Favorability toward India drops sharply in Korea: Pew
Hindu women perform rituals as they pray for the long life of their sons during the Bacch Dua festival in Jammu, India, Monday. AP-Yonhap
Koreans’ favorability toward India has plunged more than any other country surveyed over the past year, according to new research. The 16-percentage-point drop marks the lowest level since the survey began in 2007.
The Pew Research Center said on Aug. 19 that global views of India are slightly more positive than negative, with 47 percent favorable and 38 percent unfavorable across 24 countries polled.
In 16 of those countries, including Kenya (65 percent), Nigeria (57 percent), the United Kingdom (60 percent) and Germany (57 percent), positive opinions outweighed negative ones.
By contrast, negative views dominated in Turkey (56 percent) and Australia (54 percent). The survey of 24,788 respondents was conducted from January to April, before the April clash between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, Pew noted.
In Korea, views were split, with 42 percent positive and 43 percent negative. Favorability, however, plunged from 58 percent last year to 42 percent this year, the steepest decline among the 24 nations surveyed.
Analysts suggested the drop may be linked to India’s reopening of its embassy in Pyongyang late last year, a move seen as clashing with South Korean sentiment toward North Korea.
Another factor cited was negative portrayals of India in online travel content.
Lee Soon-cheol, a professor of Indian studies at Busan University of Foreign Studies, said, “India has long been associated with issues such as the caste system, the Ganges River, sexual violence and inequality. But some content creators have been emphasizing the negative aspects even more for sensational effect, turning India into a country perceived as distant rather than closer.”
By contrast, favorability toward India rose in some nations. In South Africa, positive views increased 17 points from last year to 46 percent, as India’s rise as a leading power of the Global South boosts its image among developing countries.
In major European nations such as Germany and France, India’s economic growth and democratic system have also helped improve perceptions.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.