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Anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea

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Anti-Chinese riots in Pyongyang, Korea in the aftermath of the 1931 Wanpaoshan Incident

Anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea was created in the 21st century by cultural and historical claims of China and a sense of security crisis caused by China's rise.[1] [2]

History

See also: History of Sino-Korean relations

In 1931, while Korea was dominated by Imperial Japan, there was a dispute between Chinese and Korean farmers in Wanpaoshan, Manchuria. It was highly sensationalized in the Japanese and Korean press, and used as propaganda to increase anti-Chinese sentiment. It caused a series of anti-Chinese riots throughout Korea, starting in Incheon on July 3 and spreading rapidly to other cities. Chinese sources estimate that 146 people were killed, 546 wounded, and a considerable number of properties were destroyed [citation needed]. The worst riot occurred in Pyongyang on July 5. In this effect, the Japanese had a considerable influence on sinophobia in Korea.[3]

Starting in October 1950, the People's Volunteer Army fought in the Korean War (1950–1953) on the side of North Korea against South Korean and United Nations troops. The participation of the PVA made the relations between South Korea and China hostile. Throughout the Cold War, there were no official relations between capitalist South Korea and communist China until August 24, 1992, when formal diplomatic relations were established between Seoul and Beijing.

In the 1960s, South Korean laws directed against foreign property ownership, at a time when most foreign ownership was by ethnic Chinese, led to many Chinese emigrating from South Korea to Taiwan.[4]

Recent history

See also: Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Goguryeo controversies

In the early 2000s, a dispute over the history of Goguryeo, which both Koreas and China claim as their own, caused tension between the two countries.[5]: 9 

Anti-Chinese sentiments in South Korea have been on a steady rise since 2002. According to the Pew Global Attitude Project, favorable view of China steadily declined from 66% in 2002 to 48% in 2008, while unfavorable view of China rose from 31% in 2002 to 49% in 2008.[6] According to polls by the East Asia Institute, positive view of China's influence declined from 48.6% in 2005 to 38% in 2009, while negative view of Chinese influence rose from 46.7% in 2005 to 50% in 2008.[7]

During the Seoul leg of the 2008 Olympic torch relay, over 6,000 Chinese students clashed with protesters.[8][9][10] Chinese demonstrators clashed with local activists who rallied to protest the torch relay, citing Beijing's discouraging treatment of North Korea defectors and the regime's crackdown on Tibetans' rioting for independence.[9] With the result of these violent clashes in central Seoul, anti-Chinese sentiments in Korea aroused great indignation toward the Chinese people.[11] The Ministry of Justice of South Korea indicated that it would punish all such demonstrators, regardless of nationality.[12] The Government of South Korea is toughening visa regulations for Chinese students.[13]

Relations further strained with the deployment of THAAD in South Korea in 2017, for which China started its boycott against Korea, causing Koreans to develop anti-Chinese sentiment over reports of economic retaliation by Beijing.[14]

A study in 2018 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed anti-Chinese sentiments in South Korea is becoming serious, with the majority of South Koreans expressing positive sentiments towards the United States and negative sentiments towards China.[15] This contradicts a previous study by the same institute in 2017 that South Korea, in the long term, will not be able to maintain an anti-US stance against Chinese and Russian retaliation. According to the study, since 2013, it has become a trans-generational and trans-political trend in South Korea where the younger generation in their 20s have higher perceptions of China as a threat than the older generation in their 60s. The study deduced three factors behind anti-Chinese sentiments in South Korea, which are cold war ideology, nationalism and China threat theory. According to its analysis, anti-Chinese sentiments first began to rise with the Northeast Project in 2004, and took a decisive turn for the worse in the THAAD conflict in 2017.

According to a poll released by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University in 2018, 46 percent of South Koreans find China as the most threatening country to inter-Korean peace (compared to 33 percent for North Korea), marking the first time China was seen as a bigger threat than North Korea since the survey began in 2007.[16]

Chinese government answered the anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea because of complex caused by two neighbouring advanced countries, China, and Japan.[17]

Cultural hostility

On October 13, 2020, RM, a member of the South Korean K-pop group BTS, made a speech about the Korean War, where he reflected on South Korea's shared history with the United States through the pains and losses from the war. On social media, there was criticism from Chinese nationals against BTS for leaving out China's role in the civil war (during which it sided with North Korea to fight against South Korea).[18][19] In response, negative sentiments toward China rose in South Korea, as Koreans viewed the Chinese response as exaggerating the situation without contextualizing RM's statement.[20]

The 2022 Winter Olympics saw a deterioration of the relationship between China and the South Korean people. During the opening ceremony, China has raised a controversy among South Korean public as an Hanbok was displayed during the ceremony. The display has caused uproar among South Korean public and politicians calling it "cultural appropriation".[21] The relationship worsened following the Men's 1000 metre short-track speedskating event incident which in South Korean skaters Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified. South Korea later filed a protest to International Skating Union, which the ISU rejected.[22][23] The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee later filed an official appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[24] In Seoul, a small scaled protest erupted in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul with protesters was seen tearing the Chinese flag and shouting anti-Chinese slogans.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ South Koreans Now Dislike China More Than They Dislike Japan. Posted on The New York times. Posted by choe sang-hun on August 20, 2021.
  2. ^ Understanding Korea's Hatred for China. Posted on Korea expose. Posted by Se-Woong Koo on Jan 31, 2022.
  3. ^ 만보산사건 (in Korean). Naver/Doosan Encyclopedia.
  4. ^ Kim, Kwang-ok (2004), "Chinese in Korea", in Ember, Melvin; Ember, Carol R.; Skoggard, Ian A. (eds.), Encyclopedia of diasporas: immigrant and refugee cultures around the world, Springer, pp. 688–697, ISBN 978-0-306-48321-9
  5. ^ Gries, Peter Hays (2005). "The Koguryo controversy, national identity, and Sino-Korean relations today". East Asia. 22 (4): 3–17. doi:10.1007/s12140-005-0001-y. ISSN 1096-6838. S2CID 144129470.
  6. ^ World Public Opinion surveys, 2002–2008 www.worldpublicopinion.org
  7. ^ East Asia Institute Foreign Perception Survey 2005–2009, some in collaboration with BBC World Service Polls 2005–2008 www.eai.or.kr
  8. ^ Donga Monthly.
  9. ^ a b Song Sang-ho (2010-04-04). "Chinese student faces arrest for Seoul torch relay violence". The Korea Herald.
  10. ^ Lee, Gil-seong (이길성); Won, Jeong-hwan (원정환) (2008-04-29). 중국인들 집단 폭력에 멍들어버린 서울 [Seoul bruised by the Chinese mob's organized assaults]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean).
  11. ^ 중국인 시위대 폭력행위… '비난여론' 거세 [Chinese protesters' violence… Growing 'criticism'in Korea] (in Korean). JKSTARS.COM. 2008-04-28. Archived from the original on 2014-09-10.
  12. ^ Song Sang-ho (2010-04-04). "Seoul to punish Chinese torch demonstrators". The Korea Herald.
  13. ^ Shin Jeong-won (2008-04-30). 정부 "중국인 비자 발급 엄격하게 하겠다" (in Korean). Newsis.
  14. ^ Beijing's Anti-THAAD Moves Sour China Views in South Korea. Posted by Brian Padden on March 21, 2017.
  15. ^ "한국 20대 혐중, 60대보다 심해" 중국서도 우려. 중앙일보 (in Korean). 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  16. ^ "China, not North Korea, is biggest threat to peace, South Koreans say". South China Morning Post. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  17. ^ 조선일보 (2022-02-09). "한국의 반중 여론에 中매체 "중·일 강대국 그늘서 생긴 열등감"". 조선일보 (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  18. ^ "Chinese fans upset by BTS' Korean War remark: Report".
  19. ^ "'Nation before idols': Chinese netizens boycott BTS for hurting their feelings over Korean War comment".
  20. ^ "China Backs off from Fight with K-Pop Fans".
  21. ^ "South Korea irked over 'Korean traditional dress' in Beijing Winter Games ceremony". CNA. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  22. ^ Houston, Michael (8 February 2022). "South Korea to appeal to CAS over short track refereeing at Beijing 2022". Inside the Games. Dunsar Media Ltd. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  23. ^ Young, Jin Yu; Draper, Kevin (8 February 2022). "South Korea appeals the disqualification of two short-track speedskaters". The New York Times.
  24. ^ Houston, Michael (8 February 2022). "South Korea to appeal to CAS over short track refereeing at Beijing 2022". Inside the Games. Dunsar Media Ltd. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  25. ^ @TRTWorldNow (February 11, 2022). "In pictures: People protest the disqualification of the South Korean short track speedskaters at the Beijing Winter Olympics near the Chinese Embassy in Seoul" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022 – via Twitter.
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