By Sunny Lee
Korea Times Correspondent
BEIJING ― Zhou Lina, a Chinese lawyer working for a major Korean conglomerate in Seoul in its Chinese business arm, came to Korea three years ago. In college, Zhou liked Korean drama very much, just like many of her peers.
She learned the Korean language and made friends with some Korean students in her school. She started to use Korean words such as ``oppa'' (older brother) or ``mianhae'' (sorry) in her daily conversation. She also dressed like a Korean girl.
Zhou's interest in Korea greatly influenced her subsequent decision to come to Korea upon her graduation from college. But while studying for her master's degree at Seoul National University and living in Korea, she gradually realized that there is a ``quiet contempt'' for Chinese people in Korean society, just like there is a quiet reluctance in China to acknowledge Korea as having an independent culture.
``I think there is a mutual unwillingness to acknowledge each other,'' Zhou said.
``Currently, Koreans are more affluent than Chinese. So, Koreans quietly look down on Chinese. On the other hand, China looks at Korea historically. In the past, Korea was China's vassal sate. So, Chinese people feel superior,'' Zhou reasoned.
Chinese respect Koreans for well preserving the traditional Confucian culture. But then, they also note that the tradition essentially came from China, according to Zhou.
Many Korean students also go to China for study these days. Learning Chinese language is also very popular in Korea. However, the subtle psychology of mutual attraction and jealousy is at work in the outwardly close ties between the two neighbor countries that are infatuated in their intimate economic relationship. Korea and China are major trading partners with each other.
Zhou is keenly aware of the current anti-Korean sentiment among Chinese people, prompted by some Chinese media reports of Koreans claiming that the ancient Chinese scholar Confucius was a Korean, among others.
``I also heard that some Koreans claimed that the Chinese characters were actually invented by Koreans. Apparently, the Chinese characters went through some changes after they had been adopted in Korea. But it's going too far to claim that the original Chinese characters were invented by Koreans,'' Zhou said.
Zhou saw many of this ``news'' on the Chinese Internet that cited Korean media sources as saying so. Some of them are true. Yet, some of them are engineered by Chinese bloggers, falsely crediting the source to the Korean newspapers.
Ronald Soong, a well-known media commentator in Hong Kong, views that the Internet rumors of Koreans ``stealing'' Chinese culture reflects growing Chinese pride in their culture amid their country's rapid economic expansion.
As China has been undergoing spectacular economic development, it has also awakened nationalistic pride and old historical glory. ``It's a double-edged sword. On the positive side, it helps unite the Chinese people. On the negative one, it leads Chinese to be nationalistic, particularly among the young. They can be easily angry when they see some provocative stories on the Internet, including the alleged Korean claims,'' Zhou said.
Lee Sang-soo, a former China correspondent for Hankyoreh Daily, said ``It's true that the growing Chinese nationalism is a factor behind the anti-Korean resentment among Chinese. But if you look at the current situation only, Koreans should reflect more,'' pointing out some Koreans' imprudent display of arrogance in their dealings with Chinese.
A Chinese student who has lived in Korea for six years and now works in Korea, said, ``When I was studying in a Korean university, a professor said during the lecture that Chinese people are dirty, Chinese people don't take showers. I felt quite humiliated," she said.
Another Chinese student said her Korean professor commented during the class that Chinese people like to hang their cell phones around their neck to show off to other people because cell phones are expensive in China.
``Many Chinese students came to Korea because they really liked Korean culture, influenced by its popularity in China. But once in Korea, they've become disillusioned after realizing how Koreans look down on Chinese. I am one of them,'' she added, not wanting to be identified.
These days, there are a flood of media reports on the anti-Korean sentiment in the Korean media, raising people's awareness of the issue. Some see it as a constructive move. Yet, it also worries some observers as well. ``It's good that they pointed out the issue. But putting the issue on the front page for several days in a row is also problematic,'' said a Korean observer who has lived in China for more than 10 years.
``The typical all-out Korean media obsession, even if with good intentions, actually may end up arousing more emotions on both sides.
``China has 1.3 billion people. The majority of them have good impressions on Korea through the popularity of Korean pop culture in China. The Korean media are now 'telling' them that actually many people on both sides don't like each other. Media often hype up things. That may not be a good approach in the overall bilateral relationship. The Korean media should wise up,'' he said.
Experts on the Korea-China relationship also note that it's natural for the two close neighbor countries to sometimes experience some competition and jealousy. Some point out that a better approach to deal with the matter is for the two governments to quietly work out the issue, engaging in a campaign for people to be more mindful about what they express on the Internet, Web blogs and forums ― the major culprit where the issue first surfaced and became a very hot topic.Zhou disagrees. ``It's good that the mainstream media start talking about it. It's a right step to resolve the issue,'' she said.