South Koreans' Sentiment and Image Toward North Korea: 'Anxiety and Anger'... Security Concerns Rise but War Likelihood Decreases

Asan Institute for Policy Studies Poll Results... 56% Say 'North Korean Threat Has Low Impact on Life'
'North Korea's Military Capability Is Threatening' 55%, 'South Korea Should Develop Independent Nuclear Weapons' 48%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Koreans generally have a negative perception of North Korea and feel uneasy about the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. They also perceive the likelihood of war breaking out as low and feel that the impact of the North Korean nuclear threat on their lives is minimal. However, they believe that independent development is necessary to respond to the North Korean nuclear threat in the future.

The Asan Institute for Policy Studies conducted an online survey titled "Koreans' Perceptions of North Korea" from the 21st to the 25th of last month, utilizing the online panel owned by Research & Research. The survey targeted 1,000 adults aged 19 and over (1,158 before weighting), with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence interval.

In this survey, respondents expressed unease about the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, while more than half evaluated the possibility of war as low. 68% of respondents said they felt anxious about the security situation, including North Korea's nuclear threat, more than twice the 32% who said they did not feel anxious. However, 53.3% of respondents viewed the likelihood of war between the South and the North as low, while 46.7% thought it was high. Although a large number of respondents said they usually feel uneasy about the security situation, opinions were divided regarding the possibility of war.

Nearly 56% of respondents also felt that the impact of the North Korean nuclear threat on their lives was low. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of 82.0% believed that North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons, while 55.8% perceived the impact of the North Korean nuclear threat on their lives as low. Those who felt the impact was high accounted for 44.2%. This reflects a familiarity with the long-standing North Korean threat.

Regarding South Korea's weapon systems, a majority of respondents believed that, given North Korea's military capabilities are threatening, South Korea should pursue independent nuclear weapons development. This indicates that South Koreans think the South should respond to North Korea's nuclear threat by developing its own nuclear weapons.

According to the Asan Institute for Policy Studies survey, 54.7% of respondents said North Korea's military capabilities are threatening, higher than the 13.7% who said they are not threatening and the 31.7% who said they are average. Meanwhile, 48.2% of Koreans supported independent nuclear weapons development as a response to North Korea's nuclear threat, nearly half of the respondents. Following this, 22.2% said "the United States should deploy strategic nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula," and 18.5% said "there is no need to possess nuclear weapons, but conventional weapon-based defense capabilities should be strengthened," both at similar levels. Only 11.1% said "current defense capabilities are sufficient, so there is no need to possess nuclear weapons."

Among these, sentiments and images toward North Korea were found to be negative. Negative emotions were highest in the order of "anxious" (74.7%), "angry" (73.9%), "worried" (73%), "suspicious" (72%), "tense" (71.1%), and "furious" (69.7%). It was analyzed that negative emotions and psychology consistently constituted the majority. Emotions such as "bored" (66.2%), "annoyed" (64.3%), and "despairing" (60.7%) were also experienced by more than six out of ten people when thinking about North Korea.

Relatively, the proportion of positive emotions felt when thinking about North Korea, such as "happy" (15.6%), "joyful" (16.4%), "warm" (18.1%), "friendly" (20.7%), and "empathetic" (27.8%), was low. Nevertheless, the responses to whether they felt "sympathy" for North Korea were 48% yes and 52% no, a difference within the margin of error.

When measuring how North Korea is perceived on an 11-point scale (0?10), the highest agreement was that North Korea is a subject of caution, scoring 7.01 points. The perception of North Korea as a hostile entity scored 6.25 points, the next highest. Agreement with North Korea as a subject of cooperation or support scored 4.67 and 4.17 points respectively, both below 5 points. The image of "North Korea" was also predominantly negative. "Dictatorship" was cited by 43.9%, and "hostile country" by 21.8%. In contrast, only 12.7% and 8.1% described North Korea as "fellow countrymen or ethnic kin, not a state" and "a country with which coexistence is possible," respectively.

The Asan Institute for Policy Studies explained, "North Korea was generally viewed negatively. Many felt negative emotions toward North Korea and tended to associate it with dictatorship or a hostile country. While there was general unease about the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, opinions were divided on the likelihood of war between the South and the North. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that nearly half responded that South Korea should independently develop nuclear weapons to respond to the North Korean nuclear threat."