South Korea's Image: Beyond Division to a Cultural Content Powerhouse

Overseas Culture Promotion Institute Announces 'National Image' Survey Results
80.5% Positive Ratings... Notable Interest in New Southern Policy

South Korea is being recognized as a cultural content powerhouse beyond its image as a divided nation. According to the '2021 National Image' survey released on the 24th by the Overseas Culture and Public Relations Agency, 23.3% of foreigners identified 'production of high-quality cultural content' as a key task for improving South Korea's national image. High responses from people in their teens to thirties reflect strong exposure to and favorable impressions of Hallyu content. Priorities also included 'overseas promotion to attract tourists (17.9%)' and 'development of global brands (16.8%)'. In contrast, 'improvement of inter-Korean relations,' which held the highest proportion in the 2020 survey, dropped significantly from 47.7% to 12.6%.

The percentage of foreigners with a positive view of South Korea's national image was 80.5%, up 2.4% from 78.1% in 2020. Especially in seven countries including Vietnam (95%), Turkey (92.2%), the Philippines (92%), and Thailand (90.8%), more than nine out of ten respondents gave positive evaluations. In Japan, positive evaluations (35%) increased by 7.4% compared to the previous year. For the first time since the survey began, positive evaluations surpassed negative ones (26.6%). Factors influencing the positive image included modern culture (22.9%), products and brands (13.2%), economic level (10.2%), cultural heritage (9.5%), national character (8.6%), social system (7.8%), sports (7.6%), political situation (6.2%), and international status (5.3%).

Interest in South Korea was high in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Particularly in Asia, interest from new southern regions such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Thailand stood out. 83.4% of respondents wished to 'experience Korean traditional culture.' They also hoped for 'visiting Korea (81.1%)' and 'making friends with Koreans (76.6%).' A representative from the agency said, "High interest was shown mainly among the younger generation (teens to thirties)," adding, "Based on these results, we will enhance the national image and make overseas Korean cultural centers the hubs for spreading Hallyu content."

Since 2018, the agency has conducted the 'National Image' survey annually to understand foreigners' perceptions of South Korea and trends in the national image. This survey involved 12,500 people aged 16 and over from 24 countries participating online.