South Korea's Narratives on China: Evidence from Elites, Masses, and Scholars

Abstract: What narratives have emerged in South Korea regarding China since the normalization of relations in 1992? Based on computational text analysis of scholarly articles, close reading of op-eds, and statistical analysis of polls, this article presents a descriptive picture of narratives on China in South Korea by different sectors: elites, masses, and scholars. The findings show that scholarly narratives in South Korea toward China focus on system-level factors, while elite narratives and public opinion have increasingly polarized since 2015. Contributing factors include China's hawkish response to South Korea's foreign policy choices, most evident during the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense dispute. Other recent issues include the COVID-19 pandemic, sparking elite-level debate on whether weak enforcement of border controls toward travelers from China demonstrated a lack of sovereignty and an overt pro-China attitude by the then-incumbent Moon administration.