2025 EAI Public Opinion Poll on East Asia:
Overall Perception, United States, China, Japan, and North Korea

	2024 EAI Public Opinion Poll on East Asia	2025 EAI Public Opinion Poll on East Asia
Population	Adults aged 18 and older	Adults aged 18 and older
Sampling frame	Hankook Research Politics and Society Panel (49,889 people)	Hankook Research Politics and Society Panel (approximately 70 thousand people)
Sampling method	Proportional selection by region, gender, and age (as of July 2024)	Proportional selection by region, gender, and age (as of April 2025)
Sample size	1,006	1,509
Sampling error	Assuming random sampling, the maximum allowable sampling error at the 95% confidence level is ±3.1%p.	Assuming random sampling, the maximum allowable sampling error at the 95% confidence level is ±2.5%p.
Survey method	Web survey	Web survey
Response rate	31.2% (among 3,220 people who requested, 1,006 people completed the survey)	22.5% (among 6,701 people who requested, 1,509 people completed the survey)
Survey date	2024. 8. 26. - 2024. 8. 28.	2025. 6. 4. - 2025. 6. 5.
Survey agency	Hankook Research Co. Ltd.	Hankook Research Co. Ltd.
Composition of respondents	[Gender] Male 49.5%, Female 50.5% [Age] 18 to 29: 13.9%, 30 to 39: 14.8%, 40 to 49: 18.8%, 50 to 59: 20.3%, 60 to 69: 18.2%, Over 70: 14.0%	[Gender] Male 49.6%, Female 50.4% [Age] 18 to 29: 15.3%, 30 to 39: 15.0%, 40 to 49: 17.4%, 50 to 59: 19.5%, 60 to 69: 17.8%, Over 70: 15.1%

 

Ⅰ. General Perception of External Affairs

South Korea’s Greatest Threats: Shift from ‘Climate and North Korea’ to “U.S.-China Competition’

 

● When asked to rank the top two threats facing South Korea, “U.S.-China strategic competition and conflict” ranked first at 64.9%, followed by “spread of protectionism and competition in advanced technology” at 59.8%. These figures represent increases of 22.4%p and 20.1%p respectively compared to the 2024 survey.

 

● Meanwhile, “climate change and environmental issues,” which ranked first in the 2024 survey, fell to fourth place. “North Korea’s nuclear missile threat,” which ranked second, fell to third place. The reversal in the ranking of perceived major threats can be seen as a result of the public’s perception of changes such as trade pressure and tariff impositions by the Trump admіnistration.

 

● When asked about the most important diplomatic relations for South Korea, ROK-U.S. relations ranked first by a wide margin, increasing by 15.6%p from the previous year (75.1% → 90.7%). Responses indicating the importance of ROK-China relations also increased from the previous year, while responses citing inter-Korean relations and ROK-Japan relations decreased.

 

● When asked about countries perceived as potential military threat to South Korea (multiple responses allowed), the results were the same as last year, with North Korea (90.0%), China (70.5%), Russia (40.7%), and Japan (30.1%) ranked in that order. The number of respondents who cited North Korea and China increased slightly, while the number of respondents who cited Russia and Japan decreased slightly.

 

 

Ⅱ. Perception of the U.S. and ROK-U.S. Relations

Increased Responses Indicating “Bad Relations” and “Distrust”

 

● 77.5% of respondents had a “favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of the United States.

 

● The reasons for their favorable impression included “the United States' role in maintaining international order” (48.2%) and “economic opportunities in the US market” (47.0%, up to second place). On the other hand, the most common reason for unfavorable impression was “coercive stand toward other countries in trade and tariffs” (79.9%, up to second place).

 

● 75.5% of respondents reported having a negative impression of President Trump, contrasting with last year's survey, in which only 17.1% had a negative impression of President Biden.

 

● 53.0% of respondents thought the current ROK-U.S. relations are “fair,” while 33.9% responded “bad,” an increase of 19.0%p from last year (14.9%).

 

● When asked whether the United States is a trustworthy partner of South Korea, 68.4% responded that it is trustworthy, more than twice as many as those who responded that it is not trustworthy (28.6%). However, the percentage of those who responded that it is trustworthy decreased by 4.7%p from last year (73.1%), while the percentage of those who responded not increased by 10.4%p from last year (18.2%).

 

● In the event of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait involving U.S. intervention, 49.3% of respondents chose “humanitarian aid” as the maximum response from South Korea. Regarding the maximum role of U.S. forces in South Korea, many respondents believed that they should remain in South Korea, with 42.3% saying “rear support within the Korean Peninsula” and 29.5% saying “focus solely on deterring North Korea and defending South Korea.”

 

 

Ⅲ. Perception of Japan and ROK-Japan Relations

“Favorable Impression” 63.3%… Surpassed “Unfavorable” for the First Time

 

● 63.3% of respondents reported having a “favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Japan, a sharp increase of 21.6%p from last year (41.7%). This marks the highest figure since the EAI began survey in 2013. It is also the first time that the percentage of positive impression has exceeded that of negative impression (30.6%).

 

● The main reasons for positive impressions included “kind and hard-working national character” (48.6%) and “eating culture and shopping” (31.2%), factors related to visiting Japan and interacting with Japanese people (up to the second reason). On the other hand, the main reasons for negative impressions were factors related to history and territory, such as “insufficient repentance of colonial history” (81.8%), “the Dokdo issue” (46.4%), and “unresolved historical issues on comfort women and forced labor” (34.2%, up to the second reason).

 

● When asked how they think current ROK-Japan relations, 56.3% responded “fair,” while 30.7% responded “bad,” a decrease of 6.4%p from the previous year (37.1%).

 

● Regarding the goals for the ROK-Japan relations on the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, “resolving historical issues between the two countries” (52.6%) and “restoring trust between the two countries” (48.7%) were ranked first and second, respectively, continuing from last year (up to the second priority).

 

● In questions evaluating the South Korean government’s proposal of a “third-party subrogation payment” to resolve the dispute over Wartime Forced Labor and their response to the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Sado Mine, respondents who evaluated positively increased compared to the previous year.

 

 

Ⅳ. Perception on China and ROK-China Relations

“Unfavorable Characteristic“ vs. “Economic Opportunities”

 

● 66.3% of respondents have a “negative” or “somewhat negative” impression of China, more than double the number of respondents having a “positive” or “somewhat positive” impression (25.6%). Compared to 2024, the percentage of respondents who answered “neither” decreased, while both negative and positive impressions increased slightly.

 

● The main reason for the unfavorable impression was “because the national character and behavior are unappealing” at 58.1%, overwhelming other factors such as one-party dictatorship, economic coercion and retaliation (up to the second rank). The main reason for the favorable impression was “because China’s market offers significant economic opportunities” at 70.8%, overwhelming other factors such as sustained economic growth, culture and traditions (up to the second rank).

 

● 54.0% of respondents responded that current ROK-China relations are “bad,” which is a decrease of 6.1%p from the previous year (60.1%). 88.4% responded that ROK-China relations are important, indicating that public opinion recognizing the importance of mutual relations has continued over the past three years, regardless of negative public perception of China.

 

● The most concerning recent developments in China were “conflict with the United States” (26.8%), “coercive diplomacy against South Korea” (19.5%), and “passive attitude toward North Korean provocations and nuclear issues” (16.0%) (single response). In particular, “conflict with the United States” increased by 9.7 percentage points compared to the previous year (17.1%), showing a consistent perception with survey results that recognize US-China conflict as the biggest threat.

 

● A majority of respondents believe that China has a role to play in responding to North Korea's military provocations (84.1%) and that China's influence is important in the process of North Korea's denuclearization (88.3%), indicating public opinion that demands China's contribution to the North Korea issue.

 

 

Ⅴ. Perception of North Korea and Inter-Korean Relations

Divided Opinion on Credibility of U.S. Extended Deterrence … 75.1% Support South Korea’s Nuclear Armament

 

● 76.3% of respondents responded that current inter-Korean relations are “very bad” or “somewhat bad.” This figure is a 6.9%p decrease from the 2024 survey result of 83.2%, while the percentage of respondents who answered “fair” increased by 5.7%p (15.5% to 21.2%) over the same period.

 

● Regarding the outlook for inter-Korean relations in 10 years, 39.3% of respondents answered that “the current instability will continue,” which was the highest percentage for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who answered that “inter-Korean relations will improve” increased by 8.7%p from 22.5% to 31.2%.

 

● When asked whether the United States extended deterrence (nuclear umbrella) in response to North Korea's nuclear threat is sufficient, 52.6% disagreed, while 41.8% agreed. The gap between the two increased to 10.8%p from 6.2%p last year.

 

● When asked whether South Korea should go nuclear if North Korea does not abandon its nuclear weapons, 75.1% of respondents agreed, which is more than three times higher than the 19.9% who disagreed.

 

● Regarding the future of North Korea-Russia relations, a majority of respondents (59.4%) predicted that “North Korea will become closer to both Russia and China to the same degree.”

 

 

Ⅵ. Foreign Policy and Relations of the New Government

“Economic Diplomacy” as Top Diplomatic Priority … Over Half Anticipated “Relations with China and North Korea Will Improve“

 

● When asked to rank the new admіnistration's top two foreign policy priorities, 49.8% of respondents cited “strengthening economic diplomacy,” the highest percentage since 2021. “Uniting divided national opinion” ranked second with 41.0%, more than double the figure in 2021 (19.7%). These were followed by “strengthening the ROK-US alliance” (34.3%) and “responding to U.S.-China competition and friction” (28.5%).

 

● Meanwhile, only 8.0% of respondents cited “strengthening diplomacy regarding infectious diseases, climate change, and the environment” as their priority, a significant decrease from 33.6% in 2021.

 

● When asked about the top policy priority to each major country, the United States ranked “Strengthening the ROK-U.S. Alliance” (36.6%) first, Japan ranked “Promoting future-oriented cooperation in areas such as economy, technology, security, and the environment” (49.6%) first, and China ranked “Expanding economic exchanges and cooperation in advanced technology” (33.9%) first.

 

● Concerning future relations under the new admіnistration, 68.4% of respondents believed that ROK-China relations would improve, while 62.6% believed that inter-Korean relations would improve. Regarding ROK-U.S. relations, 49.9% believed they would improve, while 26.5% believed they would worsen. Regarding ROK-Japan relations, 31.9% of respondents believed they would improve, while 41.5% believed they would worsen, making it the only one of the four major countries where the outlook for deterioration outweighed the outlook for improvement.

 

● When asked whether they agreed with the new admіnistration continuing the foreign policy direction promoted by the Yoon Suk Yeol admіnistration, including strengthening the U.S. nuclear umbrella, strengthening ROK-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, and responding to North Korean provocations in a principled and proportional manner, the percentage of respondents who agreed with each stance exceeded those who disagreed, but did not reach a majority. ■

 

 

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■ Edited by Hansu Park, Research Associate
    For inquiries: 02 2277 1683 (ext. 204) | hspark@eai.or.kr