WASHINGTON - Nearly half of South Koreans think the morality of their country's foreign policy is below average compared to other countries, a survey showed Monday.
About 42 percent of Koreans said their country's foreign policy is below average, with 46 percent saying about average and only 10 percent responding with above average, according to the survey of 21,618 citizens of 21 countries conducted by World Public Opinion for two months from June last year.
Mexico is the only country with a more negative attitude toward their country's foreign policy, at 54 percent.
The pollster did not offer explanations for the results, but hinted that modesty was a factor.
"The world is full of nationalistic people certain that their country is morally superior to others, right?" the polling organization questioned. "Actually, a new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 21 nations around the world finds that people can be remarkably modest."
In contrast, only 16 percent of Americans said their country's foreign policy is below average, with 49 percent saying about average and 24 percent above average.
The figures are remarkable considering the nosediving popularity of the U.S. government in the global community due mainly to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, seen as a symbol of U.S. unilateralism in foreign policy.
About 28 percent of Korean respondents, meanwhile, said America's foreign policy is below average while 25 percent said the U.S. is above average and 42 percent said it is average.
South Koreans are more negative regarding China than any other country, with the response of below average reaching 53 percent, apparently reflecting frequent diplomatic friction between the two northeast Asian neighbors over history and territory. Japan was not part of the survey.