Anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea

Korea has a long history of both resistance against and subordination to Imperial China.[1][2] Until the arrival of Western imperialism in the 19th century, Korea had been part of the sinocentric East Asian regional order.[3]:9

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

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 . The worst riot occurred in Pyongyang on July 5. In this effect, the Japanese had a considerable influence on sinophobia in Korea.[4]

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.[5]

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 Goguryo, which both Koreas and China claim as their own, caused tension between the two countries.[3]: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 is South Korea in 2017, in which China started its boycott against Korea, making Koreans to develop anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea 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]

Historical revisionism

In the early 2000s, a dispute over the history of Goguryo throughout the Northeast Project by China, which both Koreas and China claim as their own, caused tension between the two countries.[3]:9 The PRC government has claimed Goguryeo and other various Korean kingdoms, including Gojoseon, Buyeo and Balhae, to be Chinese tributary states. This sparked a massive uproar in South Korea when the project was widely publicized in 2004.[8]

On 14 October 2020, South Korean media outlet JTBC discovered that a number of American schools' textbooks have taught Korea as part of China and only gained independence from China in 1876, causing uproars and criticisms that China is trying to manipulate history of Korea and U.S. schools were complicit on neglecting the education.[17] JTBC crew also discovered that Chinese social media like Baidu have also worked to distort Korean history and Sinicize many Korean figures (Kim Gu, Yun Dong-ju) or instead referring as "Chosun" rather than "Korean".[17]

Cultural hostility

In 13 October 2020, RM, a member of the BTS, made a speech about the Korean War, where he told South Korea shared history of pains with the United States. After Chinese-run media had rallied to lash out BTS for what they perceived as bias and denial of China's contribution and Chinese netizens have called to boycott anything Korea and Koreans, despite China fought against South Korea at the time,[18][19] hostility against China rose in South Korea, as Koreans have accused China of exaggerating the situation.[20]

See also

References
  1. Niv, Horesh; Jin, Kim Hyun; Peter, Mauch (2014-10-27). Superpower, China? Historicizing Beijing's New Narratives of Leadership and East Asia's Response Thereto. ISBN 9789814619172.
  2. THAAD and anti-Chinese sentiment. Posted on The Korea Times. Posted by Sah Dong-seok on August 26, 2016.
  3. 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.
  4. 만보산사건 (in Korean). Naver/Doosan Encyclopedia.
  5. 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
  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. 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. http://mnews.jtbc.joins.com/News/Article.aspx?news_id=NB11973829
  18. https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/10/13/chinese-fans-upset-by-bts-korean-war-remark-report.html
  19. https://mothership.sg/2020/10/bts-china-korean-war/
  20. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/20/china-south-korea-bts-kpop-nationalism-soft-power/
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