Half of Koreans say China’s image deteriorated

By Kang Hyun-kyung Nearly half of South Koreans believe that North Korea’s attack on the warship Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island had a negative impact on the image of China, a decades-long benefactor of the North, a poll showed Friday. The survey results come amid China showing few signs of using its influence over the reclusive nation to stop the belligerent acts, despite international pressure. The poll conducted by the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, in collaboration with the polling agency Millward Brown, showed 48.9 percent came to have a bad image of China after the North’s attacks on South Korea. Those who answered there had been no change in their perceptions toward China before and after the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong attacks stood at 44.3 percent. In May, a multinational investigation team concluded that North Korea torpedoed the 1,400-ton frigate Cheonan on March 26 near the disputed waters in the West Sea. The tragedy took the lives of 46 sailors. Eight months later, North Korea launched an artillery attack on the South Korean island in the West Sea, killing four South Koreans, including two civilians. The series of North Korean provocations prodded the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) members to hold meetings to discuss ways to stop the North’s attacks. But it failed to come up with a binding statement that could send an unmistakable message against the North because of China’s opposition. A veto-wielding permanent UNSC member, China expressed worries about the negative fallout of such possible international actions on the stability of the Korean peninsula. China’s siding with the North invited a barrage of criticism from the international community. Governments called on the North’s closest ally to play a constructive role in maintaining peace between South and North Korea. Despite the mounting pressure, China showed few signs of stepping back from its stalwart support for North Korea. The Hankook Ilbo poll showed that China’s maintaining a “lips-and-teeth” relationship with the Stalinist nation had a negative effect on its image among South Koreans. The survey also found that about half of South Koreans (47.6 percent) believed that the United States, the strongest ally of the South, was the country with which the nation should continue to work closely with over the next years. China came in second with 36.2 percent, followed by Japan (8.2 percent) and Russia (2.2 percent). On North Korea, 51.2 percent of South Koreans said the government should draw up a tougher North Korea policy, whereas 20.4 percent said the current policy was fine. Only 24.7 percent said the government should soften its stance on the North. The poll was conducted on 1,000 people across the nation on Dec. 26 and 27 and has a margin of error plus and minus 3.1 percentage points. China: 중국이미지, 연평도 공격 이후 더 나빠져 천안함과 연평도 공격 이후에도 시종일관 북한을 지지해 오던 중국에 대해 한국인들이 더 나쁜 인상을 갖게 된 것으로 최근 한국일보 여론조사 결과 나타났다. 한국일보가 미디어 리서치에 의뢰해 실시한 최근 여론조사에서 48.9%의 한국인들이 중국에 대한 이미지가 더 나빠졌다고 응답했다. 이같은 결과는 연평도 공격이후에도 중국이 국제무대에서 북한을 두둔하는 모양새를 취한 이후 나와서 주목을 받는다. 동 여론조사에서는 또한 한국이 미국과 가장 긴밀하게 협력해야 하는 국가 1위를 기록했으며, 중국이 다음을 잇는 것으로 나타났다. 절반 이상의 응답자들은 정부의 대북정책이 현재 보다 더 강경해야 한다고 생각하는 것으로 나타났으며, 유연해야 한다는 응답은 24.7%에 그쳤다.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr