremony and the unfair judgment in the short track speed skating event. At first, Korean citizens were angry at the Chinese government for inducing such measures, but later, they showed hostility at the Chinese people who were active on the Internet. However, it is reasonable to understand that this is not a sudden conflict but that the already existing negative emotions of the Korean and Chinese toward each other’s country have erupted upon this incident.
In other words, Koreans perceive that they have suffered specific damage from China, such as the THAAD conflict, the economic retaliation on Korea, China’s ultra-nationalism, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they have become increasingly opposed to China. In reply, anti-Korean sentiments in China have also increased.
The UOS Times interviewed student Park Eui-jung (Dept. of Chinese Language and Culture, ’20), who is scheduled to go to China as an exchange student next semester.
Q1. With anti-China sentiments intensifying in Korea recently, what do you think about China? Or, is there any opinion on anti-China sentiments?
A. I agree with the saying that anti-China sentiment is currently rooted in Korea. These days, Koreans tend to have antipathy when it comes to China in the political and cultural arenas. However, I do not think negatively about China. I think China from a macro perspective, and China in our daily lives are different. I am close to Chinese international students and am friendly with Chinese professors. It is clear that anti-China emotions exist, but the way I look at Chinese people and Chinese culture in my life is positive.
Q2. I know you are going to China as an exchange student next semester. Will anti-China sentiment affect this?
A. I think there will be a little impact, but anti-China sentiments will not play a big role in individual relationships. I still have a good relationship with Chinese international students.
Q3. What can we do as college students to relieve anti-China sentiments?
A. I think there has always been a tendency for Koreans to hate Chinese people due to anti-China sentiments. However, regardless of the country in which they were born, there are always people who respect others and do not have prejudices. I think we should try to be these people.
Furthermore, The UOS Times will deal with anti-China sentiments in more depth through an interview with Professor Ha Nam-seok of the Department of Chinese Language and Culture at the University of Seoul (UOS).
Q1. Recently, anti-China sentiment has intensified among Koreans due to China's northeast project and unfair judgment in the short-track speed skating event at the Beijing Olympics. Please tell us your opinion on this.
A. Anti-China sentiment has continued to rise in Korea since the controversy over the deployment of THAAD in 2016. According to recent studies, anti-China sentiment can be seen as a global phenomenon as well. The reason for those emotions is that many countries recognize China’s growth in various fields as a threat. We can think of the growing negative perception of China's authoritarian characteristics after Xi Jinping took power, including oppressive measures against Hong Kong protests and minorities and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As seen from this viewpoint, there are certain reasons for the increase in critical public opinions against China. However, what we have to be careful about is the sentiment caused by fake news or prejudice against other countries without an accurate understanding. This is because opposition or hatred arising from such misunderstandings or prejudices can cause great cracks in bilateral relations.
Q2. Chinese claim that hanbok and kimchi are parts of their history, so why do they make these claims?
A. It must be emphasized that the Chinese government has never officially claimed that hanbok or kimchi belongs to them. There are a few extremists in Korea, and there are such people in China, too. Their arguments are only well-known just because they are provocative. Controversy has persisted online in China and Korea for quite a long time over cultural origin. We care about the origins of hanbok and kimchi, but Chinese people also consider that Korea is claiming that Confucius is Korean, and Chinese characters were developed by Korean ancestors. In fact, are there many people around us who think Confucius is Korean or Chinese characters were created by us? Likewise, most people in China do not think hanbok or kimchi belongs to China. These things require confirmation of facts and caution against exaggerated public opinion.
Q3. What is the specificity of the anti-China sentiments of the younger generation in Korea compared to other generations?
A. While the existing anti-China sentiments of the elderly generation strongly had the characteristics of anti-communism that lasted for a long time during the Cold War, the anti-China sentiments of the younger generation are more complicated. First, as mentioned above, the younger liberal generation critically approaches China's strong authoritarian characteristics and insufficient freedom of the press. The conservative younger generation has anti-communist characteristics similar to the older generation. However, the most dangerous thing is the antipathy or hatred beyond criticism toward China. In particular, an extreme minority of people have unconditional hatred toward Korean-Chinese compatriots or China. It can be said that it is a serious social phenomenon, although a minority, in that they have hatred not only for China but also for LGBTQ, women, and people with disabilities.
Q4. Is there a way to overcome the growing antipathy toward China in Korea? How will this anti-China sentiment affect the future?
A. First of all, I think direct offline exchange with Chinese students is important. According to a study published by the Korean Association for Contemporary Chinese Studies in 2021 with Department of Chinese Language and Culture students Kim Myung-joon and Kim Joon-ho, negative perceptions of other countries are greatly lowered if they have Chinese or Japanese friends. Extracurricular programs such as C-cafe, a language exchange program held every semester at UOS, need to be more active. CAMPUS Asia, a student exchange program officially underway by the governments of three countries, Korea, China, and Japan, also needs to be expanded further. Moreover, in the Korean media, there are cases where articles fanning anti-China sentiments with fake news are published to increase hits. The same goes for China. Therefore, I think a monitoring system to prevent fake news about the two countries is important. The act of benefiting from hatred toward the other country will never benefit in the mid-to-long term and will cause great harm.
For the past few years, Chinese-related content on portal articles about China and video platforms such as YouTube have been posting so many hateful comments with racist undertones. In particular, anti-China content on video platforms, which the younger generation uses a lot, has a high number of views. Professor Ha noted that although it is a small number of people who post hate comments or produce hateful content, if these contents continue to be expanded and reproduced, public opinion may flow in a worse direction and adversely affect cooperation or exchanges between the two countries.
Today, many people are antipathetic toward China, and we should be careful not to let this anti-China sentiment lead to xenophobia, which is a combination of two Greek words, "Xenos" for foreigners and "Phobos" for disgust and fear. It refers to a phenomenon showing hatred for the influx of outsiders into a homogeneous group. In addition, this not only means racism or direct criticism against foreigners but also indicates disdain or disparagement of foreigners. Discrimination or promoting prejudice against a certain race without reason should be avoided.
To prevent anti-China sentiments from escalating to violent racism, the perception that "racism is undesirable in any case" should be socially established. Turning some members' problems or structural problems into problems of the entire group is the way hatred and discrimination work. Expressing negative images of the country to individual Chinese people should be avoided. It is necessary to understand that the Chinese are all different, just as there are various Koreans. Therefore, Koreans should be wary of anti-China sentiment leading to extreme hatred.