China displaces old foe Japan in South Koreans’ minds ahead of vote

SEOUL: Shops selling steaming snacks line the streets of Seoul´s Daerim neighbourhood, home to thousands of ethnic Chinese, some feeling the pressure from mounting anti-Beijing sentiment ahead of South Korea´s election.

China has displaced longtime foe and former colonial power Japan in many South Koreans´ minds as the country´s most distrusted neighbour in recent years. And ahead of Tuesday´s vote, anti-Chinese feeling has spread among South Koreans -- online, at right-wing rallies and in Seoul´s Chinatown.

Many of the quarter´s Chinese residents, such as 74-year-old Yu Shunzi, flocked to South Korea seeking economic opportunities in the 1990s and 2000s. “A lot of Koreans still think China is a very backward country and discriminate against Chinese a lot,” she told AFP.

Yu, who arrived in 2007 from the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang, said the situation is so bad that she planned to move back when the economy allowed. “I want to go home, but with the exchange rate being this low, I´d lose a lot of money,” she said.

While former colonial master Japan has long had a difficult relationship with South Korea, Seoul´s ties with China have increasingly come under the spotlight. In 2022, polling conducted by Hankook Research showed for the first time that South Koreans distrusted China more than they did Japan -- a trend that has continued in recent years.

Former leader Yoon Suk Yeol referred to vague allegations of Chinese spying when he tried to justify his declaration of martial law, which led to his ousting.

Conspiracy theories have since run rampant among the South Korean right, fuelling the distrust. But analysts also say that a series of clashes between Beijing and Seoul in recent years over history, territory and defence are the deeper cause of the schism.

“China´s growing assertiveness is the main reason behind South Korea´s negative views about the country,” said Ramon Pacheco Pardo from King´s College London. “Most South Koreans have no affinity towards today´s China,” the international relations professor told AFP.

Seoul has long trodden a fine line between top trading partner China and defence guarantor the United States. Relations with China nosedived in 2016 following the South´s decision to deploy the US-made THAAD missile defence system.