China-South Korea Discontent
Poor relations between the people of China and South Korea is due to misunderstanding and a misplaced sense of cynicism between the two East Asian neighbors.
So said Shi Yuanhua, director and professor with the Korea Study Center at China's Fudan University in an article titled China-South Korea Discontent: Misunderstanding and Disillusionment (News China, October 5, 2008).
Shi noted that despite the good relations between the two countries at the highest leadership level (pictured), a JoongAng Daily survey revealed that 68 per cent of Koreans surveyed thought that anti-South Korea sentiment among the Chinese were gradually moving from "predominantly young internet users to that of mainstream Chinese opinion."
The change has partly got to do with continuing disputes over historical issues, South Korean World Cultural Heritage application, and Chinese audiences' reported cheers for South Korea's rivals during the recent Beijing Olympics.
Shi noted that China's initial amazement and respect for South Korea's economic miracle were soon overtaken by Seoul's poor economic showing in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis.
"To Chinese observers, their neighbor was no longer a perfect role model. In the past two years many Chinese showed nothing but contempt when scores of South Korean owners closed their factories surreptitiously in China as they fled rising costs, leaving behind embittered workers and suppliers," Shi wrote.
Likewise too for South Korea, who initially saw China as a huge market for its investments, but later feared that the rise of China would pose a threat to itself.
The most heated controversy is over what both countries had claimed as part of their own history - what the Chinese call Gaogouli (37 BC to AD 668) and the Koreans Korguryo.
Shi noted that although both governments had taken action to prevent further conflicts, the controversy continues to be a sore point of contention between the two countries.
"The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was to have banned any research projects that may create disputes over territory claims. Yet the ROK's government-funded research teams have yet to take similar action."
So said Shi Yuanhua, director and professor with the Korea Study Center at China's Fudan University in an article titled China-South Korea Discontent: Misunderstanding and Disillusionment (News China, October 5, 2008).
Shi noted that despite the good relations between the two countries at the highest leadership level (pictured), a JoongAng Daily survey revealed that 68 per cent of Koreans surveyed thought that anti-South Korea sentiment among the Chinese were gradually moving from "predominantly young internet users to that of mainstream Chinese opinion."
The change has partly got to do with continuing disputes over historical issues, South Korean World Cultural Heritage application, and Chinese audiences' reported cheers for South Korea's rivals during the recent Beijing Olympics.
Shi noted that China's initial amazement and respect for South Korea's economic miracle were soon overtaken by Seoul's poor economic showing in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis.
"To Chinese observers, their neighbor was no longer a perfect role model. In the past two years many Chinese showed nothing but contempt when scores of South Korean owners closed their factories surreptitiously in China as they fled rising costs, leaving behind embittered workers and suppliers," Shi wrote.
Likewise too for South Korea, who initially saw China as a huge market for its investments, but later feared that the rise of China would pose a threat to itself.
The most heated controversy is over what both countries had claimed as part of their own history - what the Chinese call Gaogouli (37 BC to AD 668) and the Koreans Korguryo.
Shi noted that although both governments had taken action to prevent further conflicts, the controversy continues to be a sore point of contention between the two countries.
"The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was to have banned any research projects that may create disputes over territory claims. Yet the ROK's government-funded research teams have yet to take similar action."
posted by Maria Siow @ 1:08 AM
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