Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
70% of Koreans back pursuing EU-style economic community with Japan: survey
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, right, speaks during his opening remarks during a joint economic forum with National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik at the business lobby's headquarters in Seoul, July 1. Yonhap
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Nearly 70 percent of Koreans support pursuing an EU-style economic community with Japan, while 60 percent of Japanese respondents agreed, according to a survey released Monday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
KCCI, which has repeatedly floated the idea of a Korea-Japan economic community as a response to shifting global trade rules, commissioned Hankook Research to survey 500 people each in Korea and Japan.
Some 69.8 percent of Korean respondents favored forming an EU-style bloc, either immediately or over the medium term, versus 59.8 percent of Japanese respondents. Support among Japanese who had visited Korea in the past five years reached 74.5 percent, compared with 45.4 percent among those who had not.
Support for expanded tourism cooperation stood at 76.8 percent in Korea and 58 percent in Japan. A majority in both countries — 60.4 percent of Koreans and 44.8 percent of Japanese — backed allowing travel between the two countries using only a national ID card instead of a passport.
Only 17.5 percent of Japanese citizens held a passport as of February 2025, according to Japan's foreign ministry.
Opinion was more divided on a mutual visa-recognition scheme, dubbed a "Korea-Japan Schengen," which would let third-country nationals holding a visa for one country travel to the other without applying separately. KCCI estimates the policy could draw up to 1.84 million additional visitors to Korea. Majorities in both countries also said compatible transit cards and mobile payment systems would improve travel convenience.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.