Over Half of South Koreans Say "They Like Japan"... Highest Favorability Since 2013 Survey

Joint Survey by Korean and Japanese Private Research Institutes
Japanese Favorability Toward South Korea Reaches 35.3%

The favorability rating of South Koreans toward Japan reached 54.3%, marking the highest level since the survey began in 2013.

On the morning of August 3, the East Asia Institute (EAI), a Korean private research institution, and the International House of Japan (IHJ) held a joint press conference at EAI's office in Sajik-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, to release the findings of the "13th Korea-Japan Mutual Perceptions Survey."

On May 19, President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are shaking hands at a hotel in Andong, Gyeongbuk, the venue for their summit meeting. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The survey found that 54.3% of South Koreans reported a positive impression of Japan, a 1.9 percentage point increase from last year’s 52.4%. The favorability rating has been on a steady rise since hitting its lowest point of 12.3% in 2020, surpassing the majority mark for the second consecutive year. This year’s figure is the highest since the survey began in 2013. Negative impressions of Japan accounted for 38.5%, while neutral responses made up 7.2%.

Expanded private-level exchanges such as travel, shopping, cuisine, and pop culture appear to have played a decisive role in the increase in favorability toward Japan among South Koreans. When asked why they viewed Japan positively, South Koreans cited “a national character that values kindness and order” (66.9%) and “an appealing food culture and shopping/travel experience” (43.9%) as top reasons.

The main reasons given for negative perceptions of Japan included insufficient reflection on historical issues (74.9%), the Dokdo territorial dispute (46.9%), and unresolved historical matters such as the 'comfort women' and forced labor issues (42%), indicating that historical and territorial disputes weigh heavily.

This rise in favorability was also reflected in evaluations of Korea-Japan relations. The proportion of respondents who said bilateral relations were currently good nearly doubled from 10.6% last year to 20.6% this year. Those who answered "bad" accounted for 20.6%, while "neutral" responses were at 59.1%.

Japanese favorability toward South Korea also recovered significantly. The proportion of Japanese respondents holding a favorable view of South Korea jumped from 24.8% last year to 35.3% this year, up 10.5 percentage points and recovering last year’s decline. Negative impressions fell sharply to 44.1% from 51% last year, with neutral responses at 20.6%.

The recovery in Japanese favorability toward South Korea was largely attributed to the expansion of private exchanges, including Korean pop culture, travel, and cuisine. In addition, political and diplomatic factors such as greater domestic political stability in South Korea and improved perceptions of President Lee Jae-myung through Korea-Japan shuttle diplomacy were cited as positive influences.

This survey was conducted online from July 17 to 21, targeting 3,099 adults aged 18 and over in South Korea and Japan. A total of 1,547 people participated in South Korea, and 1,552 participated in Japan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.