Covid-19, Anti-Chinese Sentiment, and Foreign Policy Attitudes in South Korea

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8370106
AutoresEsther E Song (0000-0002-7242-0712, autor correspondente)
Ano2023
Volume63
Fascículo5
Páginas823-850
Data de publicação2023-10-01
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAsian Survey (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0004-4687 • E-ISSN: 1533-838X
EditoraUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1525/as.2023.2008558
OpenAlexW4386284740
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências citadas19

COVID-19 generated significant anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea. Domestic elite-level narratives regarding China at the pandemic’s onset were highly polarized: conservative parties advocated border shutdowns, emphasizing China as originating the virus, while progressive parties warned that this would incite xenophobia. Did these narratives shape anti-Chinese sentiment, and what are their foreign policy effects? Using social media data, I show that despite the polarized narratives at the elite level, attitudes of both conservative and progressive voters became unfavorable toward China following COVID-19’s onset. Furthermore, statistical analyses of survey data show that this blame is strongly associated with negative perceptions of China. Although substantively not directly linked to foreign policy, blame of China is strongly associated with rejection of foreign policy alignment with China and a shift toward supporting alignment with the US. These results have implications for understanding public support of South Korea’s foreign policy amid US–China bifurcation

Blame · China · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Development economics · Economics · Elite · Foreign policy · Narrative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Xenophobia · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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