Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Anti-China sentiment growing in Korea
By Nam Hyun-woo
Cultural spat between Korea, China amplifies via internet
By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea is witnessing another rising wave of anti-China sentiment amid a series of recent events, triggering clashes between the people of the two countries over cultural issues.
Experts say that this sentiment has been lingering among Koreans for a long time, but has been amplified quickly and more broadly recently, as the internet provides platforms for anyone to easily disseminate their ideas
Search results for “Chinatown” in Korean on Instagram / Screenshot from Instagram
'Revoke the Chinatown Project'
The rise in such feelings here has stemmed from a controversy over building a large-scale China-themed tourism complex in Gangwon Province.
An online petition was filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website, March 29, calling for an end to the project, and more than 660,000 people have signed it as of April 26. Since the petition has garnered more than 200,000 people's signatures in 30 days, the presidential office or a related government agency is officially required to provide an answer.
The project, pursued by local builder Kolon Global, with the approval of the Gangwon Provincial Government, is aimed at building a 1.2 square kilometer “Korea-China Culture Town” in Chuncheon City and Hongcheon County.
The builder plans to set up a range of facilities and tourist attractions in the town by 2022. For the project, Kolon Global signed an MOU with China's the People's Daily in 2018 and formed a special purpose company last year.
The author of the petition wrote that Koreans do not understand why the country should provide Chinese cultural experiences to tourists, or why there should be “a little China” in Korea.
Though the project has been pursued since the early 2010s, it has become a hot-button issue lately, as Instagram postings urging the people to pay attention to this issue, and agreements with the petition, have gone viral. A search for “#Chinatown” in Korean on Instagram shows a handful of trending postings related to the project.
The Chinatown issue comes on the back of Koreans' protesting claims made by some Chinese influencers and media that kimchi is their traditional food. After Beijing received an international certification for its pickled vegetable dish, “paocai,” in November, China's state-run Global Times reported that this certification amounted to “an international standard for the kimchi industry led by China.” Since then, the nationalist newspaper has been running articles containing the implication that Beijing is leading the kimchi industry and that the dish originated in China.
These articles led to an online spat between the internet users of both countries, with Koreans arguing that China was now attempting to steal Korea's cultural legacy.
Kimchi, Korea's staple side-dish / Korea Times file
Running on social media
Experts say the cultural spat is growing faster and more widely compared to the past, due to the rise of social media.
“The anti-China sentiment among Koreans has been lingering for a long time, but the difference between the past and now is that recent conflicts are being amplified much faster,“ said Lee Kee-woong, a research professor at Sungkonghoe University's Institute for East Asian Studies.
“In the past, only media outlets, intellectuals or those in a position to speak publicly could deliver such a message. Nowadays, however, anyone can disseminate their message using their own language and interpretation in a way that can bring about more prompt responses. As this trend becomes more noticeable among internet users, deep-rooted anti-China sentiment among Koreans is becoming more explosive, resulting in heated debates with a more grassroots agenda than in the past.”
Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University, who is a campaigner for recognition of issues related to Korea's history and culture, also noted that Koreans' anti-China sentiment is expanding in terms of subject matter to these areas in the wake of internet users' growing involvement.
“When China began its Northeast Project in the early 2000s, Korea's anti-China sentiment was largely about historical issues,” Seo said, referring to China's Serial Research Project on the History and Current State of the Northeast Borderland, which is criticized here as Beijing's attempt to distort Korean history and make it part of China's.
“But now the debate is about broader cultural issues, involving a much younger generation that is savvy about communicating via the internet,” he said, citing a recent TV series in Korea ― “Joseon Exorcist” ― that was terminated due to claims that it distorted history. “The interesting point is that internet users are now making very logical and data-based arguments to counter Chinese claims, rather than just being sentimental about them.”
The Chinese Dream
Lee pointed out that the recent rise in anti-China sentiment in Korea is consistent with Beijing's pursuit of the “Chinese Dream,” a term associated with President Xi Jinping and often interpreted as referring to the country's rising influence in the international community.
“Since Korea and China established formal diplomatic ties in 1992, Koreans have often looked down on the Chinese, considering them to be poor people from an underdeveloped country,” Lee said. “As China has achieved rapid economic growth, however, the Chinese are no longer putting up with such prejudice, and they are now attempting to improve their presence in the international community in the wake of Xi's rise to the power.”
As China becomes the new dominating force in Northeast Asia and expands its presence in the international community, Lee said that several events could be observed in which China disdained neighboring nations' viewpoints or opinions. The recent controversy over the origin of kimchi and other attempts to distort history can be interpreted as part of these. Thus, Koreans' responses, as seen in the petition against the new Chinatown project in Gangwon, are becoming more explosive in their reaction.
“As these events are quickly going viral outside China via various online platforms, the sentiment for conflict between the two countries is amplifying further,” he said. “And there seems to be no fundamental solution to prevent cultural clashes, as long as China sticks to this kind of ideology.”
Seo also noted that the conflict will last as long as China keeps its Sino-centric beliefs, which refer to the ideology that China is the economic, political and cultural center of the world.
“Rather than seeking a fundamental solution, neighboring countries should voice their opinions in opposition to distorted or disdainful ideas, and urge China to have a greater respect for other countries' cultures,” he said.