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OPINION POLL (P 05-2)

Dong-A Ilbo Opinion Poll on South Korean Attitudes Toward Japan and Other Nations

Dates Conducted

March 4-31, 2005

Released

April 26, 2005

Methodology

This survey was conducted as part of a joint research survey with Asahi Shimbun of Japan and The Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). At the request of Dong-A Ilbo, the Korea Research Center (KRC) conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,500 Korean adults nationwide, aged 20 and older (the margin of error is +/- 2.5 percent). The Mansfield Foundation selected 38 relevant questions from the survey to translate into English. A similar survey was conducted in China and Japan.

Background

This survey, which examines South Korean attitudes toward Japan and other nations, was conducted near the end of March 2005. The preceding months saw rising historical disputes and competing nationalist sentiments toward Japan, as well as disagreements over the North Korean refugee issue with China.

South Korea-China economic relations grew strongly in 2004, with South Korean exports to China representing almost 20 percent of total exports. However, issues like Chinese copyright infringement, anti-dumping laws against South Korean items, as well as competition for the Japanese market remained. Two major flare-ups garnered much media attention and negative reaction from the South Korean public this quarter. On January 12, Chinese authorities shut down a press conference given by visiting South Korean opposition party members in Beijing, claiming that they had not applied for the appropriate permits. Shortly after, China deported a South Korean prisoner, Han Man-tack who, having been held in North Korea since the Korean War, crossed the border to meet his family. The treatment of Han as an illegal immigrant, rather than recognizing his former status as a South Korean citizen, ran counter to prior Chinese agreements to “fully comply” with South Korea when refugees are identified as POWs. On the upside, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s praise for South Korean policy toward North Korea stood in stark contrast to US-South Korea tensions over the nuclear issue. Beijing and Seoul also agreed in late February to enhance coordination over North Korea.

Disputes over the Tokdo/Takeshima islands were among the issues that marred what had been a positive outlook for South Korea-Japan relations during the 40th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties. In response to the territorial dispute, President Roh Moo-Hyun issued a letter to the people on March 23, declaring the prospects of a “diplomatic war” with Japan. In addition, Japan and South Korea made little progress in preliminary talks over a proposed bilateral free-trade agreement, with agriculture being the major sticking point in negotiations. Japanese textbooks purporting to whitewash the nation’s history also remained a contentious issue between Seoul and Tokyo.

Key Issues

* South Korea’s relations with the United States, China and Japan
* Threat perceptions of North Korea and China
* Regional economic cooperation

Link to Source

http://www.donga.com/fbin/output?f=aps&n=200504260247&main=1

Use of this poll is subject to the Mansfield Foundation Terms of Use.

Overall opinion of foreign countries

1. Is your overall opinion of the United States favorable or unfavorable?

Group Favorable Unfavorable Neither/don't know Total (%)
Overall 20.9 24.9 54.2 100.0
Male 21.8 28.8 49.5 100.0
Female 20.0 21.0 59.0 100.0
20's 20.2 24.4 55.4 100.0
30's 14.8 30.4 54.8 100.0
40's 17.3 24.0 58.7 100.0
50's 28.2 20.9 50.9 100.0
60's and older 34.8 22.7 42.4 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 24.5 26.4 49.1 100.0
High school graduate 21.4 24.8 53.8 100.0
College or higher 19.4 25.4 55.2 100.0

2. Is your overall opinion of China favorable or unfavorable?

Group Favorable Unfavorable Neither/don't know Total (%)
Overall 20.0 24.4 55.6 100.0
Male 20.3 28.1 51.6 100.0
Female 19.7 20.8 59.5 100.0
20's 20.8 27.1 52.1 100.0
30's 19.6 22.2 58.2 100.0
40's 18.8 21.7 59.5 100.0
50's 21.1 24.5 54.3 100.0
60's and older 18.2 36.4 45.5 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 17.3 33.2 49.5 100.0
High school graduate 20.0 23.0 57.0 100.0
College or higher 21.3 22.2 56.5 100.0

3. Is your overall opinion of Japan favorable or unfavorable?

Group Favorable Unfavorable Neither/don't know Total (%)
Overall 7.8 63.4 28.8 100.0
Male 8.2 65.7 26.1 100.0
Female 7.4 61.1 31.5 100.0
20's 15.1 55.7 29.2 100.0
30's 6.1 59.5 34.4 100.0
40's 6.7 64.2 29.0 100.0
50's 5.0 71.0 24.0 100.0
60's and older 3.0 75.8 21.2 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 5.5 73.2 21.4 100.0
High school graduate 6.5 65.6 27.9 100.0
College or higher 10.4 56.3 33.2 100.0

4. What is your opinion of North Korea? Is it favorable or unfavorable?

Group Favorable Unfavorable Neither/don't know Total (%)
Overall 28.8 26.3 46.9 100.0
Male 30.6 25.7 43.7 100.0
Female 23.0 26.9 50.1 100.0
20's 27.1 22.0 50.9 100.0
30's 25.7 22.2 52.1 100.0
40's 29.3 25.8 44.9 100.0
50's 26.9 30.8 42.3 100.0
60's and older 18.2 47.0 34.8 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 25.0 35.5 39.5 100.0
High school graduate 26.7 26.5 46.8 100.0
College or higher 28.0 22.6 49.4 100.0

Threat perception

5. Which country do you feel is most threatening to the security of South Korea?
Please choose one.

Group Japan North Korea US China Iraq Other No threat exists Don't know/no response Total (%)
Total sample 28.1 46.1 17.3 6.7 0.4 0.1 1.2 0.1 100.0
Male 31.6 42.7 13.8 9.5 0.4 0.1 1.5 0.3 100.0
Female 24.6 49.3 20.6 3.8 0.4 0.1 0.9 0.1 100.0
20's 23.2 41.3 26.5 5.4 0.6 0.3 2.7 0.0 100.0
30's 29.6 41.8 20.1 6.9 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.3 100.0
40's 32.6 47.2 12.6 6.2 0.6 0 0.6 0.3 100.0
50's 27.2 50.1 13.1 8.6 0.3 0 0.5 0.3 100.0
60's and older 25.8 65.2 3.0 3.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 0.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 29.1 53.6 9.5 5.5 0.9 0.0 0.9 0.5 100.0
High school graduate 28.0 47.5 16.7 6.3 0.3 0.1 1.0 0.1 100.0
College or higher 27.8 40.9 21.1 7.8 0.4 0.2 1.7 0.2 100.0

6. Name one country that you think South Korea should have friendly relations with. (Total Sample N=1,500)

Japan 7.9%
North Korea 35.5%
TheUnited States 28.7%
China 22.1%
Germany 0.5%
TheUnited Kingdom 0.7%
Singapore 0.2%
France 0.5%
Australia 0.9%
EU 0.4%
Canada 0.3%
Switzerland 0.2%
India 0.3%
Others 0.9%
No country 0.9%
Don't know/no response 0.1%

Perceptions of countries in the region

7. Do you think South Korea-Japan relations are going well?

Group Yes No Total (%)
Overall 6.5 93.5 100.0
Male 6.9 93.1 100.0
Female 6.2 93.8 100.0
20's 8.4 91.6 100.0
30's 6.1 93.9 100.0
40's 6.2 93.8 100.0
50's 6.0 94.0 100.0
60's and older 4.5 95.5 100.0
Middle School graduate or lower 3.6 96.4 100.0
High school graduate 7.5 92.5 100.0
College and higher 6.3 93.7 100.0

8. Do you think South Korea-China relations are going well?

Group Yes No Don't know/no response Total (%)
Overall 50.7 48.7 0.6 100.0
Male 49.1 50.5 0.4 100.0
Female 52.4 47.0 0.7 100.0
20's 47.0 52.7 0.3 100.0
30's 46.8 52.1 1.1 100.0
40's 53.1 46.3 0.6 100.0
50's 55.9 43.9 0.3 100.0
60's and older 50.0 50.0 0 100.0
Middle School graduate or lower 55.9 43.6 0.5 100.0
High school graduate 51.0 48.4 0.5 100.0
College and higher 48.7 50.7 0.6 100.0

9. What kind of information about Japan are you particularly interested in? Choose two among following choices.

Group Economy History/Culture Politics/Diplomacy Science/Technology Tourism JapaneseGoods Food/Health Society Entertain-ment
Overall 40.7% 31.5% 31.5% 25.7% 20.3% 18.3% 14.5% 9.3% 8.2%
Male 44.9 32.0 33.9 31.2 14.9 15.6 10.8 9.1 7.7
Female 36.6 31.1 29.1 20.2 25.5 20.9 18.3 9.4 8.7
20's 31.6 33.1 27.7 27.1 18.4 22.3 12.7 8.4 18.7
30's 46.0 29.6 27.5 30.2 16.7 16.7 15.3 10.3 7.7
40's 42.5 34.9 33.1 26.4 18.8 15.8 15.0 8.5 5.0
50's 41.8 30.0 37.1 20.6 25.3 18.0 14.4 9.7 2.9
60's and older 40.9 25.8 31.8 18.2 28.8 21.2 18.2 9.1 6.1
Middle school graduate or lower 39.1 28.2 34.5 18.2 25.9 23.2 15.5 11.8 3.2
High school graduate 41.0 33.3 30.1 26.9 20.0 17.3 14.6 9.8 7.1
College and higher 41.8 30.4 32.1 27.1 18.3 17.2 14.4 7.5 11.4

10. What kind of information about China are you particularly interested in? Choose two among following choices.

Group Economy History/Culture Politics/Diplomacy Science/Technology Tourism Chinese Goods Food/Health Society Entertainment
Overall 51.3 37.7 29.6 27.5 22.3 12.5 9.3 5.4 4.3
Male 56.6 33.3 32.5 30.8 16.9 12.4 7.7 5.0 4.8
Female 46.2 42.1 26.7 24.2 27.6 12.6 11.0 5.8 3.7
20's 44.9 42.5 30.4 21.1 22.0 12.3 10.2 7.5 9.0
30's 54.0 37.3 30.7 25.4 22.8 10.8 10.3 4.8 4.0
40's 53.7 34.6 30.2 32.3 19.1 12.6 7.9 6.5 3.2
50's 52.2 36.6 29.0 30.8 24.3 13.3 8.1 3.4 2.1
60's and older 51.5 39.4 19.7 27.3 27.3 16.7 13.6 4.5 0
Middle school graduate or lower 48.6 40.0 29.5 25.5 25.9 13.6 8.2 5.5 2.7
High school graduate 50.1 40.1 27.2 26.9 25.6 12.1 9.4 4.8 3.8
College and higher 54.5 33.4 32.8 29.3 16.0 12.3 9.7 6.3 5.6

11. What do you think of the current economic situation in South Korea?

Group Good Bad Very Bad Total (%)
Overall 6.5 66.0 27.5 100.0
Male 8.1 65.1 26.9 100.0
Female 4.9 66.9 28.2 100.0
20's 9.3 70.5 20.2 100.0
30's 5.3 69.0 25.7 100.0
40's 5.9 63.3 30.8 100.0
50's 5.5 63.2 31.3 100.0
60's and older 7.6 56.1 36.4 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 3.2 60.0 36.8 100.0
High school graduate 5.7 63.3 31.0 100.0
College and higher 9.0 72.2 18.8 100.0

12. Which country or region do you think will be the most important for Korea’s economy in the future?

Group US China Japan Southeast Asia EU Others Don't know/no response Total
Overall 34.4 45.1 6.3 4.9 8.1 0.9 0.3 100.0
Male 27.8 49.2 6.6 5.6 9.8 0.8 0.1 100.0
Female 40.9 41.1 6.1 4.2 6.5 1.1 0.1 100.0
20's 31.0 41.9 6.0 4.5 15.4 1.2 0 100.0
30's 31.5 48.1 6.9 5.3 7.7 0.5 0 100.0
40's 31.7 49.6 7.0 4.7 5.9 0.9 0.3 100.0
50's 40.2 43.1 5.5 5.0 5.0 1.0 0.3 100.0
60's and older 48.5 33.3 6.1 6.1 4.5 1.5 0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 50.5 35.9 4.1 4.5 4.5 0.5 0 100.0
High school graduate 32.1 45.3 7.6 5.9 8.0 1.0 0.1 100.0
College and higher 30.8 48.9 5.6 3.9 9.5 1.1 0.2 100.0

13. Do you feel in your daily life that South Korea’s economic relations with China and Japan have been deepened over the last 5 years?

Group Yes, very much Somewhat Not much Not at all Total
Overall 7.5 55.5 33.0 4.1 100.0
Male 9.3 56.3 30.5 3.9 100.0
Female 5.7 54.5 35.4 4.4 100.0
20's 10.2 50.6 34.3 4.8 100.0
30's 5.8 60.6 31.5 2.1 100.0
40's 9.1 54.5 33.7 2.6 100.0
50's 6.0 54.6 33.2 6.3 100.0
60's and older 3.0 59.1 30.3 7.6 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 3.6 51.4 35.9 9.1 100.0
High school graduate 6.1 53.2 36.1 4.6 100.0
College and higher 10.8 59.9 28.0 1.3 100.0

14. Choose one among the following that has increased the most in your life with respect to Japan for the last 5 years.

Group Personal contacts with Japanese people Buying Japanese products Watching Japanese movies/TV Not especially increased Total (%)
Overall 5.3 10.9 15.7 68.1 100.0
Male 5.8 9.8 15.1 69.4 100.0
Female 4.9 12.0 16.3 66.8 100.0
20's 5.7 15.1 28.0 51.2 100.0
30's 5.0 10.6 18.0 66.4 100.0
40's 5.3 10.0 12.6 72.1 100.0
50's 5.5 9.1 7.6 77.8 100.0
60's and older 4.5 7.6 3.0 84.8 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 4.5 5.9 3.6 85.9 100.0
High school graduate 4.6 11.4 14.1 69.8 100.0
College and higher 6.7 12.5 22.2 58.6 100.0

15. Choose one among following that has increased the most in your life with respect to China for the last 5 years.

Group Personal contacts with Chinese people Buying Chinese products Watching Chinese movies/TV Not especially increased Total (%)
Overall 6.4 34.5 7.8 51.3 100.0
Male 7.7 31.3 8.7 52.3 100.0
Female 5.2 37.7 6.9 50.3 100.0
20's 6.9 28.9 14.2 50.0 100.0
30's 7.1 33.9 8.2 50.8 100.0
40's 5.6 37.2 6.7 50.4 100.0
50's 6.3 37.3 3.9 52.5 100.0
60's and older 4.5 36.4 1.5 57.6 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 4.5 31.4 4.5 59.5 100.0
High school graduate 5.6 34.8 7.8 51.8 100.0
College and higher 8.4 35.1 9.1 47.4 100.0

16. Do you think economic growth of China will favorably or negatively affect the South Korean economy?

Group Favorably Negatively Don't know/no response Total (%)
Overall 42.8 57.3 0.1 100.0
Male 41.9 58.1 0.0 100.0
Female 43.3 56.6 0.1 100.0
20's 46.7 53.3 0.0 100.0
30's 43.1 56.9 0.0 100.0
40's 40.5 59.5 0.0 100.0
50's 41.0 58.7 0.3 100.0
60's and older 39.4 60.6 0.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 33.6 66.4 0.0 100.0
High school graduate 41.2 58.6 0.1 100.0
College or higher 48.5 51.5 0.0 100.0


17. Currently, China is the seventh largest economic power in the world in terms of its GDP. Do you believe that China is likely to be the world’s greatest economic power? Please choose one among the choices?

Group Yes, within 10 years Within 25 years Less than 50 years 50 years or later Never Total (%)
Overall 30.7 36.0 12.6 4.0 16.7 100.0
Male 29.0 36.3 11.8 4.7 18.1 100.0
Female 32.3 35.7 13.4 3.3 15.3 100.0
20's 27.7 34.3 14.5 5.7 17.8 100.0
30's 31.7 39.9 9.8 2.1 16.4 100.0
40's 32.8 33.7 12.6 4.1 16.7 100.0
50's 30.0 37.3 13.3 4.2 15.1 100.0
60's and older 31.8 25.8 15.2 4.5 22.7 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 32.7 31.8 15.5 2.7 17.3 100.0
High school graduate 31.6 34.3 12.8 4.8 16.6 100.0
College and higher 28.7 40.1 11.4 3.4 16.4 100.0

18. If you feel worried about China’s economic development, which of the following is the closest to your concerns? (N=1,500)

Negative economic consequences from sharp changes in exchange rate/business conditions in China (26.4%)
Environmental degradation and its trans-national effect (23.7%)
Prospect for competition over food and resources (12.8%)
China's increasing political influence (24.5%)
China's military build-up and its being a military superpower (8.1%)
No specific concerns (4.5%)

On regional cooperation and security issues

19. What factors do you think will threaten peace and stability in East Asia? Choose two among choices.

Group The Korean peninsula Territorial disputes Japanese military build-up Terrorism Presence of US forces Chinese military Tensions overTaiwan Strait
Overall (%) 55.0 36.7 29.8 26.2 21.9 15.7 13.9
Male 53.9 37.0 34.1 23.1 19.5 19.0 12.6
Female 56.1 36.4 25.5 29.2 24.3 12.6 15.2
20's 49.7 35.8 25.6 28.6 25.0 16.3 17.8
30's 54.8 36.8 30.4 26.7 26.7 10.8 13.2
40's 59.2 36.1 31.1 24.6 18.2 17.0 12.9
50's 56.4 35.0 32.4 26.6 19.1 16.7 13.6
60's and older 53.0 53.0 25.8 16.7 15.2 28.8 6.1
Middle school graduate or lower 51.8 37.3 33.2 25.5 21.4 17.3 13.2
High school graduate 57.8 39.6 29.5 25.4 19.0 13.7 14.3
College and higher 53.0 32.5 28.4 27.8 25.7 17.9 13.6

20. Which areas do you believe are the most important for developing interdependence among East Asian countries? Please choose two among choices.

Group Trade/Investment Security Environment Freer movement of Labor Technology/Medical issues Education
Overall (%) 66.4 38.2 32.5 24.7 22.3 15.4
Male 67.5 39.7 35.1 24.1 20.7 12.6
Female 65.3 36.8 30.0 25.4 23.9 18.1
20's 62.3 31.6 31.9 26.5 28.3 18.4
30's 66.1 37.3 32.5 26.7 21.2 16.1
40's 70.1 35.8 34.3 23.5 22.3 13.5
50's 67.4 43.1 31.6 24.3 19.8 13.6
60's and older 63.6 60.6 31.8 13.6 13.6 16.7
Middle school graduate or lower 64.5 50.0 26.8 20.5 20.5 17.3
High school graduate 67.8 39.2 25.9 28.0 22.4 14.7
College and higher 65.7 36.0 32.3 26.3 22.9 16.0

21. The UN is now trying to reform its Security Council structure by increasing the number of its permanent members. Do you support or oppose Japan’s being a new member of the UN Security Council?

Group Support Oppose Total (%)
Overall 13.1 86.9 100.0
Male 13.0 87.0 100.0
Female 13.2 86.8 100.0
20's 16.0 84.0 100.0
30's 14.0 86.0 100.0
40's 13.2 86.8 100.0
50's 11.5 88.5 100.0
60's and older 3.0 97.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 12.7 87.3 100.0
High school graduate 13.5 86.5 100.0
College or higher 12.7 87.3 100.0

22. Currently, Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) participate in operations other than combat such as humanitarian support and Iraqi rehabilitation. Do you support or oppose SDF’s operations overseas?

Group Support Oppose Total (%)
Overall 31.5 68.5 100.0
Male 28.5 71.5 100.0
Female 34.4 65.6 100.0
20's 38.6 61.4 100.0
30's 34.7 65.3 100.0
40's 29.6 70.4 100.0
50's 25.3 74.7 100.0
60's and older 22.7 77.3 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 29.5 70.5 100.0
High school graduate 29.5 70.5 100.0
College or higher 35.3 64.7 100.0

23. Do you believe that the two Koreas will be re-unified?

Group Yes No Don't know/no response Total (%)
Overall 60.5 39.5 0.0 100.0
Male 64.0 36.0 0.0 100.0
Female 57.0 42.9 0.1 100.0
20's 62.7 37.3 0.0 100.0
30's 60.3 39.7 0.0 100.0
40's 61.0 39.0 0.0 100.0
50's 60.1 39.7 0.3 100.0
60's and older 50.0 50.0 0.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 53.2 46.4 0.5 100.0
High school graduate 55.5 44.5 0.0 100.0
College or higher 69.8 30.2 0.0 100.0

24. Choose one among the following choices that best describes your first impression of North Korea.

Group Development of nuclear weapons Kidnapping Japanese/South Koreans Spy boats/ spy agents Separated families Refugees Famine/Lack of food Human rights issues Total (%)
Overall 53.5 0.9 1.5 10.1 12.2 13.5 8.3 100.0
Male 53.8 0.9 1.5 8.6 11.3 13.6 10.3 100.0
Female 53.2 0.9 1.6 11.6 13.1 13.4 6.2 100.0
20's 57.8 1.2 1.8 9.0 10.8 9.9 9.3 100.0
30's 52.4 0.8 0.8 9.8 13.8 13.2 9.3 100.0
40's 49.6 1.2 2.9 8.5 12.9 17.0 7.9 100.0
50's 53.8 0.5 0.8 11.0 12.0 14.6 7.3 100.0
60's and older 56.1 1.5 1.5 21.2 7.6 7.6 4.5 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 53.6 0.0 2.3 11.4 10.5 19.5 2.7 100.0
High school graduate 52.1 1.1 0.8 11.2 12.2 14.1 8.4 100.0
College or higher 55.0 1.1 2.2 8.4 12.9 10.1 10.3 100.0

25. How much do you feel threatened by the North Korean nuclear development?

Group Very much Somewhat Not seriously Not at all Total (%)
Overall 13.3 48.6 31.5 6.6 100.0
Male 14.1 45.6 31.7 8.6 100.0
Female 12.4 51.6 31.3 4.6 100.0
20's 13.0 50.0 32.5 4.5 100.0
30's 14.6 46.6 32.3 6.6 100.0
40's 11.7 49.3 30.5 8.5 100.0
50's 12.5 48.6 31.3 7.6 100.0
60's and older 19.7 50.0 28.8 1.5 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 14.5 46.4 30.5 8.6 100.0
High school graduate 13.6 47.8 31.8 6.8 100.0
College and higher 12.1 50.7 31.9 5.2 100.0

      
26. What do you think the neighboring countries should do with regard to North Korean issues including the North’s nuclear development and kidnapping of foreign civilians? Should countries continue talks with North Korea to use diplomatic means or apply more coercive means such as economic sanctions?

Group Should use diplomatic means and continue talks Should apply hard-lined policy including economic sanctions Don't know/no response Total (%)
Overall 77.0 22.8 0.2 100.0
Male 76.7 23.1 0.1 100.0
Female 77.2 22.5 0.3 100.0
20's 78.3 21.4 0.3 100.0
30's 78.0 22.0 0 100.0
40's 76.0 23.8 0.2 100.0
50's 78.1 21.7 0.2 100.0
60's and older 63.6 36.4 0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 76.4 23.6 0 100.0
High school graduate 75.1 24.8 0.1 100.0
College or higher 79.7 20.0 0.4 100.0

South Korea-Japan relations

27. How important do you think the unresolved historical issues are to Korea-Japan relations?

Group Very important Somewhat important Not very important Not important at all Total (%)
Overall 45.9 47.1 6.3 0.7 100.0
Male 48.5 44.0 7.1 0.4 100.0
Female 43.3 50.1 5.6 1.1 100.0
20's 44.6 47.0 7.2 1.2 100.0
30's 47.4 44.2 8.2 0.3 100.0
40's 49.9 44.6 5.0 0.6 100.0
50's 42.8 51.7 4.4 1.0 100.0
60's and older 40.9 50.0 9.1 0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 45.9 48.2 5.5 0.5 100.0
High school graduate 44.4 47.9 6.8 1.0 100.0
College and higher 47.9 45.5 6.0 0.6 100.0

28. Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi has visited and paid tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine every year since taking office. Do you support or oppose Prime Minister Koizumi’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine?

Group Support Oppose Total (%)
Overall 7.7 92.3 100.0
Male 8.1 91.9 100.0
Female 7.3 92.7 100.0
20's 8.7 91.3 100.0
30's 9.3 90.7 100.0
40's 6.2 93.8 100.0
50's 6.0 94.0 100.0
60's and older 10.6 89.4 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 9.5 90.5 100.0
High school graduate 7.1 92.9 100.0
College or higher 7.8 92.2 100.0

29. What do you think the Yasukuni Shrine is? Choose one among following explanations that is the closest to your idea.

Group Memorial place for the war dead Symbol of Japanese militarism A religious place Don't have specific ideas Total (%)
Overall 18.2 60.9 7.5 13.4 100.0
Male 18.8 63.2 7.4 10.6 100.0
Female 17.6 58.7 7.5 16.1 100.0
20's 15.4 59.9 7.5 17.2 100.0
30's 19.8 61.6 8.5 10.1 100.0
40's 19.1 63.0 6.5 11.4 100.0
50's 18.3 61.6 7.3 12.8 100.0
60's and older 18.2 47.0 7.6 27.3 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 18.2 48.6 9.5 23.6 100.0
High school graduate 18.6 61.5 8.0 11.8 100.0
College and higher 17.0 65.7 6.0 11.4 100.0

            
30. This year, which marks the 40th year since the rapprochement between South Korea and Japan, there are increasing demands in South Korea for Japan to compensate the victims of its colonial rule. How much attention do you pay to the issue of Japan’s compensation?

Group Very much Somewhat Not very much Not at all Total (%)
Overall 24.3 60.3 13.3 2.1 100.0
Male 28.2 58.7 11.2 1.9 100.0
Female 20.4 61.9 15.3 2.4 100.0
20's 23.2 56.9 16.3 3.6 100.0
30's 22.0 61.6 14.3 2.1 100.0
40's 23.8 61.3 13.5 1.5 100.0
50's 27.4 61.4 9.7 1.6 100.0
60's and older 27.3 59.1 12.1 1.5 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 27.3 56.8 13.2 2.7 100.0
High school graduate 22.7 62.9 12.5 1.9 100.0
College and higher 25.0 58.2 14.6 2.2 100.0

31. Do you think that Japan already compensated for victims of the colonial era and that the issue was settled? Or has the issue of compensation not yet been settled?

Group Settled/Resolved Not yet Total (%)
Overall 4.8 95.2 100.0
Male 6.2 93.8 100.0
Female 3.4 96.6 100.0
20's 4.5 95.5 100.0
30's 4.8 95.2 100.0
40's 5.6 94.4 100.0
50's 5.0 95.0 100.0
60's and older 1.5 98.5 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 0.9 99.1 100.0
High school graduate 5.0 95.0 100.0
College or higher 6.2 93.8 100.0

32. Do you think it is possible for South Korea and Japan to overcome the problems of past history?

Group Yes No Total (%)
Overall 32.8 67.2 100.0
Male 32.3 67.7 100.0
Female 33.3 66.7 100.0
20's 39.8 60.2 100.0
30's 32.0 68.0 100.0
40's 29.9 70.1 100.0
50's 30.3 69.7 100.0
60's and older 31.8 68.2 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 28.6 71.4 100.0
High school graduate 29.3 70.7 100.0
College or higher 39.0 61.0 100.0

33. What do you think is the most important element to solve the disputes over history? Please choose one from the following.

Group Japan's apology acceptable to Koreans Japan's reconsideration of its compensation Joint history studies for resolving different perspectives Changes in Koreans' perspective onJapan Comprehensive exchanges between two peoples Don't know/no response Total (%)
Overall (%) 42.6 23.9 23.3 4.6 5.5 0.1 100.0
Male 43.3 21.4 23.3 5.2 6.9 0.0 100.0
Female 41.9 26.5 23.3 4.0 4.2 0.1 100.0
20's 41.0 19.9 29.8 4.8 4.5 0.0 100.0
30's 42.1 21.4 24.9 5.0 6.6 0.0 100.0
40's 40.5 24.3 25.2 4.4 5.3 0.3 100.0
50's 44.9 29.0 16.2 4.2 5.7 0.0 100.0
60's and older 51.5 27.3 12.1 4.5 4.5 0.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 44.5 35.0 11.8 4.1 4.5 0.0 100.0
High school graduate 43.5 26.0 21.1 4.8 4.6 0.0 100.0
College or higher 40.5 17.0 30.8 4.7 6.9 0.2 100.0

34. What do you think has shaped the basis of your historical perspective? Choose one among the following choices that you think has influenced you the most.

Group Your own or family experiences School Education Memorial, Museums etc Press/broadcasting Media Movies or TV dramas/shows Total (%)
Overall 11.5 31.8 10.6 44.1 2.0 100.0
Male 10.3 33.2 11.6 42.7 2.2 100.0
Female 12.6 30.4 9.7 45.5 1.9 100.0
20's 6.6 39.2 12.7 37.7 3.9 100.0
30's 6.3 35.2 9.8 46.6 2.1 100.0
40's 11.7 32.6 9.4 44.9 1.5 100.0
50's 18.8 24.5 10.7 44.9 1.0 100.0
60's and older 21.2 13.6 10.6 54.5 0.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 22.7 12.3 6.4 57.3 1.4 100.0
High school graduate 11.3 30.7 10.3 45.6 2.0 100.0
College and higher 6.7 41.6 12.7 36.8 2.2 100.0

35. South Korea lifted its ban on importing Japanese popular culture in 1998, and has allowed increasing access to its cultural market for Japan since then. How do you evaluate this opening?

Group Good, right step Wrong Total (%)
Overall 63.1 36.9 100.0
Male 66.1 33.9 100.0
Female 60.2 39.8 100.0
20's 77.1 22.9 100.0
30's 68.5 31.5 100.0
40's 61.0 39.0 100.0
50's 52.5 47.5 100.0
60's and older 34.8 65.2 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 40.0 60.0 100.0
High school graduate 60.0 40.0 100.0
College or higher 76.7 23.3 100.0

36. Therefore, Japanese popular culture – movies, TV dramas for instance – has increasingly been introduced in recent years. How often do you watch Japanese movies or TV dramas?

Group Frequently Sometimes Rarely Not at all Total (%)
Overall 2.6 21.2 30.9 45.3 100.0
Male 2.7 24.3 31.5 41.5 100.0
Female 2.5 18.1 30.3 49.1 100.0
20's 7.5 37.3 32.5 22.6 100.0
30's 1.6 20.4 38.1 39.9 100.0
40's 1.2 18.5 29.9 50.4 100.0
50's 0.8 12.8 24.8 61.6 100.0
60's and older 1.5 7.6 21.2 69.7 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 1.4 6.4 17.7 74.5 100.0
High school graduate 2.0 20.1 29.0 48.8 100.0
College and higher 3.7 28.7 38.4 29.1 100.0

37. Do you think you have become friendlier towards Japan after the introduction of Japanese popular culture?

Group Yes No Don't know/no response Total (%)
Overall 15.7 83.7 0.6 100.0
Male 15.9 83.5 0.7 100.0
Female 15.5 84.0 0.5 100.0
20's 27.1 72.3 0.6 100.0
30's 15.6 83.3 1.1 100.0
40's 12.6 87.4 0 100.0
50's 9.9 89.8 0.3 100.0
60's and older 7.6 89.4 3.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 6.8 91.8 1.4 100.0
High school graduate 13.6 85.7 0.7 100.0
College or higher 22.0 77.8 0.2 100.0

38. Do you think you have become friendlier towards Japan? (This question was asked to the respondents who had answered “frequently” or “sometimes” in question 36.)

Group Yes No Don't know/no response Total (%)
Overall 41.7 58.0 0.3 100.0
Male 40.3 59.2 0.5 100.0
Female 43.6 56.4 0.0 100.0
20's 40.3 59.7 0.0 100.0
30's 38.6 60.2 1.2 100.0
40's 44.8 55.2 0.0 100.0
50's 46.2 53.8 0.0 100.0
60's and older 50.0 50.0 0.0 100.0
Middle school graduate or lower 35.3 64.7 0.0 100.0
High school graduate 41.1 58.3 0.6 100.0
College or higher 43.1 56.9 0.0 100.0