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Young South Koreans turn on China as Hong Kong, coronavirus weigh on minds
- A recent Pew Research survey found South Korea stood apart as the only country where youth were more negative towards China than their elders
- Beijing’s Covid-19 response and the Hong Kong protests are seen as key factors, but some say the influence of Western media has also played a part
Reading Time:4 minutes
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Lim Yoo-won, a web designer living near Seoul, doesn’t have much good to say about China these days.
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To begin with, the 37-year-old resents that Beijing has not carried out a transparent investigation into the origins of Covid-19 and presented the findings to the world, nor apologised for failing to keep the virus contained within its borders.
“It feels like it was covered up,” said Lim, who lives in Incheon, about 30km (19 miles) west of the South Korean capital.
Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, culminating in the imposition of a controversial national security law in June, has only made her perception of China worse.
Many Koreans … view [Covid-19] as another ‘made in China’ thing which causes serious bodily harm, as in the case of [drifting air pollution]
“The situation in Hong Kong is quite shocking, and young people [in South Korea] think there is no respect for the differences between the two systems,” she said, referring to the “one country, two systems” framework that is supposed to guarantee that rights and freedoms not enjoyed on the Chinese mainland are preserved in the city until at least 2047.
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Lim’s views are common in South Korea, where negative sentiment towards China has soared to unprecedented heights alongside Beijing’s growing influence and increasingly assertive moves in the region.
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